Introduction
Papiamentu, also known as Papiamento, is spoken on the islands of Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire, collectively referred to as the ABC Islands (situated just above Venezuela in the Caribbean). Aruba and Curaçao are countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Bonaire is a special municipality.
Papiamentu (Papiamento) is categorised as a Creole language derived from Portuguese. Simultaneously, Spanish has had a significant influence on Papiamentu and it is clearly evident in Papiamentu’s vocabulary.
Pronunciation
Spanish speakers would find it easier to pronounce in Papiamentu than Portuguese speakers. However, there are features of Papiamentu’s sound system which will be new to speakers of both languages. Here are two of the most important examples:
"DJ"
[PAP:dj] is the equivalent of the English "j" or Italian "gi" sound. The closest sounds in Spanish would be the [ES:ll/y] sound and the [PT:j] in Portuguese:
Portuguese: dente, só/exatamente, segunda-feira
Spanish: diente, justo, lunes
Papiamentu: djente, djis, djaluna
"Ù/Ü"
[PAP:ù/ü] is the equivalent of the Dutch or French [NL:u], which is not present in either Spanish or Portuguese (except in Azorean Portuguese):
Portuguese: aluguel, junho, julho
Spanish: alquiler, junio, julio
Papiamentu: hür, yüni, yüli
Grammar
Although words in Papiamentu are very recognisable to Spanish and Portuguese speakers, Papiamentu grammar can be quite different and cause difficulties in comprehension.
Definite articles
Both Portuguese and Spanish have singular and plural definite articles for both the feminine and masculine. However, in Papiamentu, there is only one definite article: [PAP:e]:
Portuguese: o, a, os, as
Spanish: el, la, los, las
Papiamentu: e
Indefinite articles
There is one singular indefinite article and one plural indefinite article that do not distinguish genders.
Portuguese: um, uma, uns, umas
Spanish: un, una, unos, unas
Papiamentu: un, algun
Gender
This feature of reducing articles to just one also translates to gender. In Papiamentu, nouns are neither masculine nor feminine:
Portuguese: o governo, a cultura, os cães, as ilhas
Spanish: el gobierno, la cultura, los perros, las islas
Papiamentu: e govèrnu, e kultura, e kachónan, e islanan
Pluralisation
In the previous section, you can see that the suffix [PAP:-nan] is used to pluralise the words [PAP:kachó] and [PAP:isla]. This contrasts greatly with both Spanish and Portuguese, which generally form plurals with an "-s".
Additionally, in Papiamentu, if context indicates that a noun is in the plural, adding the suffix [PAP:-nan] is not necessary.
Portuguese: os livros, tenho dois livros
Spanish: los libros, tengo dos libros
Papiamentu: e bukinan, mi tin dos buki
Personal pronouns
Personal pronouns may not be fully recognisable for either Spanish or Portuguese speakers.
For the first person, instead of a variation of [PT:eu] / [ES:yo], Papiamentu uses [PAP:mi]. The 2nd person singular is [PAP:bo], which is reminiscent of the Central American and Rioplatense Spanish [ES:vos] or the Brazilian Portuguese [PT:você]. Additionally, Papiamentu does not distinguish between he / she, using only one term [PAP:e] (which can also mean "the", depending on the context).
The plural personal pronouns are [PAP:noso] and [PAP:voso], which look similar to [ES:nosotros] / [PT:nós] and [ES:vosotros] / [PT:vocês~vós] (archaic Portuguese). Finally, [PAP:nan] is used for they, which does not resemble the terms used either in Spanish or Portuguese.
