These are the ones that turn up in a lyric or a message and send somebody looking. Multi-word phrases rather than single words, because a phrase is where Patois stops looking like English with an accent.
| Patois | Cassidy-JLU | English |
|---|---|---|
| -a dan | -a dan | -er than (hotta dan, sweeta dan) |
| a (+ verb) | a (+ verb) | -ing marker: happening now |
| A deh-so | A de-so | it's right there (that...) |
| a door | a duor | outdoors, outside |
| a farin | a farin | abroad, overseas |
| A fi mi dat | A fi mi dat | that one is MINE |
| a fu who? | a fu uu? | whose is it? |
| a go | a go | going to (future marker) |
| a hot mi | a hat mi | is hurting me |
| A lie! | A lai! | no way! that's a lie! |
| a likkle someting | a likl somting | a little money (remittance, said modestly) |
| A mi tell im | A mi tel im | it was ME who told him |
| A no joke | A no juok | it's no joke, seriously |
| A run im a run | A ron im a ron | he is really RUNNING |
| a so im tan | a so im tan | that's just how he/she is |
| a Sunday | a Sonde | on Sundays |
| A tief dem tief i | A tiif dem tiif i | they STOLE it |
| a true weh dem seh | a chuu we dem se | it's true what they say |
| a true? | a chuu? | is it true? |
| A wa dat? | A wa dat? | WHAT is that? |
| a who | a uu | who (is it) |
| a who dis? | a uu dis? | who is this? |
| A who do i? | A huu du i? | WHO did it? |
| a yaad | a yaad | at home; in Jamaica |
| A yu do i? | A yu du i? | was it YOU who did it? |
| afta dat | afta dat | after that |
| an perhaps not! | an praps nat! | formula close: and perhaps you will not (guess it) |
| at laas | at laas | at last |
| back a yaad | bak a yaad | back home in Jamaica |
| badda dan | bada dan | tougher/worse than |
| banana walk | banaana waak | banana grove |
| beg yu | beg yu | please (lit. I beg you) |
| belly full | beli ful | satisfied, full |
| big man | big man | grown man; respectful 'sir' |
| big up | big op | respect!, shout-out |
| big up yuself | big op yuself | respect, take care of yourself |
| bless / bless up | bles / bles op | goodbye, blessings |
| blouse an skirt! | blouz an skort! | exclamation of surprise (safe) |
| Bredda Anancy | Breda Anansi | Brother Anancy, the spider trickster |
| bredrin / sistren | bredrin / sischrin | close friend(s) |
| bring come | bring kom | bring (here, toward me) |
| broken English | bruokn English | old put-down name for Patwa — it is NOT broken; it is a language |
| bruk di record | brok di rekaad | break the record |
| buck up | bok op | meet by chance |
| bunch a banana | bonch a banaana | bunch of bananas |
| bus park | bos paak | bus/taxi depot |
| bush tea | bush tii | herbal tea |
| buss weh | bos we | take off, burst away |
| bwile dung | bwail dong | boil down, reduce |
| cane piece | kien piis | sugar-cane field |
| chat patwa | chat patwa | speak Patois |
| chat proper | chat prapa | speak formally |
| chop bush | chap bush | clear land |
| clear (i) | klier (i) | get it through customs |
| cock mout kill cock | kak mout kil kak | your own talk destroys you |
| come een like | kom iin laik | seem as if (Yu come een like yu tiyad — you seem tired) |
| come tell | kom tel | come and tell |
| come ya | kom ya | come here |
| country peppa | konchri pepa | scotch bonnet pepper |
| crop / reap | krap / riip | to harvest |
| cross fram | kraas fram | across from |
| cyaan come out | kyaahn kom out | cannot come out |
| cyaan done | kyaahn don | endlessly, beyond measure |
| dash een | dash iin | throw in, add |
| dat deh | dat de | that one there |
| deh deh | de de | is there (verb + adverb) |
| dem deh | dem de | those (there) |
| dem seh | dem se | people say |
| dem ya | dem ya | these (here) |
| di bes | di bes | the best |
| di bigges | di bigis | the biggest |
| di fassis | di faasis | the fastest |
| di line | di lain | the finish line |
| di mango-dem | di manggo-dem | the mangoes |
| di moral | di maral | the moral, the lesson |
| did a | did a | was/were (equative past) |
| dis ya | dis ya | this one here |
| djew rain | juu rien | drizzle |
| do, mi a beg yu | du, mi a beg yu | please, I'm begging you |
| drop one proverb | jrap wan provob | deliver a proverb |
| dung deh | dong de | down there |
| dung so | dong so | down there |
| duppy hour | dopi owa | midnight |
| en fi | en fi | was supposed to |
| everyting criss | evriting kris | everything's fine |
| evri day | evri die | every day |
| evri maanin | evri maanin | every morning |
| fambily line | fambili lain | lineage, ancestry |
| fayva like | fieva laik | it looks as if |
| feed di fowl dem | fiid di foul dem | feed the chickens |
The second column is Cassidy-JLU, the systematic spelling. It is worth reading across the two columns rather than down one — the difference between them is the sound.
Every word here is taught somewhere in the course, in the lesson it belongs to, with audio and a pronunciation check. The full vocabulary is here, grouped by parish.