Guyanese terms and usage

antiman – gay fellow

anta banta – to be possessed

braddar – barefaced, loud and obnoxious

bruk – break

brukadown – old (most likely a corruption of broken down)

buse (pron. byooze) – argue

catchup – ketchup

cockson – lesbian

couple – any amount from 2 to 5

couple well – plenty

dora dora – plentiful

eye pass – disrespect

ginch – flinch

jumbie – ghost

ketch – catch

ole higue – according to folklore, a woman who turns into a ball of fire and flies about the   place feeding on the blood of babies.

patta(cake) – vagina

plimpla – thorn

skunt – cunt

90 Comments Add your own

  • 1. Risee  |  April 6, 2007 at 8:23 pm

    gyal- girl, coolie-guyanese ppl, pickney- little kids, chicken curry- we nah say no mudda skunthole curry chicken

    Reply
    • 2. shana  |  June 2, 2014 at 3:01 pm

      dont dis d guyanese ppl

      Reply
      • 3. shana  |  June 2, 2014 at 3:06 pm

        wha happen u shut up

      • 4. antman  |  April 22, 2015 at 12:59 pm

        bhatti man skunt life

    • 5. RAMDAT  |  June 9, 2016 at 12:12 pm

      AIE YA FUCKING MUDA CUNT ITS CURRY CHICKEN NOT CHICKEN CURRY. YOU CURRY THE CHICKEN NOT CHICKEN THE CURRY YA SCHUPID MUDA CUNT. MEH A BUSS YA RASS LIKE ROTI.

      Reply
      • 6. Jose  |  January 26, 2017 at 9:21 pm

        No you stupid moron. You chicken tje curry. The curry is the base. Chicken Soup, Beef stew, Apple pie.

  • 7. Gish  |  April 10, 2007 at 10:22 am

    hi whats rass?

    Reply
    • 8. anupa  |  June 10, 2009 at 1:03 pm

      rass ahh u mommaa and patta cake if u ga one bai u skunt yuh

      Reply
  • 9. bakannal  |  April 10, 2007 at 11:52 am

    ok then. with the exception of mudda skunthole, none of what u wrote is uniquely guyanese.

    Reply
  • 10. gt_sunshine  |  April 10, 2007 at 3:40 pm

    i agree…….. skunthole … a truly GT thing…. u can go anywhere in the world and once u hear “skunthole” or ” skunt” u know it’s a Guyanese.

    Reply
    • 11. tru dat  |  December 8, 2012 at 7:46 pm

      No skunt is used in this and many other variations in the USVI regularly.

      Reply
  • 12. bakannal  |  April 10, 2007 at 5:24 pm

    gish – the accepted wisdom is that rass is a contraction of youR ASS.
    e.g we say carry your ass (a kind of watered down f*** off) but its pronounced ‘kie yuh rass.’

    Reply
  • 13. Victor Monchego  |  August 10, 2007 at 1:28 am

    You are a fine poet, bro.

    Reply
  • 14. Arlene Wilson  |  February 26, 2008 at 9:29 pm

    I never understood the eye pass comment [ “She eye pass and then…!@#!!] growing up– thanks for the clarification!

    Reply
  • 15. Arlene Wilson  |  February 26, 2008 at 9:31 pm

    My husband is a South Carolinian– and he finds the term antiman that perfect definition, and wishes there were a Southern Ebonic equivalent.

