Meanings
alternative dated Beachlamar · alternative dated Beach-la-Mar · alternative dated Bichelama · alternative Bichelamar
- A creole language spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu, derived from Indo-European (mainly from English) and Oceanic languages.
Origin
- Frenchbêche-de-mer“sea cucumber”
- BislamaBislama
- EnglishBislama
Borrowed from Bislama Bislama, from French bêche-de-mer (“sea cucumber”), referring to sea cucumbers (trepang) that were harvested and dried alongside sandalwood gathering in the mid-19th century. The pidgin that developed among local labourers, traders, and English-speaking overseers became known by the name of this trade item. The term evolved from referring to the commodity to the trade language itself.
More words from Bislama, French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 比斯拉馬語 /比斯拉马语
- 比斯拉馬語 /比斯拉马语 (Bǐsīlāmǎyǔ)a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu
Dutch Bislama
- Bislamaa creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu
Finnish bislama
- bislamaa creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu
French bichelamar
- bichelamara creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu
German Bislama
- Bislamaa creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu
Greek Μπισλάμα
- Μπισλάμα (Bisláma)a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu
Irish Bioslaimis
- Bioslaimisa creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu
Italian bislama
- bislamaa creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu
Japanese ビスラマ語
- ビスラマ語 (Bisurama-go)a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu
Malay bahasa Bislama
- bahasa Bislamaa creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu
Portuguese bislama, bislamá
- bislamaa creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu
- bislamáa creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu
Russian бислама
- бислама (bislama)a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu
Spanish bislama
- bislamaa creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu
Tagalog Bislama
- Bislamaa creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu
Thai ภาษาบิสลามา
- ภาษาบิสลามา (paasăa bìtlaamaa)a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu
Turkish Bislama
- Bislamaa creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu
Ukrainian біслама
- біслама (bislama)a creole spoken on the South Pacific island-nation of Vanuatu
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
Bislama. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Bislama
“Bislama.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Bislama. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Bislama,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Bislama.
Source: Bislama on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.