Bislama phrasebook

Bislama is a pidgin language used in Vanuatu and is now a creole in urban areas. It essentially combines a typically Melanesian grammar with a mostly English vocabulary. It is the only language that can be understood and spoken by the whole population of Vanuatu, generally as a second language.

Common phrases Me / you - mi / yu Him / her / it (neither masculine nor feminine) this here - hem/ hemia Us /we / all of us - mifala / mifala evriwan You / you (plural) - yu / yufala I do not know/understand - mi no save See you later / ta ta - Lukim yu/ tata I am going now - ale (French derivation of allez) mi go One/ two / three - wan / tu / tri How much (is that) - hamas (long hem) Plenty or many - plenti Filled to capacity / overfilled - fulap / fulap tumas (too much) Day / evening / night - dei / sava (literally supper) / naet Hot / cold - hot / kol What / what is that - wanem / wanem ia (literally wanem here?) Why / why did you - frowanem (for why?) Please / thank you / sorry (very sorry) - plis / tangkyu / sori (sori tumas) - sorry too much Do you know - yu save (pronounced savee)

It is a mixture of phonetic English woven in a loose French sentence structure spoken with ‘local sound' producing some comical outcomes e.g., ladies brassieres or bathing top is called "Basket blong titi"; no offense intended. An excellent Bislama dictionary is available from good book shops: 'A New Bislama Dictionary,' by the late Terry Crowley.

Pronunciation guide

Vowels

Consonants

Common diphthongs

Phrase list

Basics

Common signs OPEN  CLOSED  ENTRANCE  EXIT  PUSH  PULL  TOILET  MEN  WOMEN  FORBIDDEN

Hello. 

. (Halo )

Hello. (informal) 

. ( )

How are you? 

? ( ?)

Fine, thank you. 

. ( )

What is your name? 

? (Wanem nem blong yu?)

My name is ______ . 

______ . (Mi, nem blong mi _____ .)

Nice to meet you. 

. ( )

Please. 

. ( )

Thank you. 

. (tankui )

You're welcome. 

. ( )

Yes. 

. (yes )

No. 

. (no )

Excuse me. (getting attention) 

. ( )

Excuse me. (begging pardon) 

. ( )

I'm sorry. 

. (sori )

Goodbye 

. (lukim yu )

Goodbye (informal) 

. ( )

I can't speak Bislama [well]. 

[ ]. ( [ ])

Do you speak English? 

? (yu save toktok ingish ?)

Is there someone here who speaks English? 

? ( ?)

Help! 

! ( !)

Look out! 

! ( !)

Good morning. 

. (Gud moning)

Good evening. 

. ( )

Good night. 

. (Gud naet)

Good night (to sleep) 

. ( )

I don't understand. 

. ( )

Where is the toilet? 

? ( ?)

Problems

Leave me alone. 

. ( .)

Don't touch me! 

! ( !)

I'll call the police. 

. ( .)

Police! 

! ( !)

Stop! Thief! 

! ! ( ! !)

I need your help. 

. ( .)

It's an emergency. 

. ( .)

I'm lost. 

. ( .)

I lost my bag. 

. ( .)

I lost my wallet. 

. ( .)

I'm sick. 

. ( .)

I've been injured. 

. ( .)

I need a doctor. 

. ( .)

Can I use your phone? 

? ( ?)

Numbers

1 

( )

2 

( )

3 

( )

4 

( )

5 

( )

6 

( )

7 

( )

8 

( )

9 

( )

10 

( )

11 

( )

12 

( )

13 

( )

14 

( )

15 

( )

16 

( )

17 

( )

18 

( )

19 

( )

20 

( )

21 

( )

22 

( )

23 

( )

30 

( )

40 

( )

50 

( )

60 

( )

70 

( )

80 

( )

90 

( )

100 

( )

200 

( )

300 

( )

1,000 

( )

2,000 

( )

1,000,000 

( )

1,000,000,000 

( )

1,000,000,000,000 

( )

number _____ (train, bus, etc.) 

( )

half 

( )

less 

( )

more 

( )

Time

now 

( )

later 

( )

before 

( )

morning 

( )

afternoon 

( )

evening 

( )

night 

( )

Clock time

one o'clock AM 

( )

two o'clock AM 

( )

noon 

( )

one o'clock PM 

( )

two o'clock PM 

( )

midnight 

( )

Duration

_____ minute(s) 

( )

_____ hour(s) 

( )

_____ day(s) 

( )

_____ week(s) 

( )

_____ month(s) 

( )

_____ year(s) 

( )

Days

today 

( )

yesterday 

( )

tomorrow 

( )

this week 

( )

last week 

( )

next week 

( )

Sunday 

( )

Monday 

( )

Tuesday 

( )

Wednesday 

( )

Thursday 

( )

Friday 

( )

Saturday 

( )

Months

January 

Januware ( )

February 

Februrari ( )

March 

Maj ( )

April 

Epril ( )

May 

Mei ( )

June 

Jun ( )

July 

Julae ( )

August 

Ogis ( )

September 

Septemba ( )

October 

Oktoba ( )

November 

Novemba ( )

December 

Desemba ( )

Writing time and date

Colors

black 

( )

white 

( )

gray 

( )

red 

( )

blue 

( )

yellow 

( )

green 

( )

orange 

( )

purple 

( )

brown 

( )

Transportation

Bus and train

How much is a ticket to _____? 

( )

One ticket to _____, please. 

( )

Where does this train/bus go? 

( )

Where is the train/bus to _____? 

( )

Does this train/bus stop in _____? 

( )

When does the train/bus for _____ leave? 

( )

When will this train/bus arrive in _____? 

( )

Directions

How do I get to _____ ? 

( )

...the train station? 

( )

...the bus station? 