    Reply
  • 16. Dee  |  April 5, 2008 at 1:39 am

    yuh rass to mad Risee coolie could neva be a word ina whole fo guyanese
    go read yuh history an cum bak

    Reply
  • 17. Dee  |  April 5, 2008 at 1:46 am

    GUYANESE DON’T CHILL,WE DOES LIME. GUYANESE DON’T HOLLA AT A GURL,WE DOES HUSTLE DEM.
    GUYANESE DON’T SNUFF,WE DOES KUFF. GUYANESE DON’T SMACK,WE DOES SLAP. GUYANESE DON’T GO TO A PARTY,WE GO TO A DANCE.
    GUYANESE DON’T JUMP PEOPLE,WE DOES DOUBLE BANK DEM.
    GUYANESE DON’T SAY WHATZ POPPING,WE DOES SAY WHAPPENNIN/WAM.
    GUYANESE DON’T WATCH PORN,WE DOES WATCH BLUES.
    GUYANESE DON’T SAY F$#% OUTTA HERE,WE DOES SAY WAIT YA MOTHER SKUNT . GUYANESE DON’T SAY HE GAY,WE DOES SAY HE’S A ANTIMAN OR HE’S A BATTY BOI.
    THATZ WHY PEOPLE LOVE WE BECAUSE WE TEK TALK FROM NOBODY,WE 100% GUYANESE TO DE FULLEST, SAH ALL WHO DON’T LIKE WE ,WE NAH CARE ,CAUSE WE RUN TINGS, TINGS NUH RUN WE!!!!!U KNO HOW IT GO

    Reply
    • 18. shana  |  June 2, 2014 at 3:07 pm

      u correct boss

      Reply
  • 19. Bobby  |  February 6, 2009 at 6:34 pm

    LMAOO RASS IS A CURSE!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply
  • 20. Jose Valera  |  February 16, 2009 at 3:25 pm

    I feek bruck up 10 means ????

    Reply
  • 21. Teacher  |  February 24, 2009 at 8:26 am

    Buse means to ‘verbally abuse’ oir ‘cuss out’. Much much stronger than argue

    Reply
  • 22. bakannal  |  February 24, 2009 at 8:44 am

    I agree Teach, that’s exactly what it is.

    Reply
  • 23. raptus8  |  February 25, 2009 at 3:10 pm

    meh-na- kay- I dont care.
    Abby-deee/abidese- We

    Correct me if i’m wrong for those 2 terms might not be Guyanese.

    Reply
  • 24. Allison  |  February 27, 2009 at 6:41 pm

    Hi,

    To Risee. FYI, the name Colllie doesn’t mean Guyanese ppl It’s like using the N word to an Indian person. Same as Amerindans are called Buck.
    To Gish Rass means Ass or Buttt.

    Funny can sometimes be offensive!

    Reply
  • 25. Christianha  |  April 6, 2009 at 3:05 pm

    Does skundle of bundt count?.. 😀

    Reply
    • 26. Cassandra  |  May 8, 2009 at 10:12 am

      skundle of bundt….is just the “sk” and “b” switched around and really means is bundle of skunt…aka a whole set of stupidness or alot of crap

      Reply
  • 27. hero  |  April 25, 2009 at 5:34 pm

    oh mudda scrubbing board lol…and everyone is we uncle an auntie. even if we not realted to them. and yes coolie dont mean guyanese. its jus indian ppl an we got black man to. an putagee.

    Reply
    • 28. Cathy  |  July 26, 2016 at 11:30 pm

      Yes! Putagee!!!

      Reply
  • 29. Malaika  |  April 29, 2009 at 8:10 pm

    owwww mi goy …

    I think that’s Guyanese.

    How do you translate that? “aw”?

    (you may have a duplicate because stupid wireless just died and I had to retype/resubmit)

    Reply
  • 30. bakannal  |  May 12, 2009 at 6:15 pm

    yall prapa like a chupitness

    Reply
  • 31. Jeff  |  May 24, 2009 at 12:40 pm

    Hey man – my Guyanese wife is tearin’ up readin’ your lexicon of Guyanese terms. We’ve been arguing about the ‘correct’ usage of ti’ef (verb or noun???) for the past 3 years. Thanks for clearing things up.

    Surely you’ve got some more?