Portuguese: eu, tu/você, ele/ela, nós, vocês/vós, eles/elas
Spanish: yo, tú/vos, él/ella, nosotros, ustedes/vosotros, ellos/ellas
Papiamentu: mi, bo, e, noso, boso, nan
Verbs
Verbs in Papiamentu follow a simpler structure than both Spanish and Portuguese. Whereas Spanish and Portuguese conjugate verbs, Papiamentu uses particles, which are placed between the personal pronoun and the verb. Here are some examples:
Present
The present tense in Papiamentu is constructed using [PAP:ta]:
[PAP:mi ta kome] [ES:como] [PT:como]
(I eat)
[PAP:mi ta skirbi] [ES:escribo] [PT:escrevo]
(I write)
[PAP:mi ta kanta] [ES:canto] [PT:canto]
(I sing)
Future
For the future tense in Papiamentu, the particle [PAP:ta] changes to [PAP:lo]:
[PAP:mi lo kome] [ES:comeré] [PT:comerei]
(I will eat)
[PAP:mi lo skirbi] [ES:escribiré] [PT:escreverei]
(I will write)
[PAP:mi lo kanta] [ES:cantaré] [PT:cantarei]
(I will sing)
Past
For the past tense in Papiamentu, the particle [PAP:ta] changes to [PAP:a], which is similar to the Spanish present perfect (third person [ES:ha]):
[PAP:mi a kome] [ES:comí / he comido] [PT:comi]
(I ate / I have eaten)
[PAP:mi a skirbi] [ES:escribí / he escrito] [PT:escrevi]
(I wrote / I have written)
[PAP:mi a kanta] [ES:canté / he cantado] [PT:cantei]
(I sang / I have sung)
Imperfect
For the imperfect tense, the particle [PAP:ta] changes to [PAP:tabata], which resembles Spanish [ES:estaba] and Portuguese [PT:estava]:
[PAP:mi tabata kome] [ES:comía] [PT:comia]
(I used to eat / I was eating)
[PAP:mi tabata skirbi] [ES:escribía] [PT:escrevia]
(I used to write / I was writing)
[PAP:mi tabata kanta] [ES:cantaba] [PT:cantava]
(I used to sing / I was singing)
Connectors
Most connectors in Papiamentu derive from either Spanish or Portuguese:
[PAP:i] [ES:y] [PT:e]
[PAP:I hopi mas] [ES:Y mucho más] [PT:E muito mais]
(and – And much more)
[PAP:pero] [ES:pero] [PT:mas]
[PAP:Pero mi no sa] [ES:Pero no sé] [PT:Mas não sei]
(but – But I don’t know)
[PAP:pasobra] [ES:porque] [PT:porque] (from [ES:para] + [ES:sobre])
[PAP:Mi ke kome pasobra mi tin hamber]
[ES:Quiero comer porque tengo hambre]
[PT:Quero comer porque tenho fome]
(because – I want to eat because I am hungry)
[PAP:si] [ES:si] [PT:se]
[PAP:Si bo ke bo por bai]
[ES:Si quieres puedes ir]
[PT:Se quiseres podes ir]
(if – If you want, you can go)
Although there are always some exceptions:
[PAP:òf] [ES:o] [PT:ou] (from Dutch of)
[PAP:Bèrdat òf mentira]
[ES:Verdad o mentira]
[PT:Verdade ou mentira]
(or – Truth or lie)
[PAP:despues] [ES:después] [PT:depois]
[PAP:Despues di sinku aña]
[ES:Después de cinco años]
[PT:Depois de cinco anos]
(after – After five years)
[PAP:tambe] [ES:también] [PT:também]
[PAP:Mi tambe]
[ES:Yo también]
[PT:Eu também]
(also – Me too)
[PAP:miéntras] [ES:mientras] [PT:enquanto]
[PAP:Miéntras mi ta kome mi ta bebe]
[ES:Mientras como bebo]
[PT:Enquanto como bebo]
(while – While I eat, I drink)
Adverbs
