If you’re trying to make sense of Guyana slang words, you’ll notice pretty quickly that Guyanese English has a rhythm all its own. Some of it comes straight from Guyanese Creolese, the country’s English-based creole. Some of it is just informal, everyday talk shaped by decades of African, Indian, Indigenous, European, and wider Caribbean influence sitting side by side in one small country.
A sentence that looks perfectly ordinary written down can sound completely different coming out of someone’s mouth in Georgetown. You’ll catch the general meaning, nod along, and still wonder what exactly that one word meant.
This guide covers more than 60 Guyanese slang words and phrases — greetings, words for people, funny expressions, food terms, and full example sentences — so you’re not just memorising a list, you’re actually learning how these expressions are used.
What Is Guyanese Creole (Creolese)?
Before the word list, it’s worth clearing something up: “Guyana slang” and “Guyanese Creole” aren’t quite the same thing, even though people use them interchangeably all the time.
Guyanese Creolese is an English-lexified creole that developed through Guyana’s complex colonial and multicultural history, with influences from English, African languages, Indigenous languages, Dutch, and languages brought by Indian indentured workers. It isn’t simply “broken English.” It has its own vocabulary, pronunciation patterns, grammar, and ways of expressing meaning.
Slang, on the other hand, is just informal vocabulary. Some Guyana slang words come directly from Creolese. Others are casual English expressions that happen to be popular in Guyana right now and might not have existed twenty years ago. In this guide, we’re covering both, but we’ll try to be clear about which is which where it matters.
60+ Guyana Slang Words and Phrases
Here’s the core list. Each entry has a plain-English meaning and a natural example sentence, not just a bare translation.
A quick note on Guyanese slang: Usage can vary by region, generation, family background, and context. Some expressions are widespread across Guyana, while others may be more local, older, informal, or associated with particular communities. Spellings can also vary because Guyanese Creolese is primarily spoken rather than standardised in one universal spelling system.
| Guyanese Word/Phrase | Meaning | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Me na able | I can’t take it anymore / I’ve had enough | “Dis heat, me na able, man.” |
| Jus’ now | Sometime soon — could be five minutes, could be never | “I go call yuh jus’ now.” |
| Liming | Hanging out with friends, doing nothing in particular | “We just liming by de corner.” |
| Gyaff | To chat or gossip | “Stop gyaff and finish yuh work.” |
| Abee / Ah-bee | Us, we, our people | “Abee going to de market.” |
| Wha’ happen | A casual greeting, like “what’s up” | “Wha’ happen, bai?” |
| Wha Gwaan | Another casual greeting asking what’s going on | “Wha gwaan wid yuh today?” |
| Big man ting | Something serious, or a statement of fact | “Dat contract is big man ting.” |
| Watch deh | Look over there | “Watch deh, dat’s de bus.” |
| Take yuh eyes and pass meh | To deliberately ignore or disrespect someone | “He take he eyes and pass me like I not even standing dey.” |
| Bun yuh eye | To ignore something foolish rather than react | “Just bun yuh eye and walk past.” |
| Vex | Very angry or upset | “Me vex bad when de bus never come.” |
| Col col | Very cold (the repetition adds emphasis) | “De water col col dis morning.” |
| Hard ears | Stubborn, doesn’t listen to advice | “Dat boy hard ears, he na listen to nobody.” |
| Small up | Move over, make room | “Small up, nuh, plenty people coming.” |
| Buck | To bump into someone unexpectedly | “I buck up on she in town yesterday.” |
| Lime | To hang out casually (verb form of liming) | “Come lime wid we later.” |
| Bai | A casual term for a boy, young man, or male friend; the exact meaning depends on context | “Wha’ happen, bai, yuh good?” |