( )

...the airport? 

( )

...downtown? 

( )

...the youth hostel? 

( )

...the _____ hotel? 

( )

...the American/Canadian/Australian/British consulate? 

( )

Where are there a lot of... 

( )

...hotels? 

( )

...restaurants? 

( )

...bars? 

( )

...sites to see? 

( )

Can you show me on the map? 

( )

street 

( )

Turn left. 

( )

Turn right. 

( )

left 

( )

right 

( )

straight ahead 

( )

towards the _____ 

( )

past the _____ 

( )

before the _____ 

( )

Watch for the _____. 

( )

intersection 

( )

north 

( )

south 

( )

east 

( )

west 

( )

uphill 

( )

downhill 

( )

Taxi

Taxi! 

( )

Take me to _____, please. 

( )

How much does it cost to get to _____? 

( )

Take me there, please. 

( )

Lodging

Do you have any rooms available? 

( )

How much is a room for one person/two people? 

( )

Does the room come with... 

( )

...bedsheets? 

( )

...a bathroom? 

( )

...a telephone? 

( )

...a TV? 

( )

May I see the room first? 

( )

Do you have anything quieter? 

( )

...bigger? 

( )

...cleaner? 

( )

...cheaper? 

( )

OK, I'll take it. 

( )

I will stay for _____ night(s). 

( )

Can you suggest another hotel? 

( )

Do you have a safe? 

( )

...lockers? 

( )

Is breakfast/supper included? 

( )

What time is breakfast/supper? 

( )

Please clean my room. 

( )

Can you wake me at _____? 

( )

I want to check out. 

( )

Money

Do you accept American/Australian/Canadian dollars? 

( )

Do you accept British pounds? 

( )

Do you accept Euros? 

( )

Do you accept credit cards? 

( )

Can you change money for me? 

( )

Where can I get money changed? 

( )

Can you change a traveler's check for me? 

( )

Where can I get a traveler's check changed? 

( )

What is the exchange rate? 

( )

Where is an automatic teller machine (ATM)? 

( )

Eating

A table for one person/two people, please. 

( )

Can I look at the menu, please? 

( )

Can I look in the kitchen? 

( )

Is there a house specialty? 

( )

Is there a local specialty? 

( )

I'm a vegetarian. 

( )

I don't eat pork. 

( )

I don't eat beef. 

( )

I only eat kosher food. 

( )

Can you make it "lite", please? (less oil/butter/lard) 

( )

fixed-price meal 

( )

a la carte 

( )

breakfast 

( )

lunch 

( )

tea (meal) 

( )

supper 

( )

I want _____. 

( )

I want a dish containing _____. 

( )

chicken 

( )

beef 

( )

fish 

( )

ham 

( )

sausage 

( )

cheese 

( )

eggs 

( )

salad 

( )

(fresh) vegetables 

( )

(fresh) fruit 

( )

bread 

( )

toast 

( )

noodles 

( )

rice 

( )

beans 

( )

May I have a glass of _____? 

( )

May I have a cup of _____? 

( )

May I have a bottle of _____? 

( )

coffee 

( )

tea (drink) 

( )

juice 

( )

(bubbly) water 

( )

(still) water 

( )

beer 

( )

red/white wine 

( )

May I have some _____? 

( )

salt 

( )

black pepper 

( )

butter 

( )

Excuse me, waiter? (getting attention of server)

( )

I'm finished. 

( )

It was delicious. 

( )

Please clear the plates. 

( )

The check, please. 

( )

Bars

Do you serve alcohol? 

( )

Is there table service? 

( )

A beer/two beers, please. 

( )

A glass of red/white wine, please. 

( )

A pint, please. 

( )

A bottle, please. 

( )

_____ (hard liquor) and _____ (mixer), please. 

( )

whiskey 

( )

vodka 

( )

rum 

( )

water 

( )

club soda 

( )

tonic water 

( )

orange juice 

( )

Coke (soda) 

( )

Do you have any bar snacks? 

( )

One more, please. 

( )

Another round, please. 

( )

When is closing time? 

( )

Cheers! 

( )

Shopping

Do you have this in my size? 

( )

How much is this? 

( )

That's too expensive. 

( )

Would you take _____? 

( )

expensive 

( )

cheap 

( )

I can't afford it. 

( )

I don't want it. 

( )

You're cheating me. 

( )

I'm not interested. 

(..)

OK, I'll take it. 

( )

Can I have a bag? 

( )

Do you ship (overseas)? 

( )

I need... 

( )

...toothpaste. 

( )

...a toothbrush. 

( )

...tampons. 

. ( )

...soap. 

( )

...shampoo. 

( )

...pain reliever. (e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen) 

( )

...cold medicine. 

( )

...stomach medicine. 

... ( )

...a razor. 

( )

...an umbrella. 

( )

...sunblock lotion. 

( )

...a postcard. 

( )

...postage stamps. 

( )

...batteries. 

( )

...writing paper. 

( )

...a pen. 

( )

...English-language books. 

( )

...English-language magazines. 

( )

...an English-language newspaper. 

( )

...an English-English dictionary. 

( )

Driving

I want to rent a car. 

( )

Can I get insurance? 

( )

stop (on a street sign) 

( )

one way 

( )

yield 

( )

no parking 

( )

speed limit 

( )

gas (petrol) station 

( )

petrol 

( )

diesel 

( )

Authority

I haven't done anything wrong. 

( )

It was a misunderstanding. 

( )

Where are you taking me? 

( )

Am I under arrest? 

( )

I am an American/Australian/British/Canadian citizen. 

( )

I want to talk to the American/Australian/British/Canadian embassy/consulate. 

( )

I want to talk to a lawyer. 

( )

Can I just pay a fine now? 

( )

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