In general Papiamentu sounds a lot like Spanish or Portuguese. If you have studied Spanish or Portuguese in the past, most of the vowels and consonants in Papiamentu will already be familiar to you. However, there will be a few surprises. Some aspects of the grammar of Papiamentu are very different from Spanish and Portuguese, and they are not mutually intelligible with Papiamentu.
The basic word order of Papiamentu is SUBJECT-VERB-OBJECT.
Spanish and Portuguese permits the dropping of the subject of a sentence and rearranging of indirect and direct object pronouns. Papiamentu does not permit these.
| Papiamentu | English | Spanish/Portuguese |
| Bo a dunami e buki. | You gave me the book. | (Tú) me diste el libro.
(Tu) me deste o livro. |
| Bo a dunami e. | You gave me it. | (Tú) me lo diste.
(Tu) me o deste. |
Papiamentu does not change the order of the subject and verb when forming a question.
| Papiamentu | English | Spanish/Portuguese |
| Abo ta bai skol? | Do you go to school? | Va Ud. a la escuela?
Tu vais à escola? |
1. Orthography and Pronunciation
| Letter | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | a | be | ce / se | de | e | ef / èf | ge | ha | i |
| Letter | J | K | L | M | N | Ñ | O | P | Q |
| Name | ye | ka | el / èl | em / èm | en / èn | eñe | o | pe | ku / kü |
| Letter | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
| Name | er / èr | es / ès | te | u | ve | we | eks | igrek / igrèk | zet / zèt |
The Orthography
Aruba uses a very Spanish-like spelling system. The Aruban orthography is more etymological in nature and the orthography of the Curaçao dialect is more phonemic, in which the /k/ sound is always represented by the letter k and the /s/ sound is always represented by the letter s. Among the differences between the two dialects, one obvious difference is the way the name of the language is written. In Aruba it is called Papiamento, while in Curaçao it is called Papiamentu. Though what is spoken on Bonaire isn’t a separate dialect, there it is sometimes called Papiamen. The governments of Curaçao and Aruba formally accepted orthographic rules according to their dialects in 1976 and 1977, respectively.
Download pdf Buki di Oro – Ortografia i Lista di Palabra Papiamentu (di Kòrsou) (online search) (Orthography and List of words in Papiamentu – Curaçao and Bonaire)
Download pdf Vocabulario di Papiamento (di Aruba) (online search) (Vocabulary of Papiamento – orthography of Aruba)
1.1. Consonants
Double consonants and digraphs
Consonants are seldom doubled in Papiamentu. According to the orthographies of both dialects, this only occurs when a word takes on a prefix, e.g. in- as in innatural (unnatural), or a suffix, e.g. -nan as in pannan (breads). In Papiamentu, numerals are written as one word, e.g. dosshen (two hundred) and are another example of where consonants may appear twice, but in Papiamentu they are not, e.g. dos cien/shen. In Aruban Papiamento, where the letter c is often used, the first c in words like acceso and occidente is pronounced [k].
The four official digraphs are ch, dj, sh and zj, representing [tʃ], [dʒ], [ʃ] and [ʒ] respectively. The combination sc appears in Papiamentu in loan words such as adolescente, but it is not considered a digraph.
ch in Papiamentu sounds like the ch in the English word chip
dj in Papiamentu sounds like the letter j in the English words juice and jam
sh in Papiamentu sounds the same as it does in the English word ship
zj in Papiamentu sounds like the j in the French word bonjour and the z in the English word azure
Regular consonants
b, f, k, and m have the same sounds in Papiamentu as in English.
d as in English. In Papiamentu, d is sometimes devoiced. In other words, it may sound like t at the end of a word.
g: There are 3 rules for pronouncing this letter.
1) Before a, l, o, ò, r and u, g is pronounced as in the English word go.
2) When it occurs before e, è, or i, the letter g is pronounced with a “guttural” sound like the ch in the German word achtung and the ch in the Scottish word loch.
3) In the letter combinations gue and gui, the u is silent but it indicates that the g is pronounced as in the English words guest and guide.
h as in the English words heat and hop.
l is similar to the l in English lamp and light.
n as in English. At the end of a word, Papiamentu’s n is often pronounced like the ng in the English word sing. The Papiamentu word tin rhymes with the English word sing.
ñ is like the ny in the English word canyon and the ni in onion.
p approximately the same as in English, but “less explosive” according to Goilo, which probably means less aspirated or not aspirated.
r is most often pronounced as an alveolar trill or tap (resulting from Spanish/Portuguese influence).
s as in the English word sassy.
t is similar to the t in English taught but the exact place of articulation might be different, and Papiamentu’s t might not be aspirated.
v : There are 3 rules for pronouncing this letter.
1) v sounds like English f in some words of Dutch origin.
2) v sounds like English v in words of English origin.
