Jamaican Language
Powerful, Colourful, Expressive

Trying to get a grasp of Jamaican language is a challenge which many visitors to our island attack with gusto, much to our entertainment. Yeah mon!

It's hard to sound like a Jamaican unless you've lived here for many years, and even then it's dicey.

But you don't have to worry about communicating, English is our official language and we do understand when it is spoken to us. We just don't always speak it back!

Whether you call it Jamaican English, Jamaican Dialect or Jamaican Patois, Jamaican language is engaging, expressive and entertaining.

As you can see from the sign below, we also tend to write words as we pronounce them.

Interested in Jamaican proverbs? Click here.

Here are some Jamaican words in common use, which I've tried to divide into categories. There are many, many more expressions in the Jamaican language than I can write about.

Jamaican Language - Exclamations

• Backfoot! Expression of surprise
• Blouse an skirt! Expression of surprise or wonder
• Ca ca faat! Expression of surprise (incredulous)
• Cho/Cho man Expression of annoyance or frustration
• Gweh! Go away!
• Kiss mi neck! Expression of surprise or wonder
• Ku deh! Look at that!
• Move frah ya! Get out of here!
• Massi mi Gad/Lawd a massi! Lord have mercy!
• Rahtid! Expression of surprise
• Tan deh! Stay there (sarcastic)
  
  

Terms of Address

• Auntie Aunt, or any female of childbearing age
• Bona fide Good friend
• Bredren A male friend, or any adult male
• Empress Respected adult female
• Daddy A father figure, or any older male
• Granma/Granpa Grandparents, or any elderly person
• Mommy/Mammy A mother figure, or any woman of childbearing age
• Missa/Miss Chin Chinese, Japanese or anyone resembling them
• Princess Adult or teenage female
• Ras Rastaman
• Sistren Female friend, or any adult female
• Soldier Young adult male
• Uncle Used to address an uncle, or any mature male
  

Describing People

• Bang belly Big bellied
• Batty man Homosexual male (this term is offensive to many)
• Browning Brown skinned woman (as opposed to really dark skin)
• Big and So-So Big-bodied and lazy
• Bruk-pocket Broke, someone who has no money
• Coolie Of Indian extraction (may be offensive to some people)
• Cry-cry Easily upset, cries a lot
• Dundus Albino
• Facety Feisty, saucy
• Fatta/Fatty boom boom A fat person
• Fenkeh-fenkeh Weak
• Fluxy Flaccid, squooshy
• Fool-fool Stupid
• Force ripe Unnaturally mature - often used to describe young girls, or fruit picked too early
• Fraidy-fraidy Cowardly
• Frowsy Bad smelling
• Ginnal Trickster/dishonest person
• Gravalicious Always wanting something/greedy
• Green arm Having a bad body odour
• Kumoochin/Skumoochin Stingy, mean
• Langu-laa-la Tall and skinny
• Licky licky A suck up/greedy
• Lenky Lanky
• Lyad Liar
• Maama man Homosexual male
• Mampy A large woman
• Mawga Thin, meagre
• Neva si come si Someone not yet used to wealth or prosperity
• Pretty hair Naturally straight or curly hair, not kinky
• Round Curvaceuos/sexy (applies to women)
• Salt Unlucky
• Skettel Woman who looks loose/behaves loosely
• Sneaking Sneaky, underhanded
• Tooku tooku Short and squat
• Trying Someone who works hard (e.g a trying girl)
• White liver Nymphomaniac
• Wukliss Worthless
  
  

Body Parts

• Bumper/Batty Backside
• Cubbitch hole Depression at nape of neck - depth tells how mean you are
• Ears corner Area behind the ear
• Farrid Forehead
• Foot Leg, or any part of it
• Foot bottom Sole of the foot
• Hand Arm, or any part of it
• Hand middle Palm
• Head top Crown of head
• Nose hole Nostril
  

Food

• Bickle Food
• Cliding Cloying (e.g. Di cake nice, but it cliding)
• Craven Greedy
• Eat good Tastes nice (e.g. Di bread eat good.)
• Food/Hard Food Yam,potatoes,dumplings etc.
• Fresh Not having enough sugar or salt (e.g. Dis drinks too fresh)
• Ital Natural/Containing no salt/Containing no meat
• Junjo Mould
• Long Watery (used to describe drinks or soup)
• Long Belly Very greedy
• Moreish So good you want more
• Mutton Goat meat
• Niggeritis/Naygaritis Feeling of sleepiness after eating
• Nyam Eat/Eat a lot (e.g. Dat man can nyam!)
• PawPaw Papaya
• Pear Avocado
• Raw Smelling or tasting like eggs, fish or raw meat
• Ride Cause indigestion (e.g Di stew peas will ride mi if mi eat too late!)
• Sleep up Coagulate (e.g. What a way di gravy sleep up)
  
  

Animals/Nature

• Alligetta Crocodile, alligator
• Anansi Spider
• Bat Moth
• Bud Bird
• Cricket Croaking lizard/cricket
• Cubby Young donkey
• Dawg Dog
• Flowers/Flowers plant Plant
• Forty leg  Centipede
• Gallawas Galliwasp
• John Crow Vulture
• Patoo Owl
• Peenywally Firefly
• Ratbat Bat
• Roses Flower(s)
• Swims/Swimps Shrimps
  
  

Jamaican language - General Words

Brawta Extra

Bringle Get angry

Bruk Break/Broke

Bun Infidelity to a sexual partner (Gi bun - you are being unfaithful; Get bun - your partner is being unfaithful to you)

Crawp Scrape

Crawses (crosses) A problematic situation/someone who causes problems

Deh There/Is/Are (See it deh - see it there; Whe she deh? - where is she?)

Duppy Ghost

Dung Down

Dutty Dirty

Ganja Marijuana

Gwaan Go on

Jook Poke, stick

Macca Thorn

Memba Remember

Nah Not (She nah come - she's not coming)

Pickney Child

Sake a Because

Sensi/ Sensemelia Marijuana

Shuub Shove

Spliff Rolled marijuana joint

Strive Thrive

Tek Take

Wuk Work

Yah Here (Come yah - come here)

These are a few of the many established words in the Jamaican language. There are also many unique Jamaican phrases which perfectly can sum up a situation or an express an opinion or emotion.

For newer Jamaican slang, click here. And just so you know, any expression ending with the word claat (cloth) is very, very impolite. I hope you enjoy the lingo!

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