Can you speak Cajun?
You’re gonna want to know some Cajun terms if you would like give it a try. Get up to speed with the glossary below. Once you’re feeling good, go find Robert and take a stab at it.
Années passées [a-nee pass-ay]
Years gone by.
Bayou [bi-yoo]
A slow moving stream.
Beaucoup (boh-KOO)
French for a lot.
Beignet [bin-yay]
A fried square French donut coated with powdered sugar.
Bon ami [bon ah-mee]
Good friend.
Boolye
Bright light used to blind prey while hunting.
Bourre’ [boo-ray]
A trick-taking gambling card game primarily played in Acadiana.
Buster
A crab that has recently shed its shell – a soft shell crab.
Ca c’est bon!
It’s GOOD!
Camp
A vacation home.
Catch me
“Get for me” or “Bring to me.”
chere (shaa, with an a as in cat)
French for dear: used by Cajuns, with their own distinctive pronunciation, as a term of endearment.
Come see
A verbal command, instructing or request asking someone to come near to “check this out.” A command to “come here.”
Crabbing
When Cajuns go crabbing, they try to lure a crab out of its mud hole with a piece of bacon or other bait tied to the end of a string.
Crawfish
“Mudbug” – Crustacean served boiled or fried.
Étouffée [ay too fay]
Smothered seafood, Cajun stew.
Fais Do-Do (fay doh-doh)
The French term literally means to “make sleep,” but in the Cajun culture, a fais do-do is a big party where dancing and festivities last long into the night. Babies sleep in a back room so their parents don’t have to leave early.
Fifolet [fee fo lay]
According to Cajun folklore, it is a bright light seen in swamp areas that is said to misdirect or disorient those who try to follow it as a perceived point of safety.
Gris-Gris
A spell using physical items, like a charm or talisman.
Gumbo
African word for okra, which is used as a thickening agent in a dark stew of seafood or meat, served over rice.
Jambalaya [jum-buh-ly-ah]
Well-seasoned mixture of rice, meat and vegetables cooked in one pot.
King Cake
Circular yeast cake decorated with purple, yellow and green sugars and containing a plastic baby (to represent baby Jesus) served throughout the Mardi Gras season. The person who gets the baby provides the next king cake.
Laissez les bon temps rouler! [lay-zay lay bon tom roo-lay]
Let the good times roll!
Lutin [loo-tan]
According to Cajun folklore, it is the spirit of a baby who died before it was baptized and engages in mischievous trick and pranks on the living.
Make a Grocery Bill
Go shopping.
Mardi Gras [mar-dee graw]
Fat Tuesday, the season that begins the twelfth night after Christmas and ends the day before Lent
Me
“Me” is often used as a secondary possessive to reinforce the primary possessive noun. E.g., “I’m gone to town, me” – meaning “I’m going to town.”
Nanny
Godmother.
Parish
A political division resembling counties in other states. Louisiana is the only state with parishes (dating back to Napoleon and a strong Catholic influence).
Pa-ran [pah-ran]
Godfather.
Pirogue [pee row]
A small, canoe-like boat.
Po po
The police.
Pshaw
“ain’t nuttin’ to it!”
Pope yaire
Butterfly shrimp nets.
Push/Pushing
The process of a shrimp boat navigating up and down a bayou or waterway with its nets dropped into the water.
Rougarou [roo-gah-roo]
According to Cajun legend, it is a creature that physically transforms from a man into a wolf or dog or even a bird.
Rougarouin’
Getting into trouble; causing trouble.
Roux [roo]
A classic Cajun concoction made by blending oil and flour and cooking them together. Used in Cajun Gumbo, stews, fricassees, etc.
Sauce piquante [saws pee-kaw(n)]
Tomato base; rich stew.
Skiff
Small boat for crabbing or shrimping.
Who dat?
Who is that? Who goes there?