3) In words of Spanish origin, Goilo says v can sound like the “soft Spanish b” (a voiced bilabial fricative consonant in which the lips come close but don’t actually touch).
w as in the English word water.
y as in the English words yoyo and yard.
z as in the English word zone.
Retired consonants
The letter Q is not generally used in writing the Curaçao dialect of Papiamentu.
Except when it’s part of the digraph “ch,” the letter C is also not generally used.
Words that used to be spelled with X have been respelled with “ks” in the official Curaçao orthography: exacto has become eksakto.
You may occasionally see these “retired” letters in proper nouns (such as people’s names or the names of countries), in older texts, in other dialects of Papiamentu, in loanwords from English or Spanish, etc.
International Phonetic Alphabet
| Spelling | Value in Papiamentu (Aruba) (IPA) |
Examples | Value in Papiamentu (Curaçao, Bonaire) (IPA) |
Examples | Exceptions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| b | /b/ | bala, caba | /b/ | bibu, fabor | ||
| ca | before ⟨e⟩, ⟨i⟩ | /s/ | merece, haci | /s/ | Cecilia | In Papiamentu, the ⟨c⟩ has a /ʃ/ sound in words ending in -cion. |
| elsewhere | /k/ | caminda, cla | /k/ | Caracas | ||
| chb | /tʃ/ | chikito | /tʃ/ | chapi | ||
| d | /d/ | documento, dal | /d/ | duru, dede | In Papiamentu, the ⟨d⟩ has a /t/ sound when final in words ending in -dad, -tad, -tud. In Papiamentu, they are written as -dat, -tat and -tut. | |
| djb | /dʒ/ | djaca | /dʒ/ | djente | ||
| f | /f/ | fama | /f/ | fòrki | ||
| g | before ⟨e⟩, ⟨i⟩, final | /x/ | gesto, mag | /x/ | margen, brùg | |
| before unstressed ⟨e⟩, elsewhere | /ɡ/ | garganta, sanger | /ɡ/ | gosa, mangel | ||
| h | /h/ | hasta, habilidad | /h/ | hari, heru | ||
| ja | /j/ /x/ |
jong, jas Juan |
/j/ /x/ |
Jan Thiel Julia |
Some places still maintain their old spelling, e.g. Salinja. Here the ⟨nj⟩ is pronounced /ɲ/. | |
| k | /k/ | kishiki, kere | /k/ | kenta, sekreto | ||
| l | /l/ | lista, laba | /l/ | lesa, kla | ||
| m | /m/ | mucha, premio | /m/ | man, lampi | ||
| n | before ⟨co⟩, ⟨cu⟩, ⟨g⟩, ⟨k⟩, final except after stressed vowel |
/ŋ/ | mango, pan | /ŋ/ | anker, bon | In Papiamentu, ⟨c⟩ followed by ⟨o⟩ or ⟨u⟩ would be pronounced as a /k/ (see below), thus having the same effect on the ⟨n⟩ as ⟨k⟩ would. |
| elsewhere | /n/ | natural, tene, algun | /n/ | nechi, hende, tempran | ||
| ñ | /ɲ/ | aña, soño | /ɲ/ | baña, ñapa | ||
| p | /p/ | pipa, adopta | /p/ | palu, sapu | ||
| qa | /k/ | quesillo | /k/ | Quebec | ||
| r | /r/ | tera, rosa | /r/ | barba, poder | ||
| s | /s/ | saya, sucu | /s/ | krus, pasa | In Papiamentu, the ⟨s⟩ has a /ʃ/ sound in words ending in -sion. In Papiamentu, it is written as -shon. | |
| sc | /s/ | adolescente, piscina | ||||
| shb | /ʃ/ | shimis | /ʃ/ | shete | ||
| t | /t/ | tin, tata | /t/ | trapi, ritmo | ||
| v | /b/ /v/ |
viuda divorcio |
/v/ | verbo, vitamina | ||
| w | /w/ | wega | /w/ | wowo | ||
| xa | /ks/ or /kʃ/ | /ks/ or /kʃ/ | conexion, reflexionc | In any other loan word, the ⟨x⟩ maintains its pronunciation as it is in its language of origin. | ||
| y | /j/ | yama, haya | /j/ | yuda, kayente | ||
| z | /z/ | zona | /z/ | zeta | In Papiamentu, the ⟨z⟩ has a /s/ sound in words ending in -eza, -anza or with a ⟨z⟩. In Papiamentu, they are written as -esa and -ansa. | |
| zjb | /ʒ/ | zjeito | /ʒ/ | zjar | ||
- ^a The letter ⟨c⟩ appears almost only in proper names in Papiamentu. The letters ⟨j⟩, ⟨q⟩ and ⟨x⟩ are exclusively used in loan words and names in both dialects.
- ^b ⟨ch⟩, ⟨dj⟩, ⟨sh⟩ and ⟨zj⟩ are the four official digraphs of Papiamentu.
