hol on
To say "hold on" in Jamaican, use hol on.
The phrase hol on is used both to request a temporary pause in an action and to express disbelief or surprise at something heard.
Meaning: wait a minute (verb)
How does it change in a sentence?
Adding the pronoun mi (me) to the end is a common way to make the command more personal or specific to the speaker's request, resulting in hol on mi to mean "wait a minute for me".
Did you know?
- Jamaican English often uses the word hold in phrases related to maintaining a situation, such as hold a vibes, which describes maintaining a specific mood or energy.
- The dropping of the 'd' in hol is not just a casual shortcut but a consistent phonetic feature of the Jamaican Patois dialect.
- Depending on the tone, hol on can transition from a polite request to a stern warning to stop a certain behavior immediately.
Examples in context
- Hol' up deh! Yu a move too quick. Mi waan catch mi breath before mi continue.Wait a moment! You're moving too quickly. I want to catch my breath before I continue.
- Hol on a bit.Wait a little bit.
- Mi a go hol on till him come.I am going to hold on until he comes.
- Hol on, mi deh pon di way.Wait a minute, I am on the way.
Example conversation
Shanice is trying to leave the house, but Andre needs to tell her something.
- AndreShanice, hol on!Shanice, wait a minute!
- ShaniceWah happen, Andre?What happened, Andre?
- AndreYuh lef' yuh keys pon di table.You left your keys on the table.
- ShaniceOh, tank yuh!Oh, thank you!
