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.
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
[edit]Bislama pronunciation is generally straightforward for English speakers, as much of the vocabulary is derived from English. However, spelling is very phonetic with Spanish/Italian vowels, which can be misleading to the English speaker: for example, save is "savvy", not "seiv" like "shave".
Vowels
[edit]- a
- like the 'a' in "father" (e.g., wan - one)
- e
- like the 'e' in "bet" (e.g., nem - name)
- i
- like the 'ee' in "see" (e.g., mi - me/I)
- o
- like the 'o' in "go" (e.g., no - no)
- u
- like the 'oo' in "food" (e.g., yu - you)
Consonants
[edit]Consonants are mostly similar to English, with a few key points:
- g
- always hard, like in "go" (e.g., gud - good)
- j
- like the 'ch' in "church" (e.g., jif - chief) - sometimes written as 'ch'.
- h
- often silent, especially at the beginning of words derived from English words starting with 'h' (e.g., ae - eye, from 'eye'). However, it is pronounced in words like halo (hello).
- r
- often rolled or tapped, similar to Spanish 'r'.
- s
- like the 's' in "sun" (e.g., save - know/understand)
- t
- Often unaspirated, sounding closer to 'd' between vowels sometimes.
- ng
- like the 'ng' in "sing" (e.g., long - in/at/on/belonging to)
Stress
[edit]Stress usually falls on the second-to-last syllable, but there are exceptions. Listen to native speakers to get the rhythm.
Grammar
[edit]
Pronoun blong yumi
|
Bislama grammar is surprisingly different from English. Putting together simple phrases is not hard, but you will not become a native speaker overnight.
Bislama has no plurals or conjugations, and it replaces nearly all English prepositions with just two: long and blong.
Long is mostly used to indicate place: next to (along), near, at, to, in, etc.
- Stoa long haos
- The store next to the house.
- Mi stap long stoa
- I am at the store.
- Jea long haos
- The chair in the house.
Blong indicates possession: of, from, belong to.
- Buk blong mi
- The book that belongs to me, my book
- Man blong Amerika
- Man from America, American.
- Man blong dring
- Man of drinking (a drinker)
Most Bislama verbs are formed by taking an English stem and adding the suffix -im/em.
English | Bislama | |
---|---|---|
stem | verb | |
take | tek- | tekem |
show | so- | soem |
look | luk- | lukim |
want | wand- | wandem |
There are a few important exceptions:
- kakae
- 'eat, bite'
- trink
- 'drink'
- save
- 'know', 'able to'
- se
- 'say'
Verbs do not conjugate, but there is a complex set of markers used for tense, aspect, and mood:
- Mi stap kakae taro
- I'm eating taro (ongoing action)
- Mi bin kakae taro
- I have eaten taro (past action that has finished)
- Bae mi kakae taro
- I will eat taro (future/hypothetical action)
The predicate marker i is frequently inserted between the pronoun and the subsequent verbal phrase in ways that defy easy explanation in English. It's often tacked onto the third person pronouns, making them hemi/emi/oli.
- hem i no wantem yam
- he doesn't want yam
- plen i no bin fulap
- the plane was not full
- fish ia i save kilim man
- this fish can kill a person
Phrase list
[edit]Basics
[edit]
Common signs
|
- Hello
- Halo
- How are you?
- Yu oraet? (lit. You alright?) / I gud? (lit. It good?)
- Fine, thank you.
- Mi oraet, tangkyu. / I gud, tangkyu.
- What is your name?
- Wanem nem blong yu?
- My name is ______ .
- Nem blong mi ______ .
- Please
- Plis
- Thank you
- Tangkyu
- Thank you very much
- Tangkyu tumas
- You're welcome
- I oraet / No wori
- Yes
- Yes
- No
- No
- Excuse me. (getting attention)
- Skiusmi.
- Excuse me. (begging pardon)
- Skiusmi. / Sori.
- I'm sorry.
- Mi sori. / Sori tumas.
- Goodbye
- Tata (informal) / Ale lukim yu (lit. OK see you)
- I can't speak Bislama [well].
- Mi no save tok Bislama [gud].
- Do you speak English?
- Yu save tok Inglis?
- Is there someone here who speaks English?
- I gat wan man/woman ia i save tok Inglis?
- Help!
- Helpem mi! / Help!
- Good morning.
- Moning / Gud moning
- Good afternoon.
- Aftenun / Gud aftenun
- Good evening.
- Gudnaet (also used for Good night)
- Good night.
- Gudnaet
- I don't understand.
- Mi no save. / Mi no harem. (lit. I don't hear/feel)
- Where is the toilet?
- Wea toilet i stap? / Toilet i stap wea?