- ^c Words ending in -xion are the only words in Papiamentu with the letter ⟨x⟩.
1.2. Vowels
a in Papiamentu sounds similar to the a in Spanish padre or the a in English father
e in Papiamentu is like the e in Spanish mesa, Dutch heer; this is like a purer version of the vowel in the English word they (without the glide towards an “ee as in free” sound).
i in Papiamentu usually sounds like the i in the English words ski, police and machine. In a few words of Dutch or English origin it sounds like the i in the English words stick and tin. Sometimes i is like the y in English yawn and yet; this occurs in piesa and sabio which are both two-syllable words.
o in Papiamentu sounds like o in Spanish and Italian; similar to the o in the English word note but purer.
u in Papiamentu usually sounds like the u in the English word truth. When followed by another vowel, u is usually pronounced like the English letter w; this occurs in words like kuadra, kuenta, kuido.
ü (the letter u with two dots – diaeresis or trema – above it) in Papiamentu is pronounced like the ü in German. It represents the sound [y]. This vowel does not exist in English. You can approximate it by pronouncing the “ee” vowel of the English word “free” while rounding your lips into a circular pucker as if you were going to kiss someone. This vowel only occurs in a few Papiamentu words; notable examples are hür (to rent or lease something) and minüt (a minute).
the vowels with diacritics (`), (´)
The Papiamentu dialect of Curaçao and Bonaire is the only one of the two that makes use of the grave accent ⟨`⟩ and the acute accent ⟨´⟩. The grave accent is used to distinguish one vowel from another, while the acute accent is used to indicate stress within a word. The letters ⟨è⟩, ⟨ò⟩, and ⟨ù⟩ represent the sounds [ɛ], [ɔ], and [ʏ] respectively.
è (the letter e with a grave accent) represents the vowel that occurs in the English words bed and stem. Papiamentu words containing this vowel include pèn (pen), ènkel (ankle), sèntwich (sandwich).
ò (the letter o with a grave accent) represents the vowel that occurs in the Dutch word kok. This sound does not exist as a distinct phoneme in all regional varieties of English, but if you think of the way dog is pronounced in New England (northeastern US), you may get the idea. Papiamentu words containing this vowel include shòt (injection / scene in a film), dòkter (doctor), stòf (dust / drizzling rain).
ù (the letter u with a grave accent) does not exist in English; it occurs in the German word über.
further thoughts about the vowels
To get the distinction between e and è right, English-speakers might want to think of e as a cross between the vowels in ten and tin, and think of è as halfway between the vowels heard in the English words bet and bad. But really, the only hope of pronouncing a new language correctly is to listen to native speakers very carefully and imitate them.
Stress affects the pronunciation of vowels especially in casual, rapid speech. Unstressed a and e become very schwa-like.
International Phonetic Alphabet
| Spelling | Value in Papiamentu (Aruba) (IPA) |
Examples | Value in Papiamentu (Curaçao, Bonaire) (IPA) |
Examples | Exceptions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | /a/ | algun, cas, ora | /a/ | antes, banko, dobla | ||
| ai | /ai̯/ | baile | /ai̯/ | gai | In Papiamentu, rewritten -⟨ay⟩ when at the end of a word. | |
| au | /au̯/ | aumenta | /au̯/ | aunke | ||
| e | (often) stressed | /e/ | regla, centro | /e/ | tres, pone | |
| unstressed | /ə/ | tiger, separabel | /ə/ | mangel, agradabel | ||
| in loan words | /ɛ/ | letter | ||||
| èa | /ɛ/ | kèlki, skèr | ||||
| eib | /ɛi̯/ | feita, reina | /ɛi̯/ | kabei, preis | Pronounced /ei̯/ in words incorporating the word ei, meaning there. In Papiamentu, -⟨ei⟩ is rewritten -⟨ey⟩ when at the end of a word. | |
| eu | /eu̯/ | leu | /eu̯/ | pareu | ||
| i | elsewhere | /i/ | igual, skirbi | /i/ | tin, bini | |
| unstressed before vowel | /j/ | papia, ciudad | /j/ | kambio, bientu | ||
| iau | /i̯au̯/ | miau | ||||
| ieu | /i̯eu̯/ | bieu | /i̯eu̯/ | pieu | ||
| ioub | /i̯ɔu̯/ | bakiou | ||||
| o | /o/ /ɔ/ |
solo, cos dobel |
/o/ | toro, otro | ||
| òa | /ɔ/ | bòl, sòpi | ||||
| oi | /oi̯/ | roi | In Papiamentu, rewritten -⟨oy⟩ when at the end of a word. | |||
| òia | /ɔi̯/ | plòis | ||||
| oub | /ɔu̯/ | cambou | /ɔu̯/ | blou, Kòrsou | ||
| u | elsewhere | /u/ /ʏ/ |
cura, mesun augustus |
/u/ | buki, tur | |
| unstressed before vowel | /w/ | pueblo, cuida | /w/ | kuater, fuerte | Where ⟨gui⟩ and ⟨gue⟩ are written, the ⟨u⟩ is silent. In Papiamentu, -⟨ui⟩ is rewritten -⟨uy⟩ when at the end of a word. | |
| ùa | /ʏ/ | bùs, yùfrou | ||||
| ùi | /ʏi̯/ | brùin, flùit | ||||
| üa | /y/ | hür | ||||
| uai | /u̯ai̯/ | zuai | ||||
| ueib | /u̯ɛi̯/ | zuei | ||||
| yc | /i/ | y | ||||
- ^a ⟨e⟩, ⟨o⟩ and ⟨u⟩ are not modified in Papiamentu (Aruba) to represent the sounds [ɛ], [ɔ], [ʏ] or [y].
