shi
The Jamaican word for 'she' is shi.
shi is used to refer to a person.
Meaning: person (pron)
Did you know?
- In Jamaican Patois, shi can function as a universal third-person singular pronoun, meaning it can refer to any human regardless of their biological sex.
- If an English speaker hears shi used for a man, they might wrongly assume the speaker is misgendering the subject rather than following standard Patois grammar.
- The grammatical logic of shi is a feature shared with many other English-based creoles across the Caribbean, not just in Jamaica.
Examples in context
- Shi-deh a di shop.She is at the shop.
- Da lady deh a di manager.That lady is the manager.
- Mi deh pan di phone wid di woman deh.I'm on the phone with that woman.
- She deh pon di bus.She is on the bus.
- Whey she deh? Mi nuh see har fi di whole day.Where is she? I haven't seen her all day.
- Shi deh a work. Shi busy.She is at work. She is busy.
- Shi a go a di store.She is going to the store.
- Mi see shi yesterday.I saw her yesterday.
- Shi nice way too much.She is very nice.
Example conversation
Shanti and Damion are talking about a friend.
- ShantiYou see Sarah?Do you see Sarah?
- DamionNo, where shi deh?No, where is she?
- ShantiShi deh a shop.She is at the shop.
- DamionAlright, mi will wait.Alright, I will wait.