    Cheers,
    – just some random white boy

    Reply
  • 32. barnie  |  September 21, 2009 at 4:20 pm

    hey Kwesi only jus came across ur blog….nice keep it goin, will b readin

    Reply
  • 33. Lisa  |  January 4, 2010 at 2:08 am

    Does anyone know what “she a get out a she head” mean?
    Or what this dream might mean…
    My mother is 70 living in the US. I am 40 living in Canada.
    She had a dream that she was at my brother’s current house in Canada and my sister-in-law (holding me as a 6-8 yrd old) said “Mom, come quick and take Lisa to the hospital, she a get out a she head.”
    I don’t exactly know what to make of it. Any serious comment is helpful.

    Reply
    • 34. Brazilian Ruddy  |  September 16, 2010 at 2:25 pm

      Hey Lisa, it’s a simple ting:
      “SHE A GET OUT A SHE HEAD”
      Dis kind of ting a gwan when di person been unconscious u ovah me a tak ? for example:

      U walk pon di streets when a badboy came ovah u, before di man came u was so cool and calm, full love and peace…… But aftah di man tiff and joke pon u, u must get mad, u lose yah mind, u must GET OUTTA YAH HEAD……. u ovahstanding now ???? GOOD….

      So di only cure fi dat is CONSCIOUSNESS, PATIENCE and FULL LOVE inna yah life………………. Try fi travel inside yah self, try fi reconize and learn about yah self.

      Jumbie a lot we haffi pon our self, so we a fi bun dem outta our self, by I-ses and deep I-tation…… ear dat gyal…….. RASPECT

      Reply
    • 35. Avinash Malhotra  |  December 19, 2011 at 2:21 am

      To Lisa : It means she like out of her mind/losing her mind or in other words crazy

      Reply
    • 36. keemo  |  April 9, 2014 at 12:00 am

      it means that she is going mad

      Reply
  • 37. Brazilian Ruddy  |  September 14, 2010 at 7:45 pm

    Dats some terms and words dat I’n’I use pon Brazil/GT bordah…..
    Mi born inna SP City (Brazil) but all mi puppa family dem guyanese, so mi a Brazilian by papers But Guyanese by soul and cultcha….
    Look a dat………

    Wah Gwan? = What’s Up, What Happen
    Mi nah wan = I don’t want
    Mi go tek a fresh = I go to take a bath
    gwan yah rassss = Get out #$%&%$
    A Who da man ? = Who is that man ?
    Gyal = Girl
    Bway = Boy
    Techa = Teacher
    Cyaan = Can’t
    Deh = There
    Nah = not, don’t
    Wan = Want
    Mi = I
    Nevah = Never
    Cultcha = Culture
    Puppa = Father
    Mumma = Mother
    Bredah = Brother
    Sistah = sister
    Satah = quiet, calm
    Mi a go = I’m going
    Tek = Take
    Tak = Talk

    Dat a jus a few tings bway, but mi sure people a go rise wii dat…
    GUYANESE BWAY !!!!!!!!!!!!! ORIGINAL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Nuff dem nah know Guyana, but we guyanese know all a dem…

    Reply
    • 38. Luis  |  February 26, 2017 at 6:02 pm

      How do you write your girl is cheating on you in guyanese

      Reply
  • 39. Nalini Persad  |  May 2, 2011 at 8:05 pm

    this is a really good website. taught me a lot. and thanx for clarifying some stuff for me

    Reply
  • 40. Sexy girl  |  May 2, 2011 at 8:06 pm

    this website is total crap

    Reply
    • 41. Tony  |  May 5, 2011 at 3:50 pm

      Wha di rass! See mi momma warn mi bout anybaddy callin diself “Sexy”. Dey usually di apposit. Dis skunkhole mus be a uglisha. Anyway gal pickney, if yuh pattacake itchin yuh mus use some vinegar. Doan go throwing up on otha people website. Mi a go.