- ^b Provided the frequency with which ⟨ei⟩ and ⟨ou⟩ appear in Papiamentu (Curaçao, Bonaire), it is not required to use the grave accent, i.e. ⟨èi⟩ or ⟨òu⟩ when [ɛi̯] or [ɔw] is heard.
- ^c The word y (meaning “and”) is the only example of ⟨y⟩ as a vowel and only appears in Papiamentu (in Papiamentu, the word is written as i).
1.3. Diphthongs
Papiamentu uses several diphthongs. Many of them also exist in English. Papiamentu bai souns like English buy and by. Papiamentu’s diphthong ei sounds like the ay in English day, therefore teip sounds like tape. When ia is a diphthong it has a “yah” sound as in the last syllable of papaya. The sounds [ɛ] and [ɔ] appear often in Papiamentu.
| Descending diphthongs | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [ai̯] | baile | ‘dance’ | [au̯] | fauna | ‘fauna’ |
| [ei̯] | esei | ‘that (there)’ | [ɛi̯] | preis | ‘price’ |
| [eu̯] | leu | ‘far’ | [ɔi̯] | djòin | ‘join’ |
| [oi̯] | morkoi | ‘tortoise’ | [ɔu̯] | abou | ‘down’ |
| [ʏi̯] | dùim | ‘thumb’ | |||
| Ascending diphthongs | |||||
| [ja] | rabia | ‘anger’ | [wa] | suave | ‘smooth’ |
| [je] | piedra | ‘rock’ | [we] | prueba | ‘proof’ |
| — | [wi] | ruina | ‘ruin’ | ||
| [jo] | avion | ‘aeroplane’ | [wo] | residuo | ‘residue’ |
| [ju] | viuda | ‘widow’ | |||
1.4. Stress
“Stress” refers to pronouncing one syllable more loudly than the other syllables in a word.
The stress in most words can be determined by these rules:
1) When a word ends with a vowel, the next-to-last syllable is stressed.
Examples: hende, ayuda, kabana, papiamentu
2) When a word ends with a consonant, the final syllable is stressed.
Examples: nashonal, popular
When a word does not obey the above rules, an acute accent mark indicates the syllable that is stressed. Examples: fásil, fonétiko, Perú
There are some variations that will seem like exceptions to the above rules. Some words of Spanish origin are accented on the next-to-last syllable even though they end in consonants, for example nomber. When the suffix -nan is added to a noun the stress does not move onto nan even though nan ends with a consonant.
NOTE: Stress is not the same thing as tone. Some Papiamentu words, especially two-syllable words, have a distinctive tone pattern.
1.5.Tone
The phenomenon is especially noticeable in two-syllable verbs. This system of intonation is difficult to describe in text. Goilo wrote, “The verbs of two syllables have a melodious accent… You just have to hear them pronounced.”
Thirty or 40 years ago it was common for people to believe that each syllable in a Papiamentu word has a fixed tone: high or low. Recently professional linguists have been measuring the actual tone contours of Papiamentu words and phrases. Some of them believe the situation is more complex.
Raúl Römer (in Studies in Papiamentu Tonology, 1991) noted that the tone contours of a particular word can change depending on whether the sentence containing it is affirmative, negative, interrogative or imperative.
Remijsen and van Heuven concluded that it is more accurate to speak of rising and falling tone rather than high and low. They write, “The majority of words have rising pitch on the stressed syllable in the citation form and when focused in an affirmative declarative sentence. Most disyllabic verbs, however, have falling pitch on the penultimate syllable and rising pitch on the final syllable in the same contexts.” They believe the rising tone in both types of words is a signal of focus prominence – a signal that is moved elsewhere in certain discursive situations.
It is also important to mention that the intonation of words and phrases varies from island to island. Indeed, this is one of the most noticeable differences between the spoken dialects of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.
For the student of Papiamentu, all this data adds up to one conclusion: When you are practicing, you must focus your attention on imitating every detail of your teacher’s or model’s speech. You must train your ear not only to recognize vowels and consonants but also to notice the “melody” of phrases and sentences.
