gwaan
The Jamaican phrase for "go on" is gwaan.
Gwaan is used to encourage someone or to express disbelief.
Meaning: continue an action (verb)
Did you know?
- In Jamaica, gwaan is often used as a greeting, as in wa gwaan, which translates to 'what is going on' or 'what's up'.
- A common response to the greeting wa gwaan is mi deh ya, which literally means 'I am here' but functions as 'I am doing fine'.
- In some contexts, gwaan is used to describe how someone is behaving, such as saying someone is gwaan like a certain person to criticize their attitude.
Examples in context
- Gwaan, tell mi di rest a di story!Go on, tell me the rest of the story!
- Nuh stop, jus' gwaan.Don't stop, just go on.
Example conversation
Ricardo interrupts Shanti while she is telling a story.
- RicardoSorry mi interrupt, gwaan.Sorry I interrupted, go on.
- ShantiAs mi did a say, him leave.As I was saying, he left.
- RicardoAnd den wah happen?And then what happened?
- ShantiMi a gwaan tell yuh right now.I am going on to tell you right now.
