What You Will Learn
1. Common financial terms in Haitian Creole
2. How money amounts are expressed in gourdes
3. What Haitians mean when they say dola ayisyen, or Haitian dollar
4. How to convert Haitian dollars into Haitian gourdes
5. How to distinguish Haitian dollars from American dollars
Common Financial Terms in Haitian Creole
- Lajan / kòb - Money
- Lajan kach - Cash
- Monnen - Change or coins, depending on the context
- Pyès monnen - Coin
- Santim - Cent
- Kont labank - Bank account
- Kont kouran - Checking account
- Kont epay - Savings account
- Relve kont labank - Bank statement
- Kat kredi - Credit card
- Kat debi - Debit card
- Prete - To borrow
- Prè - Loan
- Dèt - Debt
- Lwaye - Rent
- Ekonomize / fè ekonomi - To save money
- Envesti - To invest
- Enterè - Interest
- Bidjè - Budget
- Taks - Tax or taxes
Note: A kanè bank is a bankbook or passbook. The general term for a bank account is kont labank.
These Terms Are Useful If...
1. You work with Haitian Creole speakers, especially in banking, customer service, insurance, or financial education.
2. You visit Haiti and need to discuss prices, payments, currency, or purchases.
3. You are a Haitian Creole interpreter working on behalf of a bank, credit union, insurance company, or other financial institution.
4. You need to help someone understand bank accounts, credit cards, loans, rent, taxes, or other financial matters.
How Money Amounts Work in Haitian Creole
- 1. Say the number or amount, followed by goud.
- 2. The word goud does not change between the singular and plural forms.
- 3. One gourde is divided into 100 santim.
- 4. Very small santim amounts may be uncommon in ordinary cash transactions, but santim is still the correct word for cents.
For example:
Yon goud - One gourde
Senk goud - Five gourdes
Vennsenk goud - Twenty-five gourdes
Twasan goud - Three hundred gourdes
Note: The word goud has the ou sound heard in Haitian Creole words such as pou and moun.
How to Know Which Type of Dollar Someone Means
The word dola can refer to either Haitian dollars or American dollars. The intended meaning depends on the location, amount, and surrounding conversation.
1. In Haiti, a price stated simply in dola may refer to Haitian dollars, especially in informal conversations and local pricing.
2. In the United States, dola will usually refer to American dollars unless the speaker specifies otherwise.
3. Speakers can say dola ayisyen when referring to Haitian dollars.
4. Speakers can say dola ameriken or dola ameriken yo when referring to U.S. dollars.
When the meaning is unclear, ask:
Èske se dola ayisyen oswa dola ameriken?
Does that mean Haitian dollars or American dollars?
This clarification is especially important when interpreting financial, legal, medical, business, or customer-service conversations.
What Is a Haitian Dollar?
- 1. The official currency of Haiti is the goud ayisyen, or Haitian gourde.
- 2. The dola ayisyen, or Haitian dollar, is a traditional unit used to calculate and express prices.
- 3. One Haitian dollar always represents five Haitian gourdes.
- 4. The Haitian dollar is not the same as the American dollar.
- 5. There is no separate modern Haitian-dollar banknote or coin. An amount stated in Haitian dollars is paid using gourdes or another accepted currency at the appropriate value.
1 dola ayisyen = 5 goud
How to Convert Haitian Dollars to Haitian Gourdes
- To convert Haitian dollars into gourdes, multiply the Haitian-dollar amount by five.
Haitian dollars × 5 = Haitian gourdes
For example:
5 dola ayisyen × 5 = 25 goud
60 dola ayisyen × 5 = 300 goud
Examples
Remember: 1 Haitian dollar = 5 Haitian gourdes.
1. I have 25 gourdes.
Mwen gen 25 goud.
This is equal to five Haitian dollars.
Sa egal 5 dola ayisyen.
2. Who has 300 gourdes?
Kiyès ki gen 300 goud?
This is equal to 60 Haitian dollars.
Sa egal 60 dola ayisyen.
3. This costs $300.25 USD.
Sa koute 300 dola ameriken ak 25 santim ameriken.
Important: Do not use the five-gourdes-to-one-Haitian-dollar formula to convert American dollars.
The value of the American dollar in gourdes changes according to the current exchange rate. Check the current rate offered by a reliable bank, financial institution, or official source before converting American dollars.
However, the traditional Haitian-dollar calculation remains fixed:
1 dola ayisyen = 5 goud
Why Do Haitians Use the Term “Haitian Dollar”?
The expression dola ayisyen comes from Haiti's monetary history.
Under a monetary convention dated April 12, 1919, the gourde was exchangeable at the rate of five gourdes for one American dollar.
This five-to-one relationship remained in place for many decades. As a result, people became accustomed to treating five gourdes as one dollar when discussing prices and calculating amounts.
The fixed relationship with the American dollar eventually ended, and the gourde began trading at a changing market exchange rate.
However, the traditional way of counting remained in everyday Haitian speech:
5 goud = 1 dola ayisyen
Therefore, the Haitian dollar is more accurately described as a traditional unit of account. It is a way of stating or calculating an amount rather than a separate modern currency.
For example, if someone says an item costs 20 dola ayisyen, multiply 20 by five:
20 × 5 = 100 goud
The item costs 100 gourdes.
Because dola can also mean American dollars, always clarify the currency whenever an error could affect a payment, contract, medical bill, bank transaction, or interpreted conversation.
Important Points to Remember
Goud is Haiti's official currency.
Dola ayisyen is a traditional counting unit equal to five gourdes.
Dola ameriken refers to U.S. dollars.
1 dola ayisyen = 5 goud, but the value of one American dollar in gourdes changes.
The gourde can be divided into santim, even though very small amounts may not appear frequently in everyday cash purchases.
When someone says dola, use the surrounding context or ask a follow-up question to determine which dollar they mean.
References
1. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Haitian Creole–English Glossary of Financial Terms.
2. Office of the Historian, United States Department of State. Convention of April 12, 1919.
3. Office of the Historian, United States Department of State. U.S. Invasion and Occupation of Haiti, 1915–1934.
4. Banque de la République d'Haïti. Official publications and monetary research.
5. World Bank. Haiti: Policy Proposals for Growth.