1.6. Contractions
In both dialects, phonological elision often takes place in colloquial speech and writing and orthographic rules take these contractions into account. The orthographic rules of Papiamentu in particular discourage the use of contractions, recommending that words be spelt out in full as much as possible. The most common contractions involve the words ta (to be), pa (to, for), di (of), no (no, not) and e (him/her/it, the).
pronoun + a
mi a traha > m’a traha (I worked)
bo a traha > b’a traha (You worked)
e a traha > el’a traha (He/She/It worked)
This combination rule does not apply to “nos” or “boso“.
ta > t’
Ta is only contracted when followed by a word with a vowel. T’ is always affixed to the word following it, e.g. e ta aki > e t’aki (he/she/it is here).
pa > p’
Pa is contracted in the same way as ta, e.g. ta pa esei, ta pa esey mi ta bai > ta p’esei, ta p’esey mi ta bai (that’s why I am going)
di > ’i
Di may be contracted whether preceded by a vowel or consonant, e.g. saku/saco di lamunchi > sak’i/sac’i lamunchi (sack of limes), kas/cas di Juan > ka’i/ca’i Juan (John’s house).
’i is only affixed to the word preceding it if a phoneme is dropped from the preceding word as well, e.g. peña di Sandra > peñ’i Sandra (Sandra’s comb), but brel di solo > brel ’i solo (sunglasses).
In some cases, words ending in an unstressed -er like boter/bòter (bottle) may be contracted without the use of an apostrophe, e.g. boter/bòter di awa > botr’i/bòtr’i awa (bottle of water) and not bot’r’i/bòt’r’i awa.
Note: the pronunciation of Papiamento words with a [k] does not change when such words are contracted with di or e, i.e. the [k] in sac’i lamunchi, though followed by an ⟨i⟩, retains its [k] sound.
no > n’
Mi no tin > Mi n’tin (i don’t have)
Nan no sa > Nan n’sa (they don’t know)
Bo no ta > Bo n’ ta (you are not)
E no ta ei > E n’t’ei (He/she is not there).
E no ta aki > E n’t’aki (He/she/it is not here).
e > ’e / ’é / ele
E is contracted when preceded by a word with a vowel, e.g. Anna lo manda e > Anna lo mand’e / mand’é (Anna will send it). Mi ta duna’ e e > Mi ta duna’élé (I give it to him/her). Ku e > kuné (with him/her/it). Di e > di dje (his, hers). Pa e > p’é (for him/her).
Because e is stressed and changes the stress of the word to which it is affixed, it is always accented in Papiamentu when contracted, e.g. nos a traha e > nos a trah’é (we made it). If the verb ends in i, it retains this i: Mi ta skirbi é > Mi ta skirbié
| –> Mi (I) | E ta duna mi e
m’é |
E ta dunam’é He gives it to me |
| –> Bo (You) | E ta duna bo e
b’é |
E ta dunab’é He gives it to you |
| –> E (he/she/it) | E ta duna e e
élé |
E ta dun’élé He gives it to him/her/it |
| –> Nos (We) | E ta duna nos e
Ø – without Contractions |
E ta duna nos é He gives it to us |
| –> Boso (You) | E ta duna bos e
Ø – without Contractions |
E ta duna bos é He gives it to you |
| –> Nan (They) | E ta duna nan e
Ø – without Contractions |
E ta duna nan é He gives it to them |
2. Article
The definite article, corresponding to English the, is e.
The indefinite article, corresponding to English a or an, is un.
buki : book
e buki : the book
un buki: a book
The articles are not used as often in Papiamentu as in English.
NOTE: The word e also serves as a pronoun meaning he, she, or it.
3. Plurals
The plural form of a noun can be indicated by adding the suffix -nan. However, -nan is not normally used when context or shared knowledge makes it clear that the noun represents more than one thing.
E bukinan ta riba mesa.
The books are on the table.
Mi tin hopi buki.
I have many books.
NOTE: When the definite article precedes a plural noun, -nan normally is used.
Mi a bishitá e tres islanan.
I visited the three islands.
According to Goilo, Papiamentu speakers occasionally move the -nan suffix to the adjective that comes after the noun, as in e kas bunitanan (the beautiful houses).
NOTE: As a freestanding word, nan serves as a pronoun meaning they or them.
4. Pronouns
4.1. Personal Pronouns
The personal pronouns are:
mi : I, me
bo : you
e : he, him, she, her, it
nos : we, us
boso : you (plural)
nan : they, them
These pronouns remain unchanged regardless of whether they are the subject or object of a verb (unlike their English counterparts). Some examples:
Mi ta tende bo.
I hear you.
Bo ta tende mi?
Do you hear me?