Problems
[edit]- Leave me alone.
- Yu lego mi. / Livim mi.
- Don't touch me!
- Yu no tajem mi!
- I'll call the police.
- Bambae mi kolem polis.
- Police!
- Polis!
- Stop! Thief!
- Stop! Stilman!
- I need your help.
- Mi nidim help blong yu.
- It's an emergency.
- Hemia i wan emergency.
- I'm lost.
- Mi lus.
- I lost my bag.
- Mi lusum bag blong mi.
- I lost my wallet.
- Mi lusum wallet blong mi.
- I'm sick.
- Mi sik.
- I've been injured.
- Mi karem soa. (lit. I got sore/wound) / Mi foldaon. (If from a fall)
- I need a doctor.
- Mi nidim wan dokta.
- Can I use your phone?
- Mi save yusum fon blong yu?
Numbers
[edit]- 1
- Wan
- 2
- Tu
- 3
- Tri
- 4
- Foa
- 5
- Faef
- 6
- Sikis
- 7
- Seven
- 8
- Eit
- 9
- Naen
- 10
- Ten
- 11
- Leven
- 12
- Twelef
- 13
- Totin
- 14
- Fotin
- 15
- Fiftin
- 16
- Sikistin
- 17
- Seventin
- 18
- Eitin
- 19
- Naentin
- 20
- Twenti
- 21
- Twenti wan
- 22
- Twenti tu
- 23
- Twenti tri
- 30
- Teti
- 40
- Foti
- 50
- Fifti
- 60
- Sikisti
- 70
- Seventi
- 80
- Eiti
- 90
- Naenti
- 100
- Wan handred
- 200
- Tu handred
- 500
- Faef handred
- 1,000
- Wan taosen
- 2,000
- Tu taosen
- 1,000,000
- Wan milion
- number _____ (train, bus, etc.)
- namba _____
- half
- haf
- less
- les
- more
- moa
Clock time
[edit]- What time is it?
- Wanem taem nao? / Taem i hamas?
- It's _____ o'clock.
- Hem i _____ klok.
- It's half past _____.
- Hem i haf pas _____.
- It's quarter past _____.
- Hem i kwota pas _____.
- It's quarter to _____.
- Hem i kwota tu _____.
- morning
- moningtaem / long moning
- afternoon
- aftenun / long aftenun
- evening
- naet / long naet
- midnight
- medol naet
Duration
[edit]- _____ minute(s)
- _____ minit
- _____ hour(s)
- _____ aoa
- _____ day(s)
- _____ dei
- _____ week(s)
- _____ wik
- _____ month(s)
- _____ manis
- _____ year(s)
- _____ yia
Days
[edit]- today
- tudei
- yesterday
- yestedei
- tomorrow
- tumora
- this week
- wik ia
- last week
- las wik
- next week
- nekis wik
- Sunday
- Sande
- Monday
- Mande
- Tuesday
- Tuste
- Wednesday
- Wenesde
- Thursday
- Tosde
- Friday
- Fraede
- Saturday
- Sarere
Months
[edit]Months are usually the English names, sometimes slightly adapted.
- January
- Janueri
- February
- Februeri
- March
- Maj
- April
- Epril
- May
- Mei
- June
- Jun
- July
- Julae
- August
- Ogis
- September
- Septemba
- October
- Oktoba
- November
- Novemba
- December
- Disemba
Writing time and date
[edit]Dates are typically written Day-Month-Year, e.g., 5 Epril 2025.
Colors
[edit]- black
- blak / blakbala
- white
- waet / waetbala
- gray
- grei / greibala
- red
- red / redfala
- blue
- blu / blufala
- yellow
- yelo / yelofala
- green
- grin / grinfala
- orange
- orenj / orenjfala
- purple
- pepol / pepolfala
- brown
- braon / braonfala
Note: The '-fala' suffix often acts like '-ish' or '-colored', or simply as an adjective marker.
Transportation
[edit]Bus and train
[edit](Note: Vanuatu primarily relies on buses/minibuses and taxis, there are no trains.)
- How much is a ticket to _____?
- Tiket i go long _____ hem i hamas?
- One ticket to _____, please.
- Wan tiket i go long _____, plis.
- Where does this bus/minibus go?
- Bus/Minibus ia i go wea?
- Where is the bus stop?
- Wea bus stop i stap?
- Does this bus stop in _____?
- Bus ia i stop long _____?
- When does the bus for _____ leave?
- Wanem taem bus blong _____ i aot?
- Bus
- Bus / Minibus
- Taxi
- Taksi
Directions
[edit]- How do I get to _____ ?
- Olsem wanem mi go long _____? / Rod i go long _____ i olsem wanem?
- ...the airport?
