waan
The Jamaican word for "want" is waan.
The verb waan is used to express a desire for a thing and a desire to perform an action.
Meaning: to desire (verb)
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb waan does not change its form for different subjects like "he" or "she".
Did you know?
- Because Jamaican Patois is a creole, waan reflects a linguistic blend where the English 'want' merged with West African syntactic structures.
- Jamaican Patois uses waan as a marker of intent, where it can substitute for 'going to' or 'intend to' in certain sentence structures.
- While 'waan' expresses a desire, a Jamaican speaker might use 'nuh waan' to express a polite refusal rather than a direct 'no'.
Examples in context
- Mi waan de latest dancehall album.I want the latest dancehall album.
- Mi waa some fresh fruits straight from di tree.I want some fresh fruits straight from the tree.
- Mi waan some ackee and saltfish fi breakfast.I want some ackee and saltfish for breakfast.
- Mi really waan go to di beach today.I really want to go to the beach today.
- Mi waan go a di beach.I want to go to the beach.
- Wah yuh waan fi eat?What do you want to eat?
- Dem waan mek di music louder.They want to make the music louder.
Example conversation
Kevon and Tanesha are deciding what to eat.
- KevonMi waan some fried fish.I want some fried fish.
- TaneshaMi no waan fish today.I don't want fish today.
- KevonYuh waan chicken instead?Do you want chicken instead?
- TaneshaYes, mi waan that.Yes, I want that.
