Jamaican Standard English→English

Translate Jamaican Standard English to English the way locals mean it.

Jamaican Standard English often uses familiar English words and local expressions whose timing, tone, or meaning is different from what a textbook reader would assume.

Going the other way? English to Jamaican Standard English

474 local dialects

AIRTranslate on iPhone choosing between English varieties

What locals actually say

Soon come.

I’ll be back later, but not necessarily soon.

“Soon come” is a customary promise of a later return or response, not a precise assurance that it will happen shortly.

Wah gwaan?

How are you?

“Wah gwaan” is commonly used as a casual greeting, so it often functions like “How are you?” rather than a literal question about what is happening.

Everything irie.

Everything’s fine.

“Irie” signals that things are good, calm, or all right, rather than referring to a specific object or event.

The price gone up again.

The price has increased again.

The omitted auxiliary in “price gone up” is a Jamaican English colloquial construction that signals a recent change in casual speech.

The pharmacy is up by the town square.

The pharmacy is near the town square.

“Up by” is a Jamaican directional construction that signals an approximate nearby location.

I’m going to nyam something before work.

I’m going to eat something before work.

“Nyam” is a local verb meaning eat, signalling casual Jamaican usage.

The pickney are outside with Granny.

The children are outside with their grandmother.

“Pickney” is a Jamaican word for child or children, signalling informal local speech.

I’ll reach the office by nine.

I’ll arrive at the office by nine.

“Reach” is used to mean arrive in Jamaican English, signalling local usage rather than physical contact.

Notes like these come with every AIRTranslate translation, so you learn why locals phrase it that way as you go.

How Jamaican Standard English differs

Jamaican Standard English. British spelling; local expressions in casual register (soon come, wah gwaan as a greeting, irie) — do not slide into full Patois unless the source is clearly that informal.

Sound like a local everywhere, not just here.

Every one of 474 dialects, with voice, camera, a keyboard for any app, and offline packs.

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Localization Notes explaining why locals say it that way