weh
The English word "where" is translated into Jamaican as weh.
weh is used as an interrogative pronoun to ask about a location.
Meaning: at or in what place (adv)
How does it change in a sentence?
In Jamaican Patois, weh is the standard interrogative pronoun used to ask about location.
Did you know?
- In Jamaican Patois, weh can also mean 'what' or 'which' depending on the context. For example, weh yuh want means 'what do you want'.
- When used in an exclamation like 'weh man!', it functions more as a greeting or a way to grab someone's attention rather than asking for their coordinates.
- While weh is used to ask 'where', it is also used in the phrase 'weh it deh', which translates to 'where it is', but is often used colloquially to mean 'what is going on' or 'what is the situation'.
Examples in context
- Weh yuh did deh?Where were you?Tatoeba #5710328 by Kyle, translation #16486 by CK
- Wha' part yuh deh?where are you
- A, yuh deh bout?is someone nearby?
- Weh di food deh?Where is the food?
- Weh di keys deh?Where are the keys?
- Weh yuh a go?Where are you going?
Example conversation
Latoya and Andre are looking for a lost dog.
- LatoyaAndre, weh di dog deh?Andre, where is the dog?
- AndreMi nuh see him nowhere.I don't see him anywhere.
- LatoyaWeh yuh check already?Where did you check already?
- AndreMi check di yard and di garden.I checked the yard and the garden.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
