Kreol Morisien
Mauritian Creole
French-based creole
Mauritian Creole (Kreol Morisien) is the de facto national language of Mauritius, derived from 18th-century French during the colonial period with substrate influence from Malagasy, East African, and Indian languages. It has standardized orthography (Lortograf-larmoni 2011) using phonemic spelling rather than French historical spellings. About 1.3 million speakers.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Mauritian Creole
Water
dilo
/dilo/
Fire
dife
/dife/
Sun
soley
/solej/
Moon
lalinn
/lalin/
Star
zetwal
/zetwal/
Mother
mama
/mama/
Father
papa
/papa/
I
mo
/mo/
You
to
/to/
Name
nom
/nom/
Eye
lizie
/lizje/
Hand
lame
/lame/
Heart
leker
/lekeɾ/
Love
lamour
/lamuɾ/
Tree
pye
/pje/
House
lakaz
/lakaz/
Dog
lisien
/lisjɛ̃/
Cat
sat
/sat/
Eat
manze
/mãze/
Drink
bwar
/bwaɾ/
One
enn
/ɛn/
Two
de
/de/
Hello
bonzour
/bõzuɾ/
Thank you
mersi
/meɾsi/
Good
bon
/bõ/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related French-based creole languages
| Meaning | Mauritian Creole | Seychellois Creole | Réunion Creole | French Guianese Creole | Guadeloupean Creole | Saint Lucian Creole | Haitian Creole |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | dilo /dilo/ | delo /delo/ | dlo /dlo/ | dlo /dlo/ | dlo /dlo/ | dlo /dlo/ | dlo /dlo/ |
| Fire | dife /dife/ | dife /dife/ | dofé /dofe/ | dife /dife/ | difé /dife/ | difé /dife/ | dife /dife/ |
| Sun | soley /solej/ | soley /solej/ | soley /solej/ | solèy /sɔlɛj/ | solèy /solɛj/ | solèy /solɛj/ | solèy /sɔlɛj/ |
| Moon | lalinn /lalin/ | lalin /lalin/ | lalinn /lalin/ | lalin /lalin/ | lalin /lalin/ | lalin /lalin/ | lalin /lalin/ |
| Star | zetwal /zetwal/ | zetwal /zetwal/ | zétoil /zetwal/ | zetwal /zetwal/ | zétwal /zetwal/ | zetwal /zetwal/ | zetwal /zetwal/ |
| Mother | mama /mama/ | manman /mãmã/ | manmon /mãmõ/ | manman /mɑ̃mɑ̃/ | manman /mãmã/ | manman /mɑ̃mɑ̃/ | manman /mɑ̃mɑ̃/ |
| Father | papa /papa/ | papa /papa/ | papa /papa/ | papa /papa/ | papa /papa/ | papa /papa/ | papa /papa/ |
| I | mo /mo/ | mon /mɔ̃/ | mwin /mwɛ̃/ | mo /mo/ | an /ã/ | mwen /mwɛ̃/ | mwen /mwɛ̃/ |
| You | to /to/ | ou /u/ | ou /u/ | to /to/ | ou /u/ | ou /u/ | ou /u/ |
| Name | nom /nom/ | non /nɔ̃/ | nom /nɔm/ | non /nɔ̃/ | non /nɔ̃/ | non /nõ/ | non /nɔ̃/ |
| Eye | lizie /lizje/ | lizye /lizje/ | zié /zje/ | zye /zje/ | zyé /zje/ | zié /zje/ | je /ʒe/ |
| Hand | lame /lame/ | lanmen /lãmɛ̃/ | lamin /lamɛ̃/ | men /mɛn/ | men /mɛ̃/ | lanmen /lɑ̃mɛn/ | men /mɛ̃/ |
| Heart | leker /lekeɾ/ | leker /lekeʁ/ | ker /kɛʁ/ | kè /kɛ/ | kè /kɛ/ | tjè /tʃɛ/ | kè /kɛ/ |
| Love | lamour /lamuɾ/ | lanmour /lãmuʁ/ | lamour /lamuʁ/ | renmen /rɛ̃mɛn/ | lanmou /lãmu/ | anmou /ɑ̃mu/ | lanmou /lɑ̃mu/ |
| Tree | pye /pje/ | pye dibwa /pje dibwa/ | pyébwa /pjebwa/ | bwa /bwa/ | pyé bwa /pje bwa/ | piébwa /pjebwa/ | pyebwa /pjebwa/ |
| House | lakaz /lakaz/ | lakaz /lakaz/ | kaz /kaz/ | kaz /kaz/ | kaz /kaz/ | kay /kaj/ | kay /kaj/ |
| Dog | lisien /lisjɛ̃/ | lisyen /lisjɛ̃/ | lisien /lisjɛ̃/ | chen /ʃɛ̃/ | chyen /ʃjɛ̃/ | chyen /tʃjɛn/ | chen /ʃɛ̃/ |
| Cat | sat /sat/ | sat /sat/ | shat /ʃat/ | chat /ʃa/ | chat /ʃat/ | chat /tʃa/ | chat /ʃat/ |
| Eat | manze /mãze/ | manze /mãze/ | manz /mãz/ | manjé /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manjé /mãʒe/ | manjé /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manje /mɑ̃ʒe/ |
| Drink | bwar /bwaɾ/ | bwar /bwaʁ/ | bwar /bwaʁ/ | bwè /bwɛ/ | bwè /bwɛ/ | bwè /bwɛ/ | bwè /bwɛ/ |
| One | enn /ɛn/ | enn /ɛn/ | inn /in/ | youn /jun/ | yonn /jõn/ | yonn /jɔn/ | youn /jun/ |
| Two | de /de/ | de /de/ | de /de/ | de /de/ | dé /de/ | dé /de/ | de /de/ |
| Hello | bonzour /bõzuɾ/ | bonzour /bõzuʁ/ | bonzour /bõzuʁ/ | bonjou /bõʒu/ | bonjou /bõʒu/ | bonjou /bɔ̃ʒu/ | bonjou /bɔ̃ʒu/ |
| Thank you | mersi /meɾsi/ | mersi /mɛʁsi/ | mersi /mɛʁsi/ | mèsi /mɛsi/ | mèsi /mɛsi/ | mèsi /mɛsi/ | mèsi /mɛsi/ |
| Good | bon /bõ/ | bon /bõ/ | bon /bõ/ | bon /bõ/ | bon /bõ/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ |
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