Practice Your Patois
allons – let’s go
amoureaux – boyfriend, sweetheart
bâteau – a flat bottomed boat used in marshes
beau soleil – beautiful sun
bele – girlfriend, sweetheart; beautiful, pretty
boudé – pouting like a baby
bracque – crazy
canaille – mischievous; up to no good
ça c’est bon – that’s good, it’s all good
c’est la vie – that’s life
cher – a term of endearment; sweet or dear
coullion – a fool; crazy or silly
fais do do – a dance attended by families; traditionally at a dance hall with a back room where children would “make dodo” or go to sleep (pronounced: ‘fay dough dough’)
fifolet – a swamp spirit (often seen as a blue light) which causes travelers to lose their way; according to some legends, it leads fortune hunters to the lost treasure of Jean Lafitte
fille – girl
fremeers – to feel disgusted by something (like a certain food); also the heebie-jeebies or the creeps
frisson – a shiver or chill; also goosebumps
go make groceries – go grocery shopping
gris gris – bad luck; a voodoo curse; also an object used to ward off bad luck
homme – a man
honteaux – embarrassing or scandalous
je fais serment – I promise or I pledge
joie de vivre – joy of life; a happy attitude
lagniappe – a little something extra; an unexpected bonus
ma chère, mon cher – my dear
mais – literally translates as “but”; used for emphasis at the beginning of a sentence
mais oui – but yes; used for emphasis like “oh yeah”
merci bon Dieu – thank the good Lord
misère – misery; bad luck
mon bon Dieu – my good Lord
nonc – uncle (commonly pronounced as “nonk”)
pauvre bete – poor little thing
petit – small or little
pirogue – canoe
qui c’est ca – who is that?
quoi? – what?; sometimes used like “huh?”
rougarou (also loup garou) – werewolf
roux – mixture of oil and flour heated over medium heat until a deep shade of brown; a blonde roux is a mixture of butter and flour
Saloperie! – expression of frustration like “son of a gun” or “shucks”
save the groceries – put the groceries away
SoLa – South Louisiana
T – names prefixed with T usually indicate a junior child, a namesake, or the youngest child in a family; also seen as Tee, Ti, or Tit; all are pronounced “tee”; derived from the French word petit
togué – crazy, wacky; drunk
voyou – thug, criminal
*compiled from sources including various websites, the Cajun French Virtual Table Francaise Facebook group, and Speaking Louisana: A Cajun Dictionary (1993)
F. E. Greene 