Papiamentu

Papiamento

Iberian-based creole

FamilyIberian-based creole Speakers~330K ScriptLatin CountriesAruba, Curaçao, Bonaire (Dutch Caribbean) Official inAruba, Curaçao, Bonaire (alongside Dutch) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3pap

Papiamento (Curaçao/Bonaire) and Papiamentu (Aruba) is an Iberian-based creole with ~330K speakers — co-official in the Dutch Caribbean ABC islands alongside Dutch. Portuguese-Spanish lexifier with Dutch, English, and West African substrate (Sephardic Jewish merchant trade origin 17-18c. + slave plantation labor). Tonal among creoles (rare); standardized orthography in 1976 (Curaçao) / 1976 (Aruba).

Where it is spoken

20 core words in Papiamento

Water

awa

/awa/

Fire

kandela

/kandela/

Sun

solo

/solo/

Moon

luna

/luna/

Mother

mama

/mama/

Father

tata

/tata/

Eat

kome

/kome/

Drink

bebe

/bebe/

Love

amor

/amor/

Heart

kurason

/kurason/

Tree

palu

/palu/

House

kas

/kas/

Dog

kacho

/katʃo/

Cat

pushi

/puʃi/

Hand

man

/man/

Eye

wowo

/wowo/

Hello

bon dia

/bon dia/

Thank you

danki

/daŋki/

One

un

/un/

Good

bon

/bon/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Iberian-based creole languages

Meaning PapiamentoSpanish (Mexico)Spanish (Colombia)Spanish (Chile)Spanish (Argentina)Spanish (Cuban)Spanish (Peruvian)
Water awa /awa/ agua /aɣwa/ agua /aɣwa/ agua /aɣwa/ agua /aɣwa/ agua /aɣwa/ agua /aɣwa/
Fire kandela /kandela/ fuego /fweɣo/ fuego /fweɣo/ fuego /fweɣo/ fuego /fweɣo/ fuego /fweɣo/ fuego /fweɣo/
Sun solo /solo/ sol /sol/ sol /sol/ sol /sol/ sol /sol/ sol /sol/ sol /sol/
Moon luna /luna/ luna /luna/ luna /luna/ luna /luna/ luna /luna/ luna /luna/ luna /luna/
Mother mama /mama/ madre /maðɾe/ madre /maðɾe/ madre /maðɾe/ madre /maðɾe/ madre /maðɾe/ madre /maðɾe/
Father tata /tata/ padre /paðɾe/ padre /paðɾe/ padre /paðɾe/ padre /paðɾe/ padre /paðɾe/ padre /paðɾe/
Eat kome /kome/ comer /komeɾ/ comer /komeɾ/ comer /komeɾ/ comer /komeɾ/ comer /komeɾ/ comer /komeɾ/
Drink bebe /bebe/ beber /beβeɾ/ beber /beβeɾ/ beber /beβeɾ/ beber /beβeɾ/ beber /beβeɾ/ beber /beβeɾ/
Page 1/3

Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

Papiamento
Mi ke proba e trachi ku mi a mira den e butik na frente di e hotel
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 看到的 那套西装
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.