To order food in Patois, greet the vendor, then say what you want: Mi waan nyam some jerk chicken. Ask the price with How much dis?, say please with Beg yuh, and praise the food with Dis nyam! or Di food nice. At a market, a bit of polite bargaining is part of the exchange; in a restaurant or supermarket, it isn't.
The second dialogue is adapted from Market Day Wid Miss Cherry, a Story Mode scenario in the Patois Pal app where you work a veteran higgler's stall at Coronation Market for the day. (A higgler is a market or street vendor.)
Dialogue 1: Lunch at the cookshop
It's lunchtime and you stop at Miss Pearl's cookshop down the road.
You: Mawnin, Miss Pearl! Good morning, Miss Pearl!
Miss Pearl: Mawnin, mi dear. Wah yuh want today? Morning, dear. What do you want today?
You: Mi waan nyam some jerk chicken. How much dis? I want to eat some jerk chicken. How much is this?
Miss Pearl: Yuh want festival or bammy wid it? Do you want festival or bammy with it?
You: Festival, beg yuh. An gimme likkle wata. Festival, please. And give me some water.
Miss Pearl: Di food have nuff pepper enuh. Yuh can manage? The food is very spicy, you know. Can you handle it?
You: Mi can manage! … Bwoy, dis nyam! I can handle it! … Wow, this is delicious!
Miss Pearl: Ha! Mi know. Yuh want some more? Ha! I know. Do you want some more?
You: No, tanks, Miss Pearl. Mi belly full. No, thanks, Miss Pearl. I'm full.
Dialogue 2: Market day with Miss Cherry
You're helping Miss Cherry at her stall. A customer arrives, ready to bargain.
Miss Cherry: Mawnin, mawnin! Yuh reach early — good sign. Mango deh yah, yam deh deh, an mine yuh bruise di tomato dem! Morning, morning! You got here early — good sign. Mangoes go here, yams go there, and mind you don't bruise the tomatoes!
You: Mi deh pon it right now, Miss Cherry. I'm on it right now, Miss Cherry.
Miss Cherry: Yuh haffi call out, mek di whole market know wah wi have! Mek mi hear yuh voice. You have to call out, let the whole market know what we have! Let me hear your voice.
You: Come buy yuh mango! Sweetest mango inna di whole market! Come buy your mangoes! Sweetest mangoes in the whole market!
Customer: Bwoy, dat dear! Dat price too high, come dung likkle. Wow, that's expensive! That price is too high, come down a little.
You: Aright, mi wi come dung likkle — but a good good mango dis, nuh regular someting. Alright, I'll come down a little — but these are quality mangoes, nothing ordinary.
Customer: Aright den. Gi mi two ripe mango deh. Alright then. Give me two ripe mangoes.
Miss Cherry: Sale numba one! Yuh know wah — tek dis. Likkle extra pon top. Sale number one! You know what — take this. A little extra on top.
You: Tanks, Miss Cherry! Thanks, Miss Cherry!
Key phrases
Saying what you want
- Mi waan nyam… — "I want to eat…". Nyam means "eat"; it's one of the Patois words with likely West African roots. Mi waan nyam on its own is how you say "I'm hungry".
- Gimme… / Gi mi… — "give me…". Blunt in English, normal in Patois, especially with beg yuh attached.
- Beg yuh — "please", when making a request: Beg yuh pass di salt.
- Gi mi two ripe mango deh — "give me two ripe mangoes". A number already shows the plural, so mango stays as it is. The deh at the end ("there") points at the ones you mean and softens the request.
- Likkle — "a little / some": likkle wata, some water.
Prices and bargaining
- How much dis? — "how much is this?" Short and normal.
- Dat dear! — "that's expensive!" Dear means pricey. Bwoy at the start is an exclamation of surprise, not someone being addressed.
- Come dung likkle — "come down a little". Dung is "down". This is the polite bargaining line.
- Likkle extra pon top — what Miss Cherry gives you. The Patois word for a little extra a seller adds for free is brawta.
Talking about the food
- Di food have nuff pepper — "the food is very spicy", literally "has plenty of pepper". Heat usually comes from scotch bonnet pepper.
- Dis nyam! / Di food nice — "this is delicious". Nice covers good, tasty and enjoyable.
- Mi belly full — "I'm full". The polite way to stop, especially when someone keeps offering.
- Tanks / Give tanks — "thanks". Give tanks is literally "give thanks".
On the menu
Words you'll see on a board or hear at a stand: jerk (spicy grilled cooking style), festival (sweet fried dumpling), bammy (cassava flatbread), patty and coco bread, rice an peas, and escovitch fish. More in Jamaican food words.
Usage and etiquette
- Greet first, order second. Mawnin before Mi waan… makes all the difference with a vendor.
- Bargain only where it's normal. Markets and some roadside stalls, yes; supermarkets, restaurants and set-price cookshops, no. Even at the market, it's a small, good-humoured back-and-forth, not a fight.
- Don't run down the goods. Saying the price is high is fine. Saying the fruit is bad to get a discount is insulting. Notice how the seller in the dialogue defends the mangoes while still coming down.
- Mind your change. Miss Cherry warns you about a ginnal (con artist) who pays with big bills to confuse the change. Count your money calmly; it isn't rude.
- Taking food at someone's home is different again: you don't ask prices, and you thank the cook. See talking about family for Sunday dinner manners.
Try it
- You walk up to a jerk stand. Greet the vendor and say you want jerk chicken with festival, please.
- A market vendor names a price that seems high. How do you ask them, politely, to come down a little?
- Someone offers you a third helping. How do you say you're full?
Questions people ask
Should I haggle everywhere in Jamaica?
No. Bargaining is normal with market vendors and some roadside sellers, and even then it is a friendly, small negotiation. Supermarkets, restaurants and most cookshops have set prices, and haggling there would be odd or rude.
What does Dis nyam mean?
Nyam means to eat, but Dis nyam! is also used to say 'this is delicious'. It is casual and complimentary, the kind of thing you say to a friend, a vendor you like or a relative who cooked.