Adverbs in Papiamentu can be very recognisable to Spanish and Portuguese speakers. Here are a few examples:
[PAP:aki] [ES:aquí] [PT:aqui]
[PAP:Mi ta biba aki] [ES:Vivo aquí] [PT:Vivo aqui]
(here - I live here)
[PAP:awe] [ES:hoy] [PT:hoje]
[PAP:Awe ta djadomingu] [ES:Hoy es domingo] [PT:Hoje é domingo]
(today - today is Sunday)
[PAP:mañan] [ES:mañana] [PT:amanhã]
[PAP:Mañan ta djaluna] [ES:Mañana es lunes] [PT:Amanhã é segunda-feira]
(tomorrow - Tomorrow is Monday)
[PAP:ayera] [ES:ayer] [PT:ontem]
[PAP:Ayera mi a bai playa] [ES:Ayer fui a la playa] [PT:Ontem fui à praia]
(yesterday - yesterday I went to the beach)
[PAP:sèmper] [ES:siempre] [PT:sempre]
[PAP:Sèmper mi ta bai skol] [ES:Siempre voy a la escuela] [PT:Sempre vou à escola]
(always - I always go to school)
[PAP:nunka] [ES:nunca] [PT:nunca]
[PAP:Nunka mi no ta lat] [ES:Nunca llego tarde] [PT:Nunca chego tarde]
(never - I am never late)
[PAP:bon] [ES:bien/bueno] [PT:bem/bom]
[PAP:Esei no ta bon] [ES:Eso no está bien] [PT:Isso não está bom]
(good - that is not good)
[PAP:mas] [ES:más] [PT:mais]
[PAP:Mi ke mas] [ES:Quiero más] [PT:Quero mais]
(more - I want more)
[PAP:ménos] [ES:menos] [PT:menos]
[PAP:Mi tin ménos energia] [ES:Tengo menos energía] [PT:Tenho menos energia]
(less - I have less energy)
[PAP:poko] [ES:poco] [PT:pouco]
[PAP:Tin poko hende] [ES:Hay poca gente] [PT:Há pouca gente]
(few/little - there are few people)
However, there is a commonly used adverb which derives from Dutch:
[PAP:hopi] [ES:muy/mucho] [PT:muito] [from Dutch [NL:hoop]]
[PAP:Mi ta hopi kontentu] [ES:estoy muy contento] [PT:estou muito contento]
(very - I am very happy)
Question words
Some of the question words in Papiamentu resemble both Spanish and Portuguese:
[PAP:ken] [ES:quién] [PT:quem]
[PAP:Ku ken bo ta?]
[ES:¿Con quién estás?]
[PT:Com quem estás?]
(who – Who are you with?)
[PAP:di ken] [ES:de quién] [PT:de quem]
[PAP:E buki ta di ken?]
[ES:¿De quién es el libro?]
[PT:De quem é o livro?]
(whose – Whose book is it?)
[PAP:kua] [ES:cuál] [PT:qual]
[PAP:Kua bo ta prefera?]
[ES:¿Cuál prefieres?]
[PT:Qual prefires?]
(which – Which do you prefer?)
[PAP:kuantu] [ES:cuánto] [PT:quanto]
[PAP:Kuantu ta kosta?]
[ES:¿Cuánto cuesta?]
[PT:Quanto custa?]
(how much – How much does it cost?)
[PAP:unda] [ES:dónde] [PT:onde]
[PAP:Unda bo ta?]
[ES:¿Dónde estás?]
[PT:Onde estás?]
(where – Where are you?)
However, there are other question words which also derive from Spanish / Portuguese, which are not instantly recognisable:
[PAP:kiko] [ES:qué] [PT:o que] (from [ES:qué cosa] / [PT:que coisa])
[PAP:Kiko ba ta hasi?]
[ES:¿Qué haces?]
[PT:O que estás a fazer?]
(what – What are you doing?)
[PAP:pakiko] [ES:por qué] [PT:por que] (from [ES:para qué cosa] / [PT:para que coisa])
[PAP:Pakiko bo ta gusta?]
[ES:¿Por qué te gusta?]
[PT:Por que gostas?]
(why – Why do you like it?)
[PAP:kon] [ES:cómo] [PT:como]
[PAP:Kon e ta funshoná?]
[ES:¿Cómo funciona?]
[PT:Como funciona?]
(how – How does it work?)