      Reply
    • 42. twilightsparkle  |  June 23, 2014 at 3:36 pm

      Yuh dry rat crutch is a crap :v

      Reply
  • 43. ayeodeli  |  May 18, 2011 at 4:30 pm

    how do you spell the name of the party you have the night before the wedding q?something? where the bride has to hide and groom must find her in crowd

    Reply
    • 44. Kalabattie Pushwantie Jacobs  |  September 1, 2011 at 11:49 pm

      its called QWEH QWEH

      Reply
  • 45. Saskia  |  December 15, 2011 at 5:46 pm

    what about schipidy cant spell it or pickney i have one more but i cant spell it

    Reply
  • 46. tony t  |  January 9, 2012 at 3:00 am

    @brazillian rudy you dont know what your talking bout you make it sound like we are speaking gibberish when we are speaking a broken up english that isnt to difficult to understand unless your speaking madness like you.

    Reply
  • 47. tony t  |  January 9, 2012 at 3:11 am

    To all Guyanese people don’t make your self a laughing stock and try to make us as a people sound more backwards than we really are. The fact of the matter is If you are guyanese and talk super raw your looked down upon and if your from “foreign” you better sound pretty articulate or else you will be made fun of. I get that we do have words in our culture and sayings that mean other things, But cmon don’t make it sound like its a different language at the end of the day its english we speak. Just saying ……..lmao me ga tek a fresh who says that…..?

    Reply
    • 48. tony t  |  January 9, 2012 at 3:15 am

      keep it real……….. I am going to baid (I am going to bath) not so hard right?

      …………..me ga tek a fresh…………….very hard

      Reply
  • 49. bum  |  March 16, 2012 at 6:22 pm

    IM 1/4 GUYANESE AND PROUND OF IT WHOOOOP WHOOOOP

    Reply
  • 50. Jenn bharrat  |  May 14, 2012 at 7:44 pm

    Im so proud to be guyanese its so fun XD 100% guyanese oooooooohyeeeahhh

    Reply
  • 51. made in america with guyanese blood  |  September 27, 2012 at 3:46 pm

    putagee is a portuguese person and dugla is a black and indian mix.

    Reply
  • 52. lopez  |  December 4, 2012 at 11:36 pm

    wah de skunt yo wan with meh what diss mean

    Reply
    • 53. twilightsparkle  |  June 23, 2014 at 3:34 pm

      Simple. it means, what do you want from me

      Reply
  • 54. natashabrowne  |  December 26, 2012 at 8:56 pm

    Hgi

    Reply
  • 55. michelle  |  October 30, 2013 at 2:47 am

    what are Guyanese men are like in treating their women?

    Reply
    • 56. ornela  |  November 26, 2013 at 6:13 pm

      Guyanese men are very hard working and responsible well some of them and towards their women well dem love their woman mostly if she is independent but would kill her and their selves if they find out that they are cheating they likey loyal and non cheating women I would know I am a guyanese(p.s watch out for if he is cheating)

      Reply
      • 57. Michelle  |  May 2, 2014 at 7:31 am

        Why would they kill the other women instead of just leaving and finding another women?

    • 58. ornela  |  November 26, 2013 at 6:18 pm

      Guyanese men are very hard working and responsible well some of them and towards their women well they love their woman mostly if she is independent but would kill her and their selves if they find out that they are cheating they likey loyal and non cheating women I would know I am a guyanese(p.s watch out for if he is cheating)

      Reply
  • 59. ornela  |  November 26, 2013 at 7:01 pm

    I am a real and true guyanese and I hate what all of you are doing we gyanaese don’t spell like that we spell normally we juse pronounce and talk our sentences differently no one cane talk like we except we but some of us stupidly pick up other accents I am not presently in guyana for about 4 months and I still have my own accent and peopke love it they love the way I talk cause they never herd people talk like it yes I can speak like them but I choose not to and to all you idots STOP making a mockery of my language you think you can talk like us but you can’t we don’t spell it as we pronounce it ALL A AIAH STINK CRUTCH BUGGA BATTIE ASSHOLES YEALL TINK I GON LE YEALL MUK ME LANGUAGE YEALL BETTA BRUSH YE TEET FUS CAZE YE MOUT TOO STINK TO HOLD TINGS LIKE DIS do u think guyanese language is just some thing you can pick up off the side walk well it is not is has an art to it is rear so don’t talk about it or like it if you don know what you are writing cause I read some of those things and frankly it is just a bundel of SHIT so type normal cause you need to go back to school and learn about the country and it is call creol english(the language) so leave it alone you peace of shit and shut up about it talk how you speak in school write how you write in school and stop desrespecting my language and learn to spell these words cause they sound rediculas you bunch of idotic rugrats (and this is comming from THE REAL GUYANESE)

