01
wah gwaan
Cassidy–JLU-style reference: wa gwaan
What’s going on?; what’s up?; how are things?
Jamaica · words in their real context
Understand the meaning.
Keep the place attached.
A source-aware guide to Jamaican words, phrases, grammar, and everyday speech—built for context, not caricature.
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48 entries indexed
48Structured entries
68Context topics
30Long-tail guides
0External scripts
Start with the living index
Words people actually look up.
Every entry separates a quick meaning from social tone, grammar, spelling variation, and what not to overgeneralize.
02
mi deh yah
Cassidy–JLU-style reference: mi de ya
I’m here; I’m doing alright; I’m present.
03
likkle
Common search spelling
Little, small, or a small amount.
04
likkle more
Common search spelling
See you later; until a little later.
05
irie
Common search spelling
Good, pleasant, settled, positive, or in a harmonious state.
06
unu
Cassidy–JLU-style reference: unu
You, when speaking to more than one person.
07
nyam
Cassidy–JLU-style reference: nyam
To eat.
08
pickney
Common search spelling
A child; children, depending on context.
09
duppy
Common search spelling
A ghost, spirit, or supernatural presence in Jamaican folk belief and storytelling.
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A word is more than its spelling.
Follow greetings, grammar, forms of address, farewells, food, folklore, praise, music, and everyday conversation.
Search questions answered fully
Go beyond the one-line definition.
Long-tail guides compare similar expressions, explain replies and grammar, and collect the canonical entries needed to answer a real question without duplicating meanings.
01How to say hello in Jamaican Patois
Learn how Jamaicans say hello using wah gwaan, whappen, and related greetings, with natural replies, pronunciation guidance, and context notes.
02How to respond to “wah gwaan”Learn natural ways to answer wah gwaan, including mi deh yah, brief updates, follow-up questions, and replies that fit the relationship and setting.
03How to say goodbye in Jamaican PatoisUnderstand Jamaican farewells such as walk good, likkle more, and soon come, including when they express care, temporary departure, or an expected reunion.
04Jamaican Patois pronouns explainedLearn how Jamaican pronouns mi, yuh, wi, unu, and dem work as subjects, objects, possessives, singular forms, and plural forms.
Everyday phrase path
Move from lookup to real conversation.
The phrase guide groups greetings, plans, respect, quantities, food, and farewells. Every item links to a full entry so visitors can check tone, grammar, and context before using it.
Grammar, not a costume
Learn why the sentence works.
Start with pronouns such as mi, yuh, wi, unu, and dem; then follow forms such as fi, haffi, cyaan, and seh. The grammar guide links each pattern to full dictionary entries.
Pronunciation without a media bill
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The “Hear browser voice” control uses speech synthesis already available on the visitor’s device. It downloads no MP3 and calls no external API. Because device voices may not reproduce Jamaican speech accurately, it is never labeled as a locally reviewed recording.