[PAP:ki ora / ki dia / kuant'or] [ES:cuándo] [PT:quando]
[PAP:Ki ora bo ta yega?]
[ES:¿Cuándo llegas?]
[PT:Quando chegas?]
(when – When do you arrive?)
Prepositions
Some prepositions in all three languages closely resemble each other. Here are some examples:
[PAP:entre] [ES:entre] [PT:entre]
[PAP:E tin entre sinkuenta pa sesenta aña]
[ES:Tiene entre cincuenta y sesenta años]
[PT:Tem entre cinquenta e sessenta anos]
(between – Between fifty and sixty years old)
[PAP:durante] [ES:durante] [PT:durante]
[PAP:Durante e nochi]
[ES:Durante la noche]
[PT:Durante a noite]
(during – During the night)
[PAP:kontra] [ES:contra] [PT:contra]
[PAP:Kontra e muraya]
[ES:Contra la muralla]
[PT:Contra a parede]
(against – Against the wall)
[PAP:di] [ES:de] [PT:de]
[PAP:E buki di John]
[ES:El libro de Juan]
[PT:O livro de João]
(of – John’s book)
Others are more similar to Spanish:
[PAP:serka] [ES:cerca] [PT:perto]
[PAP:Bo ta serka]
[ES:Estás cerca]
[PT:Estás perto]
(near – You are close)
[PAP:sin] [ES:sin] [PT:sem]
[PAP:Sin bo]
[ES:Sin ti]
[PT:Sem ti]
(without – Without you)
[PAP:dilanti] [ES:delante] [PT:diante]
[PAP:E ta dilanti di porta]
[ES:Está delante de la puerta]
[PT:Está diante da porta]
(in front of – In front of the door)
[PAP:pa] [ES:para] [PT:para] (very common in colloquial Spanish)
[PAP:E buki ta pa mi]
[ES:El libro es para mí]
[PT:O livro é para mim]
(for – The book is for me)
And others are more similar to Portuguese:
[PAP:te] [ES:hasta] [PT:até]
[PAP:Nos ta yega te final]
[ES:Llegamos hasta el final]
[PT:Chegamos até ao final]
(until – We reach the end)
On the other hand, some look very different:
[PAP:den] [ES:en / dentro] [PT:em / dentro]
[PAP:E kachó ta den e kas]
[ES:El perro está dentro de la casa]
[PT:O cão está dentro da casa]
(inside – The dog is inside the house)
[PAP:na] [ES:en] [PT:em] (from Portuguese [PT:em] + [PT:a])
[PAP:Mi ta na kas]
[ES:Estoy en casa]
[PT:Estou em casa]
(in – I am at home)
[PAP:bou] [ES:debajo de] [PT:debaixo de]
[PAP:E pushi ta bou di mesa]
[ES:El gato está debajo de la mesa]
[PT:E gato está debaixo da mesa]
(under – The cat is under the table)
[PAP:ku] [ES:con] [PT:com]
[PAP:Mi ke papia ku bo]
[ES:Quiero hablar contigo]
[PT:Quero falar contigo]
(with – I want to talk to you)
[PAP:ariba] [ES:sobre / encima de] [PT:sobre / em cima de]
[PAP:E pèn ta ariba e mesa]
[ES:El bolígrafo está encima de la mesa]
[PT:A caneta está em cima da mesa]
(on / above – The pen is on the table)
Vocabulary
Numbers
Papiamentu numbers from 0 to 10 are slightly more similar to Spanish than they are to Portuguese:
Portuguese: zero, um, dois, três, quatro, cinco, seis, sete, oito, nove, dez
Spanish: cero, uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez
Papiamentu: sero, un, dos, tres, kuater, sinku, seis, shete, ocho, nuebe, djes
Numbers from 11 to 19 follow a different structure. First, you take the word for ten [PAP:djes], then you add another number from 1 to 9 to get your final number. Therefore, if you want to say 14, you take [PAP:djes] and [PAP:kuater] and you put them together [PAP:djeskuater]. This is very similar to what happens with numbers 16 to 19 in Spanish and Portuguese:
Portuguese: onze, doze, treze, quatorze, quinze, dezasseis, dezassete, dezoito, dezanove
Spanish: once, doce, trece, catorce, quince, dieciséis, diecisiete, dieciocho, diecinueve
Papiamentu: djesun, djesdos, djestres, djeskuater, djesinku, djeseis, djeshete, djesocho, djesnuebe
Numbers 20 and above follow similar patterns to Spanish and Portuguese:
Portuguese: vinte, trinta, quarenta, cinquenta, sessenta, setenta, oitenta, noventa, cem
Spanish: veinte, treinta, cuarenta, cincuenta, sesenta, setenta, ochenta, noventa, cien
Papiamentu: binti, trinta, kuarenta, sinkuenta, sesenta, setenta, ochenta, nobenta, shen
If you want to go deeper into Papiamentu Numbers and learn how they compare to other Creole languages, visit this page: Creole Languages: Numbers (0–100).