VARIANTS: Sometimes ami is used in place of mi and abo sometimes substitutes for bo. E becomes el when it appears before the past tense indicator a.
IMPORTANT: It is considered rude to use bo when speaking to strangers and people you barely know. Rather than bo you should use Señor or Meneer (equivalent to English “sir“) or Señora (equivalent to “Ma’am“). Alternatively, use the other person’s name.
4.2. Possessive Pronouns
mi : my
bo : your
su : his, her, its
nos : our
boso : your (plural)
nan : their
The words listed above behave like adjectives. The phrases listed below behave like nouns.
di mi : mine
di bo : yours
di dje : his, hers
di nos : ours
di boso : yours (plural)
di nan : theirs
Many of these possessives are identical to the subject/object forms. The Papiamentu word mi might be translated into English as “I” or “me” or “my” depending on context. This can make Papiamentu sentences seem rather ambiguous until you get used to it.
4.3. Mes
Mes produces pronouns similar to English myself, yourself, themselves, etc.
mi mes : myself
bo mes : yourself
e mes : he himself or she herself (subject of a phrase)
su mes : himself or herself (object of a verb or preposition)
nos mes : ourselves
boso mes : yourselves
nan mes : themselves
4.2. Relative Pronouns
ku : which, that
ken su : whose
di ken : of whom
loke : that which
Esaki ta e kas ku mi a kumpra.
This is the house that I bought or This is the house which I purchased.
Mi gusta wak beisbòl ora un team ku mi gusta ta hunga.
I like to watch baseball when a team that I like is playing.
Esaki ta e homber ken su auto tabata hortá.
This is the man whose car was stolen.
E ta esun di ken mi a papia.
He is the one of whom I spoke.
Mi lo hasi loke ta bon.
I shall do that which is good.
4. Verbs
4.1. Tenses
Papiamentu verbs are relatively easy to conjugate. They indicate their tenses by adding short words to the sentence rather than changing the form of the verb. Ta indicates the present, lo indicates the future, and a indicates the past tense. The pronoun e (meaning “he” or “she“) changes into el when it appears before a. Some speakers put the future tense marker lo before the subject of the verb.
4.1.1. Present
mi ta kanta
I sing
I am singing
bo ta kanta
you sing
you are singing
e ta kanta
he/she sings
he/she is singing
nos ta kanta
we sing
we are singing
boso ta kanta
you (plural) sing
you all are singing
nan ta kanta
they sing
they are singing
4.1.2. Past
mi a kanta
i sang
bo a kanta
you sang
el a kanta
he/she sang
nos a kanta
we sang
boso a kanta
you sang
nan a kanta
they sang
4.1.3. Future
lo mi kanta, mi lo kanta
I will sing
lo bo kanta, bo lo kanta
you will sing
lo e kanta, e lo kanta
he/she will sing
lo nos kanta, nos lo kanta
we will sing
lo boso kanta, boso lo kanta
you (plural) will sing
lo nan kanta, nan lo kanta
they will sing
4.2. Ta bai
The future can also be expressed using ta bai as in Mi ta bai kanta (I am going to sing).
4.3. Progressive Aspect
The progressive aspect indicates either of the following:
a) one action was in progress when something else happened, or
b) habitual or customary activity.
The progressive aspect of the past tense can be created using tabata followed by the plain verb or the present participle.
Ora bo a drenta mi tabata kome, Ora bo a drenta mi tabata komiendo.
When you came in I was eating.
4.4. Negation
The Papiamentu word no is equivalent to English not. It usually appears immediately before the verb which it negates.
Double negatives are common in Papiamentu as in Spanish.
Mi no tin nada.
I have nothing. (Literally I not have nothing.)
E no a dunami nada.
He did not give me anything.
4.5. Exceptional Verbs
The following verbs do not use ta to indicate the present tense. You might say that the present tense is the default condition for these verbs: tin (have), por (be able to), ke (want), sa and konose (know), mester (must). Obviously ta also does not use ta to indicate its own present tense; one never says anything like mi ta ta merikano.
The following verbs may be used with or without ta in the present tense: gusta (to like), stima (to love), bal (to be worth), kosta (to cost), debe (owe), parse (resemble). Some sources also include di (to say), dependé (depend), nifica (signify) in this category.
4.6. The Copula
Papiamentu’s copula, equivalent to English be, am, is, are, was, were, is ta. (This word ta also serves as the indicator of the present tense for other verbs.)
Bo kas ta bunita.
Your house is lovely.
Nan ta hulandes.
They are Dutch.
The past tense of ta is tabata. In casual speech tabata is often reduced to tata or ta’a.
The imperative of ta is sea.
Sea ketu! (Be quiet!)
Sea un bon mucha. (Be a good child.)
There are many cases in which English would use am, is, are but the correct equivalent in Papiamentu is tin (have/exist) or sinti (feel). Some examples:
Tin hopi bientu.