| Auntie / Uncle | A respectful term for any older person, related or not | “Good morning, Auntie, how yuh do?” |
| Swank | A homemade lemonade-style drink | “Nutten beat cold swank on a hot day.” |
| Dhal | A thick split-pea soup, usually eaten with rice | “We having dhal and rice for lunch.” |
| Roti | A flatbread often wrapped around curry | “Pass me a piece a dat roti, please.” |
| Metagee | A one-pot dish of ground provisions, plantain, and dumplings cooked in coconut milk | “Sunday mean metagee at Granny house.” |
| Marabunta | A stinging wasp | “Watch out, marabunta nest up dey.” |
| Baccoo | A small, mischievous spirit from Guyanese folklore | “Old people say baccoo does live in a bottle.” |
| Jumbie | A ghost or spirit | “Dem say de old house have jumbie.” |
| Lamata | A clumsy or awkward person | “Careful nuh, yuh acting like a lamata.” |
| Skin yuh teeth | To smile, sometimes sarcastically | “She just skin she teeth and say nothing.” |
| Suck-teeth | A sound made with the teeth and tongue to show annoyance | “He suck-teeth and walk away vex.” |
| Gaff | Casual talk or conversation (related to gyaff) | “We had a good gaff by de shop.” |
| Nah mean | Understand what I mean, right? | “Dat was a long day, nah mean.” |
| Leh we go | Let’s go | “Leh we go nah, we late already.” |
| Wuh loss | An expression of mild shock or exasperation | “Wuh loss, look how much traffic!” |
| Chuck up | To bump or knock into something | “I chuck up meh foot on de step.” |
| Fu true | Really, honestly, is that so | “Fu true? I never know dat.” |
| Mek | Make, or “let” (as in “let me”) | “Mek we see wha’ happen.” |
| Yuh | You (informal pronoun used constantly in Creolese) | “Yuh coming or wha’?” |
| Dem | Them, or used to mean “and others” after a name | “John dem coming later.” |
| Nah | No, or a filler at the end of a sentence for emphasis | “I not going, nah.” |
| Deh | There, or used to mean “is/are” in some constructions | “He deh outside.” |
| Gyul | Girl, in casual Creolese speech | “Dat gyul sharp, yes.” |
| Fuh | For | “Dis one fuh yuh.” |
| Han’ middle | The palm of the hand | “Put it in me han’ middle.” |
| Backdam | Farmland or the rural area behind a village, often used for agriculture | “Daddy gone a backdam early dis morning.” |
| Cyar | Car | “Park de cyar over dey.” |
| Nex’ | Next | “Wait, I coming nex’ minute.” |
| Wuk | Work | “I gotta go a wuk now.” |
| Nyam | To eat, often quickly or heartily | “He nyam de whole plate in five minutes.” |
| Bruk | Broke, either financially or physically broken | “I bruk dis month, can’t go out.” |
| Chile | Child, used affectionately or in exasperation | “Chile, wha’ yuh doing?” |
| Sweet han’ | Describes someone who’s a good cook | “She have sweet han’, everybody love she food.” |
| Ole talk | Small talk, chit-chat, or telling stories | “We just doing ole talk on de bench.” |
| Mash up | Broken, ruined, or badly damaged | “De road mash up bad after de rain.” |
| Grung | Ground, or a farm plot | “He gone check de grung dis morning.” |
| Bassa-bassa | Confusion, chaos, or a commotion | “Doh mek bassa-bassa over nutten.” |
| Cut-eye | A sharp, disapproving look given to someone | “She give he a cut-eye and walk off.” |
| Fowl-cock | Rooster | “De fowl-cock does wake we up every morning.” |
| Batty | Backside (used casually, not vulgar in most contexts) | “Move yuh batty, de bus coming.” |
| Pickney | Child or children | “De pickney dem playing outside.” |
| Wan wan | One by one, gradually | “De people came in wan wan.” |
| Gaff string | An ongoing, drawn-out conversation | “Dat was a long gaff string las’ night.” |
| Nuff | A lot, plenty | “Nuff people did come out for de event.” |
This list isn’t exhaustive, and Guyanese slang keeps evolving, especially among younger people online. But these are the expressions you’re most likely to actually hear in daily conversation.
Common Guyanese Greetings and Everyday Expressions
If you want to sound natural rather than like you memorised a list, start with greetings — these get used constantly.
