wa bout yuh
The English phrase "what about you" is translated into Jamaican as wa bout yuh.
This phrase is used to ask for another person's opinion or situation after sharing one's own.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is a phonetic reduction of 'what about you', where 'what' becomes 'wa' and 'about' becomes 'bout'.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The form wa bout yuh is the colloquial, spoken version of the phrase used in everyday Jamaican Patois. An yuh? is the informal way to ask "What about you?" in Jamaican.
Did you know?
- Because Patois is heavily influenced by the prosody of West African languages, the way you stress the yuh in wa bout yuh can change the perceived warmth of the question.
- If you use the full English 'what about you' in a casual Jamaican setting, you might sound overly formal or even distancing to a local speaker.
- In Jamaican Patois, the reduction of 'what' to wa is part of a broader linguistic pattern where unstressed syllables are dropped to create a rhythmic, melodic flow.
Examples in context
- Person A: Wah gwaan? How di day ah go? | Person B: Di day deh nice still. An yuh?Person A: What's happening? How is the day going? | Person B: The day is still nice. And you?
- Person A: Hey, how you doin'? | Person B: Mi deh yah good man. Yuh good?Person A: Hey, how you doin'? | Person B: I am fine man. Are you good?
- Wa bout yuh?What about you?
- Mi good, wa bout yuh?I am good, what about you?
- Mi hungry, wa bout yuh?I am hungry, what about you?
Example conversation
Tanesha and Kevon are catching up on the street.
- TaneshaEverything irie wid mi, wa bout yuh, Kevon?Everything is fine with me, what about you, Kevon?
- KevonMi deh yah, man.I am hanging in there, man.
- TaneshaYuh look tired, yuh sleep good?You look tired, did you sleep well?
- KevonNo, mi restless last night.No, I was restless last night.