It is very windy. (Literally exists much wind.)
Mi tin hamber.
I am hungry. (Literally I have hunger.)
Mi ta sinti kalor.
I feel warm.
Kuantu aña bo tin?
How old are you? (Literally how many years you have?)
4.7. The Verb tin
tin usually means “possess” or “contain.”
Un aña tin diesdos luna.
A year has twelve months.
Nan tin un kas bunita.
They have an attractive house.
The past tense form of tin is tabatin. The imperative is tene.
Sometimes (especially at the beginning of a phrase) tin indicates existence. In these cases tin is equivalent to English “there is…” or “there are…”
Tin un pushi riba e mesa.
There is a cat on the table.
Tin algun apelnan?
Are there any apples?
Awe no tin notisia.
Today there is not any news.
Tin does not correspond to all uses of the English word “have“. Tin is not used in forming verb tenses (such as “I have gone” in English). Tin does not mean experience or undergo (as in English “I had a cold” or “I had a good time“).
4.8. Suffix attached to verb
Papiamentu does not have verb inflections like many European languages. It does have some suffixes which are borrowed from Spanish/Portuguese and Dutch. They usually cannot be applied to any word, but only words of the same etymological source. Thus, a Spanish/Portuguese suffix is only applied to Spanish or Portuguese words. Papiamentu has no morphologically encoded case or gender systems, though sometimes object pronouns are attached to the verb.
-shon
This affix was borrowed only through the borrowing of Spanish lexical items to which this affix was already attached, for example, akumula-shon from Spanish acumulación and Portuguese acumulação (accumulation). It is not used productively in Papiamentu at all.
-ndo
The Spanish morpheme -ndo is added to verbs and, in conjunction with a preverbal marker, indicates that the action of the verb is ‘in progress’ (just as in Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese). It is found with Iberian verbs almost exclusively. The form has been found with some Dutch origin verbs, but some speakers of Papiamentu do not accept these words as being ‘correct’ (ex. zuai ‘swing’ –> zuayendo ‘swinging’ and wak ‘watch’ –> wakiendo ‘watching, looking’).
Mi ta mirando e programa. ‘I’m watching the program.’
-dó
Papiamentu -dó was borrowed from Spanish and Portuguese -dor ‘person who‘, and is used productively in Papiamentu. It can be added to Spanish origin words (warda-dó ‘keeper, guard), newly formed Papiamentu words (traha-dó ‘worker‘), and Dutch origin words (hür-dó ‘tenant’).
-mentu
Papiamentu -mentu was borrowed from the Spanish suffix –miento and the Portuguese –mento. It is used productively with words of any origin.
| From Spanish and Portuguese |
distribí |
‘to waste’ | distribimentu |
‘the act of wasting’ |
| From Spanish and Portuguese | papia | ‘to speak’ | papiamentu | ‘the act/way of speaking’ |
| From Dutch | kapa | ‘to cut’ | kapmentu | ‘the act of cutting’ |
| From English | kèch | ‘to catch’ | kèchmentu | ‘the act of catching’ |
5. Adjectives
5.1. Descriptive adjectives
Descriptive adjectives usually follow the noun:
un homber famoso
a famous man
un kas grandi
a big house
Possessives and quantifiers appear before the noun:
mi kas
my house
hopi buki
many books
5.2. Dual Position Adjectives
A few adjectives may appear either before or after the noun. Three of these adjectives have the same meaning regardless of whether they appear before or after the noun: dushi = sweet, bunita = beautiful, bon = good. Others change their meanings depending on their position:
homber grandi
big man
grandi homber
great man
homber pober
poor (impoverished) man
pober homber
poor (pitiful) man
homber malu
sick man or bad man
mal homber
bad man (malu becomes mal when placed before the noun)
5.3. Comparison
The comparative is formed with mas. The normal superlative is formed with di mas.
mas fuerte
stronger
di mas fuerte
strongest
mas grandi
bigger
di mas grandi
biggest
Mi ta mas grandi ku bo.
I am bigger than you.
E apel aki ta mas dushi ku e apel ei.
This apple is sweeter than that apple.
Carlos ta e homber di mas fuerte ku mi konose.
Carlos is the strongest man I know.
5.4. Irregular Comparisons
Like English, Papiamentu has just a few adjectives with irregular comparative and superlative forms.
bon, mihó, e mihó
good, better, best
(in addition to mihó, the variants mehor and mihor also exist)
malu, pió, di mas pió or di mas malu
bad, worse, worst
(in addition to pió, the variant peor also exists)
poko, menos, di mas menos
little (not much of), less, the least
Mi tin poko plaka, ma é tin menos.
I have little money but he has less.
5. Adverbs
Adverbs can be divided into two classes, primary and derivative.