- ...epot?
- ...the market?
- ...maket?
- ...the tourist information office?
- ...turis ofis?
- ...the post office?
- ...pos ofis?
- ...the bank?
- ...bank?
- Where are there a lot of...
- Wea i gat plante...
- ...hotels?
- ...hotel?
- ...restaurants?
- ...restaurant? / ...ples blong kakae?
- ...bars?
- ...bar?
- Can you show me on the map?
- Yu save soem mi long map?
- Street
- Rod / Stret
- Turn left.
- Yu tanem lef.
- Turn right.
- Yu tanem raet.
- left
- lef / lefsaed
- right
- raet / raetsaed
- straight ahead
- stret / stretahed
- towards the _____
- go long _____
- past the _____
- pas long _____
- before the _____
- bifo long _____
- Intersection
- janksen / ples wea tu rod i mit
- North
- Not
- South
- Saot
- East
- Is
- West
- Wes
- uphill
- antap long hil / go antap
- downhill
- daon long hil / go daon
Taxi
[edit]- Taxi!
- Taksi!
- Take me to _____, please.
- Yu tekem mi i go long _____, plis.
- How much does it cost to go to _____?
- Hamas blong go long _____? / Charge blong go long _____ i hamas?
- Take me there, please.
- Tekem mi i go long ples ia, plis.
Accommodation
[edit]- Do you have any rooms available?
- I gat rum i stap yet? / Yu gat rum?
- How much is a room for one person/two people?
- Wan rum blong wan man/tu man hem i hamas?
- Does the room come with...
- Long rum ia i gat...
- ...a bathroom?
- ...toilet/bathroom?
- ...a shower?
- ...shaoa?
- ...a telephone?
- ...telefon?
- ...a TV?
- ...TV?
- May I see the room first?
- Mi save luk rum fastaem?
- Do you have anything quieter?
- Yu gat samting wea i kwaet moa?
- ...bigger?
- ...i bigwan moa?
- ...cleaner?
- ...i klin moa?
- ...cheaper?
- ...i jip moa?
- OK, I'll take it.
- Oraet, bambae mi tekem.
- I will stay for _____ night(s).
- Bambae mi stap long _____ naet.
- Can you suggest another hotel?
- Yu save talem nem blong narawan hotel?
- Do you have a safe?
- Yu gat sef?
- Is breakfast/supper included?
- Brekfast/sapa i stap insaed? (lit. Breakfast/supper is inside?)
- What time is breakfast/supper?
- Wanem taem blong brekfast/sapa?
- Please clean my room.
- Yu klinim rum blong mi, plis.
- Can you wake me at _____?
- Yu save wekem mi long _____ klok?
- I want to check out.
- Mi wantem jek aot. / Mi wantem finis.
Money
[edit]The currency is the Vanuatu Vatu (VUV).
- Do you accept credit cards?
- Yu save tekem kredit kad?
- Can you change money for me?
- Yu save jenjem mani blong mi?
- Where can I change money?
- Wea mi save jenjem mani?
- Where is an ATM?
- Wea ATM i stap? / Wea maşin blong kas i stap?
- Money
- Mani
- Bank
- Bank
- Vatu (currency)
- Vatu
Eating
[edit]- A table for one person/two people, please.
- Wan tebol blong wan man/tu man, plis.
- Can I look at the menu, please?
- Mi save luk menu, plis?
- I'm a vegetarian.
- Mi vegeterian. / Mi no kakae mit.
- I don't eat pork.
- Mi no kakae pig.
- I don't eat beef.
- Mi no kakae bif.
- breakfast
- brekfast
- lunch
- lanj
- supper/dinner
- sapa
- I want _____.
- Mi wantem _____.
- I want a dish containing _____.
- Mi wantem kakae wea i gat _____ insaed.
- chicken
- jikin
- beef
- bif / buluk
- fish
- fis
- pork
- pig
- cheese
- jis
- eggs
- eg
- salad
- salad
- (fresh) vegetables
- (fres) vejtabol / gras (leafy greens)
- (fresh) fruit
- (fres) frut
- bread
- bred
- rice
- raes
- beans
- bin
- May I have a glass of _____?
- Mi save karem wan glas _____?
- May I have a cup of _____?
- Mi save karem wan kap _____?
- May I have a bottle of _____?
- Mi save karem wan botel _____?
- coffee
- kofi
- tea (drink)
- ti
- juice
- jus
- (bubbly) water
- (gas) wota
- water
- wota
- beer
- bia
- red/white wine
- red/waet waen
- May I have some _____?
- Mi save karem smol _____?