How do you say hello in Guyanese? “Wha’ happen?” is a familiar casual greeting in Guyanese speech, roughly meaning “What’s happening?” or “What’s up?” You may also hear “Wha gwaan,” although that expression is shared across several Caribbean varieties and isn’t uniquely Guyanese.
How do you say hi in Guyanese? A simple “hi” works fine in Guyana too, especially in more formal settings, but casually you’ll hear “Wha’ happen, bai” or “Awright” far more often.
How do you say thank you in Guyanese? Standard “thank you” is perfectly normal in Guyana. Informal pronunciation may vary in everyday speech, but there isn’t a single slang replacement that everyone uses.
How do you say I love you in Guyanese? There isn’t really a separate Creolese phrase that’s commonly used for this — Guyanese speakers generally say “I love you” the same way as standard English, since this is usually kept fairly sincere and direct rather than slang-ified.
Guyanese Slang Words for People
Guyanese slang has its own set of casual terms for people, and context matters a lot here — age, familiarity, and setting all change which word fits.
How do Guyanese say girl? Casually, you’ll hear “gyul,” which is simply the Creolese pronunciation of “girl.” It’s used affectionately among friends and family, not as a formal term.
How do Guyanese say boy? “Bai” is the most common casual word for a boy or young man, and it doubles as a general term of address between male friends, similar to “man” or “dude” in English.
Other people-related terms worth knowing: “Auntie” and “Uncle” for any older person you respect, whether or not you’re actually related, and “pickney” for children in general.
Funny Guyanese Phrases and Expressions
Some Guyana slang words aren’t really about meaning so much as delivery — they’re funny because of how vivid the imagery is.
- “Take yuh eyes and pass meh” — describing being deliberately ignored, as if the other person’s eyes physically walked past you.
- “Wuh loss” — an all-purpose exclamation of shock, somewhere between “oh no” and “wow,” usually said with a dramatic pause.
- “Skin yuh teeth” — smiling, but often used sarcastically to describe a fake or forced smile.
- “Suck-teeth” — not a phrase you say out loud so much as a sound you make, but it’s such a core part of Guyanese communication that it deserves a mention. It’s a sharp intake of breath through the teeth used to express annoyance without saying a word.
Guyanese Slang Sentences: How to Use the Words Naturally
Knowing individual words only gets you so far. Here’s how a few of them sound strung together in natural speech:
- “Me na able wid dis traffic, bai. We been liming in de cyar for a hour.” (I can’t deal with this traffic, man. We’ve been sitting in the car for an hour.)
- “He vex bad after she gyaff he business to everybody.” (He got really angry after she gossiped about his business to everyone.)
- “Leh we go nah, jus’ now going turn into never.” (Let’s go now, because “soon” is going to turn into “never.”)
- “Small up, de whole backdam coming through fuh de metagee.” (Move over, the whole farm community is coming through for the metagee.)
Notice how the words don’t just get swapped in one-for-one for English — the whole sentence rhythm shifts.
Guyanese Slang vs Jamaican and Trinidadian Slang
Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad all have English-based creoles, and a visitor unfamiliar with the Caribbean might assume they’re basically the same thing. They’re not, even though there’s real overlap.
All three share a Caribbean rhythm and some similar sentence structures — dropping certain pronouns, repeating words for emphasis (like “col col” in Guyanese), and using “dem” after a name to mean “and the others.” Some vocabulary crosses over too, since Caribbean music, TV, and social media travel freely between the islands and the mainland.
But the vocabulary itself is often distinct. Guyanese Creolese reflects Guyana’s particular linguistic and historical mix, including influences associated with African, Indigenous, European, and Indo-Guyanese communities. Jamaican Patois and Trinidadian English Creole developed through different historical and linguistic circumstances, each with their own separate vocabulary and pronunciation patterns. A word that’s completely normal in Trinidad might be unfamiliar or mean something different in Guyana, and vice versa.
The safest approach is to treat Guyanese, Jamaican, and Trinidadian slang as related but separate — not as one interchangeable “Caribbean slang.”
Guyanese English Translation: Can You Translate It Word-for-Word?
Not really, and this trips a lot of people up. Guyanese Creolese isn’t just English with substituted words — it has its own grammar. Pronouns, verb tenses, and sentence order don’t always map directly onto standard English.