The derivative adverbs are made by adding the suffix -mente to adjectives. In the process of adding -mente the final vowel of the adjective may change, or the vowel -a- may be inserted if the adjective ends with a consonant.
rápido, rápidamente
rapid, rapidly
spesial, spesialmente
special, specially
dirèkt, direktamente
direct, directly
Primary adverbs are not derived from adjectives or other types of words. Here are a few examples.
awor : now
nunka : never
pronto : soon
semper : always
ya : already
5.1. Comparison
Adverbs, like adjectives, have a comparative form made with mas and superlative form made with di mas.
lihé, mas lihé, di mas lihé
fast, faster, fastest
E ta kuri lihé.
He runs fast.
Pedro ta kuri mas lihé ku mi.
Pedro runs faster than I.
E ta kuri di mas lihé ku tur.
He runs the fastest of all / he runs faster than all.
NOTE: Some speakers use the variant kore instead of kuri for “to run“.
6. Interrogatives
Here are some of Papiamentu’s question-words with examples of their usage.
who? : ken
Ken a bati e bel? Who rang the bell?
Ken t’ei? Who is there?
whose? : di ken (noun-like) or ken su (adjective-like)
Di ken e sapatonan ei ta? Whose shoes are those?
Ken su sapatonan ta blou? Whose shoes are blue?
which? which one of several? : kua
Kua kas ta di bo? Which house is yours?
what? : kiko, ki
Kiko a pasa? What happened?
why? : pakiko or di kon
Pakiko bo ta bai? Why are you going?
how? : kon
Kon mi ta usa e mashin? How do I use the machine?
Kon señora yama? What is your name, ma’am?
when? : kuant’or, ki ora, ki dia
Ki ora klas ta kuminsa? When does class begin?
Ki dia mi outo ta kla? When (on what day) will my car be ready?
Kuant’or’tin? What time is it?
where? : unda
Unda e banko di mas serka ta? Where is the nearest bank?
Unda señor ta biba? Where do you live, sir?
how much? : kuantu
Kuantu plaka señor tin? How much money do you have, sir?
Kuantu e ta kosta? How much does it cost?
7. Demonstratives
Words like this, that, these, those are called “demonstratives.” Papiamentu, unlike English, has a three-way system of demonstratives, corresponding to this, that, and “that one way over yonder.”
The demonstrative adjectives consist of the multipurpose word e appearing before the noun, and aki or ei or aya appearing after the noun.
e pushi aki : this cat
e pushi ei : that cat
e pushi aya : that cat over there
Mi gusta e kas aki. I like this house.
E kas ei ta nobo. That house is new.
E kas aya ta grandi. That house over yonder is big.
The demonstrative pronouns are:
esaki : this
esei : that
esaya : that one yonder
Esaki ta bon. This is good.
Mi no ta gusta esei. I don’t like that.
Esaya ta su kas. That over yonder is his house.
It is possible to add the suffix -nan to create plural demonstrative pronouns such as esayanan (those over there). The following demonstrative pronouns also exist:
esun aki : this one
esun ei : that one
esun aya : that one way over there
8. Conjunctions
Here are some of the most common and useful conjunctions.
i : and
Lo mi kome i bebe. I will eat and drink.
ku : with. ku is normally used instead of i to conjoin pronouns and the names of people; ku can be used instead of i to conjoin various nouns. (NOTE: ku is a multipurpose word that has several other functions beyond its use as an additive conjunction.)
abo ku mi : you and I
man ku pia : hand and foot or hands and feet
òf : or
Mi ta buska kas òf apartamentu di 2 kamber. I seek a house or apartment with two bedrooms.
sea … òf : either … or …
Sea bo òf ami a hasi un eror. Either you or I have made an error.
pasobra : because
9. Vocabulary
Papiamentu words are primarily Iberian (Spanish, Portuguese, other dialects) or Germanic (Dutch, some English). In addition, there are a handful of words of Arawak or African origin.
Some of the Iberian words clearly come from Portuguese, some clearly come from Spanish, and lots of others could have come from either Spanish or Portuguese. Here are some examples of words of various origin, given in Curaçao’s phonological orthography:
| Papiamentu word | Meaning | Source | Notes |
| nobo | new | Portuguese | |
| nuebe | nine | Spanish | |
| papia | talk | Spanish or Portuguese |
literally ‘chat’ in source languages |
| yambo | okra | African | |
| makamba | white person |
African | literally ‘friend’; used pejoratively |
| wiriwiri | crumbs | Arawak (Indian) |
|
| dividivi | watapana tree |
Arawak (Indian) |
|
| supposed di | supposed to | English | used on Aruba |
| bin bek | come back | Portuguese/English | |
| wak | watch | Dutch | |
| marshe | market | French | |
| kas | house | Spanish or Portuguese |
|
| kasa | to marry | Spanish or Portuguese |
|
| kasá | spouse | casar ‘to marry’ is from Sp/Po, but only Papiamentu forms ‘spouse’ from this verb |