Basic Phrases in Fon

Basic Phrases

Eeen- Yes (and Yes- it does sound funny and is one of the reasons why Fon is fun!)

Mawu- My God! or Wow. - an interjection used the same as we do in English.

Un sin xome nu we- I'm mad at you. Literally means, "my stomach is in a knot."... a common sensation when you're PO'd when you think about it. You might hear this when they find you didn't bring any gifts. Don't worry though- the Beninese rarely hold grudges and use this expression loosely, even when they aren't really PO'd.

Counting from one to Ten- Dokpo, we, aton, ene, atoon, aizen, ten-we, tan-ton, ten-ene, woO. (may take longer to download because of file size)

A din gbawe, nu gbo we ã- It's false, It's not true.

A houanu kaka- Thank you very much.

E su ã - You're welcome. Literally "It's not a lot"

Yovo! Wa xo nu!- Whitey!- Come buy something from me! (Literally- Whitey!- Come buy something!") When you're wandering around the open markets, you'll hear the women selling goods yell this out to you. This is their form of marketing because they all pretty much sell the the same items, and this is how they get customers. When they see white skin they automatically think $$$$ so they can be pretty aggressive, but always in a friendly way. The worst situation is that a woman will grab your hand and not let go.

A na dogbe me towele nu mi,...Eeen, ye na se. - Say hi to to your people (friends, family etc.) for me.... Response- Yes, I'll tell them. Literally- "they will hear."

A na wa gonche kpo mi no do xo kpede.- Come to my house and we will talk a little (i.e. hang out). Beware- it is ok for a man to invite another man to his house, but a woman shouldn't invite a man to her house because he will assume it is an invitation for some hankey pankey. A woman should also be leery about a man inviting her to his house unless she knows him well and a "just friends" relationship has been established. (Yes- Benin is a very sexist country)

A se Fongbe a?...Eho, Un se fongbe a. - Do you speak Fon? .... No, I don't speak Fon.

Eeen, Un se fongbe bi - Yes. I speak Fon well.

A se glensigbe we a? - Do yo speak English?

A se Flansegbe we a?- Do you speak French?

Un na yi tonme- I'm going to travel, (or go on a trip).

Ah! E ve axi din!- Ahh! That's expensive. What you should say whenever you're given the first price on something that is negotiable. Remember though, some things are not negotiable like bread, eggs, items sold in boutiques, etc. and people will get mad if you try.

E sukpo din! - Wow, that's a lot! (another useful bargaining term) Don't over do it though, because if you make a seller feel like he or she is ripping you off, they might just refuse to sell to you. It's a game- don't be afraid to get a little aggressive in your bargaining. If you don't they may charge you double or more the going price. Bargaining is a an art that is only mastered after much practice.

Ah! Yovo se Fongbe! - Wow! The Whitey speaks Fon!

Ahaan, Ene - Ahaan= I see (after you comprehend something), Ene = ok, I see. (you'll here these a lot thrown into conversation. (They can be used together or separately)

Avo towe, enyo dekpe din. - Your clothes are pretty. The Beninese are very poor and spend a great amount of their money (proportionally to what they have) on their clothes. They will appreciate a compliment of this type.

Bo yi bo wa...ma yi bo wa- Go and come back.... I will go and come back. - This is a way of saying good bye and it's response.

Bo yi- Get out of here.

Dedeme- Take it easy. This you will hear often. If you stumble, drop something, do something too fast, or are in a hurry, this is what you'll hear. What I never understood was how when I was on the back of motorcycle taxis, and the driver was avoiding an obstacle, he would say "dedeme" to me. I had no control over the situation so it was I who should have told him "dedeme." I guess it's also their was of saying "watch out."

Blo ble ble ã, blo dedeme.- Don't go fast. Take it easy.- You will find this phrase very useful when you're in a bush taxi or on the back of a Zemidjan (motorcycle taxi.) fearing for your life. Roads are usually very bad and full of obstacles, but that never stops taxi drivers from driving like bats out of hell. If you are scared this is a useful phrase to tell them to slow down. Plain old "dedeme" will work too.

Dogbe- Sleep Tight. Response- oooOOO.

E de ã, e vo bi- There is no more. It's all gone. In Benin the distribution system of goods is under-developed so often goods that you need and / or are used to buying on a regular basis, will suddenly not be available.

E su a yi hon- See you tomorrow.

E vivi nu mi din! - I really like that!

Ekpo kpede- Not yet. - In Benin everything is done slowly are very rarely efficiently so you'll be waiting... a lot.

Noté- Wait

Jinjayin- Sit down or have a seat.

Pinpan Jawe- A train is coming. The train's horn sounds like the one in Europe because the train is from France. It sounds like Pinpan (another example of onomatopoeia in Fon).

Yi wa nu- to like

Un yi wa nu Benin- I like Benin.

Vile yi wa nu dayihun- Children like to have fun.

More Basic Phrases

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