For example, “He deh outside” doesn’t literally translate word-for-word into standard grammar (“he there outside”), but it means “he is outside.” The verb “to be” often works differently in Creolese constructions than it does in standard English.
If you’re trying to translate Guyanese slang for a project, a caption, or just to understand a message from a Guyanese friend, it’s usually better to learn the phrase as a whole unit — meaning and all — rather than trying to translate it piece by piece. If you’re searching for an English-to-Guyanese translator, keep in mind that automated translation tools may struggle with informal Creolese, slang, pronunciation-based spellings, and expressions whose meaning depends heavily on context.
Guyanese Words You May Hear in Everyday Conversation
Beyond slang and greetings, there are everyday Guyanese words that show up constantly in ordinary conversation, at the market, at work, or just around the house — words like “backdam” for farmland, “wuk” for work, “cyar” for car, and “grung” for a farm plot. None of these are exotic or rare; they’re just part of how English is spoken day to day in Guyana, alongside more standard vocabulary.
How to Learn Guyanese Slang
If you actually want to pick this up rather than just read about it, a few things help:
- Listen to native speakers — through Guyanese YouTube channels, TikTok creators, or conversations if you know anyone from Guyana. Slang lives in delivery and tone as much as the words themselves.
- Learn expressions in context, not as a flashcard list. “Wuh loss” means nothing on its own until you hear it used in a moment of genuine surprise.
- Don’t assume every Caribbean word is Guyanese. Plenty of slang crosses over from Jamaica or Trinidad through music and social media, but it’s not always used the same way locally.
- Pay attention to who says what. Some expressions are used mostly by older generations, some mostly by younger people online, and using the wrong one in the wrong setting can sound off.
- Check whether an expression is casual, humorous, or potentially rude before using it with someone you don’t know well. Not everything on a slang list is appropriate for every setting.
If you’re also curious about the culture behind the language, our guide to traditional Guyanese dishes pairs well with this one — a lot of Guyanese slang shows up naturally around food and family gatherings. Our piece on Emancipation Day in Guyana also covers some of the cultural history that shaped how Guyanese English developed.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do Guyanese say girl?
Casually, “gyul” — the Creolese pronunciation of “girl” — is commonly used among friends and family in informal settings.
What are some common words in Guyanese?
Everyday words include “wuk” (work), “cyar” (car), “nuff” (a lot), “deh” (there/is), and “yuh” (you), alongside slang like “liming” (hanging out) and “vex” (angry).
What are some funny Guyanese phrases?
“Take yuh eyes and pass meh” (to be deliberately ignored) and “wuh loss” (an exclamation of shock) are two of the more colourful and commonly heard ones.
How do Guyanese say boy?
“Bai” is the most common casual term, used both as a word for a young man and as a general way to address a male friend.
How do you say hello in Guyanese?
“Wha’ happen?” is the most familiar casual greeting, roughly equivalent to “what’s up.” “Wha gwaan” is also heard, though it’s shared across the wider Caribbean rather than being uniquely Guyanese.
How do you say thank you in Guyanese?
Standard “thank you” is widely used and understood in Guyana; there isn’t one single slang replacement everyone uses instead.
How do you say I love you in Guyanese?
Guyanese speakers typically say this the same way as in standard English, since it’s usually kept sincere rather than slang.
How do you say hi in Guyanese?
A simple “hi” is understood everywhere, though casually “Wha’ happen, bai” is far more common between friends.
Final Thoughts
Guyanese slang isn’t just a list of words to memorise — it’s a living part of how people connect, joke, and express themselves across the country. Some of it comes from Guyanese Creolese’s deep grammatical roots, and some of it is simply the informal, ever-changing vocabulary of everyday life. Either way, understanding a few of these expressions gives you a genuine window into Guyanese culture that a plain English-to-English translation never could.
Whether you’re planning a trip, reconnecting with Guyanese family, or just curious about Caribbean English, the best way forward is the same: listen more than you memorise, and don’t be afraid to ask a Guyanese friend what something actually means in context.