- salt
- sol
- black pepper
- blak pepa
- butter
- bata
- Excuse me, waiter? (getting attention)
- Skiusmi weita/wetres! (or just call 'boe'/'gel' informally but politely)
- I'm finished.
- Mi finis.
- It was delicious.
- I bin gud tumas. / Kakae i bin swit. (lit. Food was sweet/tasty)
- Please clear the plates.
- Yu tekemaot plet, plis.
- The check, please.
- Bil, plis. / Mi save pem nao? (lit. Can I pay now?)
Bars
[edit]
Kava i strong tumas
Most bars in Vanuatu serve kava, not alcohol. Kava bars are also known as nakamals and kava is traditionally sold by the coconut shell, although these days plastic bowls filled to order by price (100 vatu, 200 vatu etc) are also common. |
- Do you serve alcohol?
- Yu salem alkahol? / Yu gat bia/waen?
- Is there table service?
- Servis i stap long tebol?
- A beer/two beers, please.
- Wan bia/tu bia, plis.
- A glass of red/white wine, please.
- Wan glas red/waet waen, plis.
- A bottle, please.
- Wan botel, plis.
- whisky
- wiski
- vodka
- vodka
- rum
- ram
- water
- wota
- orange juice
- orenj jus
- Coke (soda)
- Kok (or brand name) / soft drink
- Do you have any bar snacks?
- Yu gat washemaot? (lit. "wash the mouth", chaser)
- One more, please.
- Wan moa, plis.
- Another round, please.
- Nara raon, plis.
- When is closing time?
- Wanem taem yu klos?
- Cheers!
- Jeas!
Shopping
[edit]- Do you have this in my size?
- Yu gat hemia long saes blong mi?
- How much is this?
- Hamas long hemia?
- That's too expensive.
- Hemia i sas tumas.
- Would you take _____?
- Yu save tekem _____? (Offering a lower price)
- expensive
- sas
- cheap
- jip
- I can't afford it.
- Mi no gat naf mani long hemia. / Mi no save pem.
- I don't want it.
- Mi no wantem.
- You're cheating me.
- Yu trikim mi. / Yu lai long mi.
- I'm not interested.
- Mi no intres. / Mi no wantem.
- OK, I'll take it.
- Oraet, bambae mi tekem.
- Can I have a bag?
- Mi save karem wan bag?
- I need...
- Mi nidim...
- ...toothpaste.
- ...tutpes.
- ...a toothbrush.
- ...tutbras.
- ...soap.
- ...sop.
- ...shampoo.
- ...shampu.
- ...pain reliever. (e.g., aspirin or paracetamol)
- ...medesin blong hed/so. (medicine for head/sore)
- ...cold medicine.
- ...medesin blong kolkol.
- ...stomach medicine.
- ...medesin blong bel.
- ...a razor.
- ...resa.
- ...batteries.
- ...batri.
- ...writing paper.
- ...pepa blong raet.
- ...a pen.
- ...pen.
- ...English-language books.
- ...buk long Inglis.
- ...English-language magazines.
- ...magasin long Inglis.
- ...an English-language newspaper.
- ...niuspepa long Inglis.
- ...an English-Bislama dictionary.
- ...wan diksonari Inglis-Bislama.
Driving
[edit](Note: Driving is on the right in Vanuatu.)
- I want to rent a car.
- Mi wantem haerem wan kar.
- Can I get insurance?
- Mi save karem insurens?
- stop (on a street sign)
- STOP
- one way
- WAN WEI
- no parking
- NO PAKING
- speed limit
- SPID LIMIT
- gas (petrol) station
- gas stesen / petrol stesen
- petrol
- petrol / gas
- diesel
- disel
Authority
[edit]- I haven't done anything wrong.
- Mi no mekem wan samting we i rong.
- It was a misunderstanding.
- Hemia i wan mistek nomo. / Mifala i no harem gud nomo.
- Where are you taking me?
- Yu tekem mi i go wea?
- Am I under arrest?
- Mi stap anda long ares? / Yu arestem mi?
- I am an Australian/British/Canadian/American citizen.
- Mi wan man Ostrelia/Inglan/Kanada/Amerika.
- I want to talk to the Australian/British/Canadian/American embassy/consulate.
- Mi wantem tok tok wetem embasi/konsulet blong Ostrelia/Inglan/Kanada/Amerika.
- I want to talk to a lawyer.
- Mi wantem tok tok wetem wan loya.
- Can I just pay a fine now?
- Mi save pem wan faen naoia nomo?
Learning more
[edit]- Listen to locals speak. Many Ni-Vanuatu are happy to help you learn a few words.
- Look for Bislama dictionaries or phrasebooks in bookshops in Port Vila or Luganville.
- Radio Vanuatu's Lisen Live can be streamed for free online.