    Reply
    • 60. P  |  December 23, 2013 at 10:49 pm

      People just mekkin joke u antiman.

      Reply
    • 61. Anna Lupin  |  March 15, 2017 at 6:41 pm

      A real Guyanese would spell Guyanese correctly and not be a hypocrite criticizing someone’s spelling when they didn’t spell most of the words correctly themselves… And also, did you ever learn punctuation at school? You know, commas and fullstops… I think you should use those when putting up a fight because you are just making a fool out of yourself… I am a Guyanese, and I honestly do not think anything you are saying makes sense… And for future reference, I shall list the spelling of the words you spelt wrong so that you will not make this mistake again… 🙂
      Guyanese*
      Just*
      Can*
      People*
      Because*
      Heard*
      Idiots*
      All of you stink crotch bugger battie ass holes, you think I am going to let you mock my language? You better brush your teeth first because your mouth too stink to hold things like this.*
      Rare*
      Don’t*
      Bundle*
      Normally*
      Because*
      Creole* (And also it is not called Creole English)
      Piece*
      Disrespecting*
      Ridiculous*
      Idiotic*
      Coming*
      And also, I do not wish to be rude, but your paragraph there, was a bundle* of shit.

      Reply
      • 62. Anna Lupin  |  March 15, 2017 at 6:42 pm

        Thank you.

  • 63. Susan  |  January 22, 2014 at 2:15 am

    What does it mean if they call you, bay

    Reply
    • 64. twilightsparkle  |  June 23, 2014 at 3:31 pm

      he means baby

      Reply
      • 65. Terry  |  February 26, 2016 at 4:36 pm

        Bay means boy you dumb ass!

  • 66. Susan  |  January 22, 2014 at 2:27 am

    I have a male friend, guyanese, and sometimes when we get off the phone, or when we are texting, he will call me “bay”, What does he mean?

    Reply
    • 67. twilightsparkle  |  June 23, 2014 at 3:32 pm

      when a guy calls you bay he means baby actually

      Reply
  • 68. Lucy  |  February 10, 2014 at 9:02 pm

    Feeling peckish

    Reply
  • 69. twetty  |  February 13, 2014 at 7:02 pm

    ah suh we stay
    kepin it real

    Reply
  • 70. Linda  |  February 25, 2014 at 8:02 pm

    what does it mean when you give a girl a lime in Guyana?

    Reply
    • 71. Selwyn  |  March 29, 2014 at 12:35 am

      About the lime thing it could mean that you’re trying to see if she’s a “ole higue” or simply you’re taking her out on a date..

      Reply
  • 72. steven  |  August 2, 2014 at 12:22 am

    what do guyanese people call “mad blood”

    Reply
  • 73. S.Moses  |  November 27, 2014 at 5:35 pm

    what does ‘goat bite you’ mean

    Reply
  • 74. Sophia  |  December 14, 2014 at 1:17 pm

    Hey, what is tinsent? Apparently
    its some kind of wood

    Reply
  • 75. lovePeopleSports  |  January 1, 2015 at 3:17 am

    2 bob
    Yacthing Boots
    Ban-na
    Oh skunt baye
    Put-tum ban-na
    Yall dont know GT Skunt

    Reply
  • 76. Bruce Brand  |  January 3, 2015 at 10:44 am

    Guyanese go to fetes

    Reply
  • 77. Yrmama  |  May 15, 2015 at 2:30 am

    There’s debate (as you can see) if this kind of Creole is a legitimate language. Many people want it recognized & protected, see this link:

    Click to access CARIBBEANLANGUAGECharter.pdf

    My in-laws spoke Guyanese (except “pom” instead of “skunt”) …my m-in-law babysat my nieces (in Montreal) so they grew up saying “dowan do dat” and “rass”.

