French
DeutschMauritian Creole (Kreol or Morisyen) is one of the national languages of Mauritius. Orthography used in this phrasebook is renewed by Mauritian govt in 2011. In this orthography, the word "Morisyen" is spelled "morisien".
Some phrases in this phrasebook still need to be translated. If you know anything about this language, you can help by plunging forward and translating a phrase.
Pronunciation guide
[edit | edit source]Vowels
[edit | edit source]A a (pronounced like the a in cat)
E e (pronounced like the ay in day yet shorter, same as é in French)
I i (pronounced like the ee in see)
O o (pronounced like the o in box)
U u (only used in loan words from English, pronounced like the u in cut)
ou (pronounced like oo in too yet shorter, same as in French)
Nasal vowels include an, en, in, on and oun:
- an (/ã/)
- as en in genre
- en, in (/ẽ/)
- nasal e
- on /õ/
- nasal o
- oun /ũ/
- nasal ou (only occurs in ounn, see the notes below)
Consonants
[edit | edit source]B = b as in bait; D = d as in date; F = f as in fate; G = g as in gate; J = j as in jade; K = k as in kite; L = l as in late; N = n as in navy; M = m as in mate; P = p as in papa; R = French guttural 'r'; S = s as in sage; T = t as in tape; V = v as in vain; W = w as in wait; X = gz in French-based loanwords, ks elsewhere; Y = y as in yeah; Z = z as in zero; ch = ch as in chat; sh = sh as in shy; ng = ng as in wing; gn is the same as that in French, which may be compared to gn in lasagna.
Note that when a vowel is followed by n, it always becomes nasal, but the n itself is usually unpronounced. Only when another n follows the n that nasalises the preceding vowel, it is pronounced as normal.
Phrase list
[edit | edit source]Some phrases in this phrasebook still need to be translated. If you know anything about this language, you can help by plunging forward and translating a phrase.
Basics
[edit | edit source]- Hello / Good morning
- "Bonzour"
- Good afternoon
- "Bonnapremidi"
- Good evening
- "Bonswar"
- Good night
- "Bonnwit"
- Hi
- "Alo"
- How are you?
- "Ki manier?"
- Fine, thank you.
- "Mo bien, mersi."
- What's your name?
- "?"
- My name is [name] .
- "Mo apel [name]"
- Nice to meet you. [Pleasure]
- "Enn plezir fer twa/ou konesans."
- Please
- "Silvouple"
- Thank you (very much)
- "Mersi boukou"
- Yes
- "Wi"
- No
- "Non"
- Excuse me
- "Exkiz mwa"
- I'm sorry
- "Sori"
- It doesn’t matter.
- "Pa grav (sa)."
- No problem.
- "Pena problem."
- Goodbye
- "Orevwar"
- Goodbye (informal)
- "Bye / Ale, salam"
- I can't speak Mauritian Creole [well].
- ""
- Do you speak English?
- ""
- Is there someone here who speaks English?
- ""
- Help!
- "Ed mwa!"
- Look out!
- "Atansion!"
- I don't understand.
- ""
- Where is the toilet?
- "Kot twalet?"
- What's up? (informal)
- "Ki dir?"
- What are you doing?
- "Ki to pe fer?"
- Okay
- "OK / Dakor"
- Why?
- "Kifer?"
- What?
- "Ki / Kwa?"
- Which?
- "Lekel?"
- Where?
- "Kot?"
- When?
- "Kan?"
- How many/much?
- "Komie?"
- How much is this?
- ""
- Hospital
- "Lopital"
- Hotel
- "Lotel"
- I feel sick.
- "Mo pe santi mwa malad-malad."
- I was attacked by someone
- "Dimounn inn atak mwa."
- I'm lost.
- ""
Problems
[edit | edit source]Numbers
[edit | edit source]- 1
- Enn
- 2
- De
- 3
- Trwa
- 4
- Kat
- 5
- Sink
- 6
- Sis
- 7
- Set
- 8
- Wit
- 9
- Nef
- 10
- Dis
- 11
- Onz
- 13
- Trez
- 15
- Kinz
- 25
- Vennsink
- 35
- Trannsink
- 40
- Karant
- 50
- Sinkant
- 60
- Swasanndis
- 80
- Katrovin
- 100
- San
- 300
- Trwa-san
- 1000
- Mil
Time
[edit | edit source]Clock time
[edit | edit source]one o'clock - enn-er (inn-er also common) two o'clock - di-z-er three o'clock - trwa-z-er four o'clock - kat-r-er five o'clock - sink-er six o'clock - si-z-er seven o'clock - set-er eight o'clock - wit-er nine o'clock - nef-er ten o'clock - di-z-er eleven o'clock - onz-er
morning - gramatin noon / midday - midi afternoon - apremidi / tanto night - lanwit midnight - minwi
now - aster(la) today - zordi tomorrow - demin
Days
[edit | edit source]- Monday
- Lindi
- Tuesday
- Mardi
- Wednesday
- Merkredi
- Thursday
- Zedi
- Friday
- Vandredi
- Saturday
- Samdi
- Sunday
- Dimans
- Weekend
- Wikenn
Months
[edit | edit source]January - Zanvie
February - Fevriye
March - Mars
April - Avril
May - Me
June - Zi(e)n
July - Zilie
August - Out
September - Septam
October - Oktob
November - Novam
December - Desam
Colours
[edit | edit source]rouz - red
blan - white
ver - green
ble - blue
zonn - yellow
nwar - black
gri - grey
roz - pink
zoranz - orange
Transportation
[edit | edit source]Directions
[edit | edit source]- East
- Lwes
- South
- Lesid
- West
- Les
- North
- Lenor
- Left
- Gos
- Right
- Drwat
Bus and train
[edit | edit source]'Where does this bus go to? ' : 'Sa bis-la kot ale?'
'How many trains are there? ' : 'Komie trin ena?'
Taxi
[edit | edit source]'Please take me to this address. ' : 'Amenn mwa sa ladres-la, silvouple.'
'I want to get off here. ' : 'Mo anvi desann isi.'
'How much is the taxi fare? ' : 'Enn traze par taxi komie pou koute?'
Lodging
[edit | edit source]'I'm calling to enquire about flats available for rent. ' : 'Mo pe telefone par rapor a apartman ki ou pe Iwe.'
'Can I view the flat today? ' : 'Eski mo kapav vizit lakaz-la zordi?'
'How much is the rent? ' : 'Lwaye komie?'
Money
[edit | edit source]Eating
[edit | edit source]'Could you show me the menu please? ' : 'Ou kapav donn mwa meni, silvouple?'
'Do you have any vegetarian/kosher/halal diet? ' : 'Eski ou ena manze vezetarien/kasher/halal?'
'Can I pay with credit card? ' : 'Eski ou aksepte kart kredi?'
Bars
[edit | edit source]'How many kinds of beer do you have?' : 'Ki labier zot ena?'
'May I have a look at your wine list?' : 'Eski mo kapav get zot seleksion divin?'
'Cheers!' : 'Chinn-chinn!'