fyah bun
Literally "fire burn"; a symbolic condemnation, denunciation or curse against something the speaker considers corrupt, oppressive or unrighteous.
Definitions
Literally "fire burn"; a symbolic condemnation, denunciation or curse against something the speaker considers corrupt, oppressive or unrighteous. Rooted in Rastafarian theology, where fyah is the purifying judgement of Jah against Babylon — the colonial, racist, materialist system — "fyah bun" is shouted (or written in lyrics) at politicians, police brutality, hypocrisy, sellouts and exploitative industry practices alike. The phrase carries genuine religious and political weight in Rasta communities and is used seriously in roots reggae, conscious dancehall and Caribbean activist speech rather than as a casual joke; outside that context it can read as performative when borrowed without understanding. Often paired with a list of targets ("fyah bun Babylon, fyah bun corruption, fyah bun the wicked").
the elder closed his speech with "fyah bun all who profit off the youth"
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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Other words near "fyah bun" (F)
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Related terms
Semantically related
- 86%
Patois spelling of "fire", used both literally and as a powerful figurative word for excellence, intensity or righteous condemnation. In Rastafarian usage fyah carries a heavy spiritual charge: it represents purity, divine judgement, the life-force and the cleansing destruction of corruption ("fyah bun Babylon" — fire burn the oppressive system). In secular dancehall and Caribbean pop culture it works much like "fire" in African American English, marking something as exceptionally hot, skilled or hype — a track, a verse, a dance, an outfit. Often paired with the flame emoji online and shouted as a one-word approval in dancehall sessions. The spelling deliberately reflects Patois pronunciation rather than English orthography.
- 60%
(Internet slang, text messaging, vulgar) ; used to indicate confusion, or a state of rage, at something.
- 59%
(Jamaica, MLE, MTE, vulgar) bad behaviour.
- 59%
A strong Jamaican Patois expletive, also spelled bumboclaat, bombaclart or bumbaclart. Etymologically it combines "bumbo" (an old Patois word for the buttocks or vulva) with "claat" (cloth) — literally referring to a sanitary or menstrual cloth — making it one of the so-called "claat" curses (alongside bloodclaat and rasclaat) that form the strongest tier of Patois profanity. Used as an exclamation of anger, shock or disgust, as an intensifier ("bombaclat liar"), or as a personal insult. Considered seriously offensive in Jamaica and across the Caribbean diaspora and treated as comparable to the strongest English-language curses; many older speakers and religious communities find it deeply taboo. In recent years it has also been spread without that weight as a meme reaction on Twitter and TikTok, a usage that many Caribbean people view as disrespectful appropriation.
- 59%
Jamaican / UK Caribbean diaspora: a party, rave, or celebration — usually with dancehall music. Widely used across London and Birmingham Caribbean communities. "A real bashment" = a great, high-energy party.