What it means
A chill Jamaican Patois greeting that means what's going on or what's up. You'll hear it as wah gwaan or wah gwan. A lot of the time it's not a real question at all, just a warm little check-in to hail someone and get the conversation rolling.
Usage examples
"Wah gwaan, mi boss? Mi just reach and di place look nice. Yuh deh yah from early, or yuh just roll in too?"
"Wah gwaan, big man, long time no see, come in and tell me how the family's keeping."
"She just texts wah gwaan every morning, it's her way of checking I'm still alive."
"Wah gwaan, bredrin? Yuh vanish whole week and now yuh pop up like nothing never happen."
"Mi buck him outside the shop and he just grin, say wah gwaan, and start chat bare tings."
Where it comes from
From Jamaican Patois. Wah is a reduced form of what, and gwaan comes from going on. Put together, wah gwaan literally means what’s going on, but in real life it usually works more like a warm everyday hello. It spread wider through Jamaican diaspora speech, reggae, dancehall, and UK urban slang.
Other ways to say it
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