    I’m doing research, which is how I found this site. Did you know some of the words & grammar are from African languages & some are Dutch (often the ones that sound like English pronounced “wrong”) ?

    So, not uneducated or backward, just different.

    Reply
  • 78. Yrmama  |  May 15, 2015 at 2:36 am

    Dictionary of Carribean English (not in a joking way)

    http://www.raco.cat/index.php/linksletters/article/viewFile/49931/189462

    Reply
  • 79. Donna Fraser  |  July 1, 2015 at 10:36 am

    He and she ‘deh’ – Man and woman in a sexual relationship.

    Deh live home – Shacking up without being married.

    He ‘chile muddah’ – Mother of his child.

    You tink a barn yesterday – I’m older and know more than you.

    Reply
  • 80. lakepha douglas  |  September 18, 2015 at 3:56 pm

    Guyana is a land of six different people and we are richly diverse. We have many accents although its one country and we are very proud of it. To answer from a post I saw earlier guyanese men don’t exactly kill their women if they cheat on them. They does give back blow. In some cases its the indo guyanese men who are tender in those areas and they tend to do that. Black people and buck people and dugla and putageese dem does gee back blow. (And another post I saw.) Its not me ah go tek a fresh. Its me ah go hold a fresh. Don’t yall be dissing guyanese people or the way we talk. Cazz nuff ah yall cyann ketch it skunt. And don’t confuse we with we nayba trini

    Reply
  • 81. BRUCE W.  |  September 22, 2015 at 3:14 pm

    I am amazed. Loving the read. But I am still confused. I am writing a script to produce a movie. This movie is going to be produced for the international language.

    Why Guyana?
    My dad and his side of the family was born there. So I would like assistance with the authenticity of the spelling to be create the script of my character properly.

    Thanks.

    Reply
    • 82. Xavier  |  October 1, 2015 at 1:21 am

      Would be glad to assist

      Reply
      • 83. BRUCE WAYNE  |  October 1, 2015 at 5:24 am

        Hi Xavier,

        I live Tobago, my questions are: How would I use the pronunciations so that my actors pronounce the words properly e.g ( In Trinidad they say CUNT ) In Guyana you say (SKUNT) or (Oh SKUNT)

        In Nigeria they use oo or ae after many sentences e.g ( If you don’t bring me de money oo, I will shoot, I will shoot to kill oo.

        How do Guyanese people speak do you have a similar way of speaking?

        Thanks

      • 84. Rayman  |  October 8, 2015 at 1:29 pm

        bruce, its like saying, what de scunt wrang with you? instead of saying What the Cunt wrong with you?
        another one is like saying ohhhhhh SKUNT (an expression as OMG)
        Skunt can also mean that the person is Stupid or an ass. like You’re a SKUNT or by replacing trini CUNT with SKUNT like u SKunt stupid or wah?
        okay bai (y)

  • 85. Afro-Guyanese  |  February 25, 2017 at 7:06 pm

    these comments are funny😂🤣🤣

    Reply
  • 86. Luis  |  February 26, 2017 at 6:11 pm

    How do you say bro i just want let know your girl is cheating on you

    Reply
    • 87. Luis  |  February 26, 2017 at 6:14 pm

      In guyanese

      Reply
  • 88. anna  |  May 8, 2017 at 1:33 pm

    actually coolie means a hard working indian and in india is known as one who takes suitcases off of buses when people are traveling.

    Reply
  • 89. Sybil's eggball  |  March 2, 2018 at 4:49 pm

    Trini to de bone y’all muddas skunt

    Reply
  • 90. John Twyman  |  November 4, 2018 at 1:20 pm

    How do you say temptation???

    Reply

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