Days of the week
Days of the week derive, for the most part, from Spanish, combining two parts: [PAP:dja] (from [ES:día]) + [PAP:luna], [PAP:mars], [PAP:rason] (likely from Portuguese [PT:ração]), [PAP:weps], [PAP:bièrnè], [PAP:sabra] and [PAP:dumingu]:
Portuguese: segunda-feira, terça-feira, quarta-feira, quinta-feira, sexta-feira, sábado, domingo
Spanish: lunes, martes, miércoles, jueves, viernes, sábado, domingo
Papiamentu: djaluna, djamars, djarason, djaweps, djabièrnè, djasabra, djadumingu
If you want to go deeper into Papiamentu Days of the Week and learn how they compare to other Creole languages, visit this page: Creole Languages: Days of the Week.
Other vocabulary
Although the majority of Papiamentu vocabulary can be traced to either Portuguese or Spanish:
Portuguese: água, mulher, carne, comer, luna, oler, pensar, pena, osso
Spanish: agua, mujer, carne, comer, luna, oler, pensar, pluma, hueso
Papiamentu: awa, muhé, karni, kome, luna, ole, pensa, pluma, wesu
There is one area where knowing Spanish or Portuguese will not help you learn or understand Papiamentu. Because, even though Papiamentu is a Portuguese Creole language, it has a whole range of vocabulary derived from African languages and Dutch, one of the official languages of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. Here are some examples:
Dutch: boek, stoel, appel, lezen
Portuguese: livro, cadeira, maçã, ler
Spanish: libro, silla, manzana, leer
Papiamentu: buki, stul, apel, lesa
Kikongo: mpinda
Portuguese: amendoim
Spanish: cacahuete / maní
Papiamentu: pinda
Unlike the majority of Papiamentu’s lexicon, months of the year are taken directly from Dutch:
Portuguese: janeiro, fevereiro, março, abril, maio, junho, julho, agosto, setembro, outubro, novembro, dezembro
Spanish: enero, febrero, marzo, abril, mayo, junio, julio, agosto, septiembre, octubre, noviembre, diciembre
Dutch: januari, februari, maart, april, mei, juni, juli, augustus, september, oktober, november, december
Papiamentu: yanüari, febrüari, mart, aprel, mei, yüni, yüli, ougùstùs, sèptèmber, oktober, novèmber, desèmber
Want a deeper look at how Months of the Year work across Creole languages (including Papiamentu)? Visit: Creole Languages: Numbers (0–100 and patterns).
Conclusion
Whether you are a Spanish or Portuguese speaker, diving into a language as rich and interesting as Papiamentu will allow you to discover the wonders of this unique Creole language of the Caribbean while simultaneously permitting you to also learn something new about your language.
Want to learn Papiamentu? Visit: Learn Papiamentu (Papiamento) Basic Vocabulary or if you prefer the page in Spanish you can visit Aprende Vocabulario Básico en Papiamento.