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Time, Dates & Numbers
25 entries in this part of the language, each with meanings, pronunciation and worked examples.
- All now Even up to now;
- Crop-time Harvest season — the time of year when a crop is reaped, historically and especially the…
- Day bruk Daybreak — the moment the day 'breaks' at dawn and the first light comes.
- Day clean Daybreak;
- Donkey years A very long time;
- Eight The number eight — the Patois pronunciation, with the final 't' clipped and the vowel…
- Evening Evening — but in Jamaican use it begins earlier than in standard English, covering the…
- Five The number five — the Patois pronunciation.
- Foreday morning The pre-dawn small hours — the dark early morning before daylight, roughly the hours…
- From mawnin 'From morning' — since early on, and by extension for a long while now.
- Fus light First light — dawn, daybreak, the moment the sky begins to brighten before sunrise.
- Fus time In the old days;
- Hurricane season The stretch of the year (roughly June to November) when tropical storms and hurricanes…
- July The month of July — high summer in Jamaica, and the heart of 'mango time', when the trees…
- Just now A famous false friend for visitors: in Patois 'just now' does NOT mean 'immediately' — it…
- Long time A long time;
- Nex time 'Next time' — on a future occasion;
- Nite Night — the Patois spelling of 'night'.
- Now now Right this instant, immediately — the reduplication of 'now' intensifying it to mean…
- One day one day Eventually;
- One time At once;
- One-one One at a time, one by one, or just a few scattered ones.
- Planting rain The rains that come to soften the ground for planting — especially the 'May rain' that…
- Rainy season The wet part of the year, when the heavy rains come — broadly May to June and again…
- Same time 'Right then / at that very moment' — 'same time' marks something happening instantly or at…