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South African Colloquialism & Lingo |
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A local person made the comment "Baie koud!" (which means "Very cold!" and is pronounced 'buy-a-coat'. A tourist standing nearby felt sorry for the guy and promptly bought him a coat. The guy looked at the tourist with surprise and said "Baie dankie" (which means "Thank you very much" and is pronounced "buy-a-donkey"). The tourist answered "I just bought you a coat, and now you want me to buy you a donkey."
Below is some commonly used 'colloquial lingo' which may help you to understand some of the locals better, and remember the letter 'G' mostly sounds a bit like a short, smooth gargle without any water in your mouth, much like the Scottish 'ch ' in 'Loch'. |
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Colloquial |
Meaning |
| Ag! |
Ugh! |
| An' all |
And all, et cetera |
| Awie (ahvee) |
Afternoon |
| Baba |
Respectful address towards an older person |
| Babbelas |
Hangover |
| Bakgat (buckgut) |
Very nice, great, fantastic |
| Bakkie (bucky) |
Small open-bed pickup truck |
| Bang (bung) |
Scared |
Bang broek
(bung brook) |
'Scaredy pants', 'chicken' |
| Bliksem |
To hit, to swear (cuss), a mischievous person |
| Bra, bro, broer (brew), boet |
Friend, brother (not literally) |
| Hoezit my bra |
Hello my friend |
| Bonsella |
Something for free |
| Bucks |
Money |
| Bung |
Give |
| Check |
Look |
Check this out
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Look at this |
| Cherry |
Girl |
| China |
Friend, mate |
| Chips |
Watch out! |
| Chommie |
Buddy, friend |
| Chow |
Eat |
| Clips |
Money |
| Connection |
Friend, mate |
| Cozzie, Costume |
Swimsuit |
| Dagga |
Marijuana |
| Dinges |
'Thingamabob', 'whatsiname', 'whatchamacallit' |
| Dof |
Stupid, dumb, 'thick' |
| Donner |
Beat up, hit |
| Donga |
Ditch, large furrow |
| Don't check me skeef |
Don't look at me with that shifty skew look |
| Dop |
Fail |
| Dop |
Alcohol, drink |
| Dorpie |
Small town |
| Doss |
Sleep, nap |
| Dossing out |
Taking life easy |
| Dronkie |
Drunkard |
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| Eina! |
Ouch! Ow! |
| Eish! |
Expressing resignation like 'Oh no!' or 'Aaw man!' |
| Eita |
Positive expression like 'Eita, look at that girl' or 'Yes, he just scored a goal. Eita!' |
| Ek sê |
I say! (used gently) Hey you! (used roughly) |
| Fixed-up |
Great, fine, OK |
| Gap (gup) |
To steal as in "The thief gapped it"
or to bite as in "The dog gave him a gap" |
| Gatvol |
Fed up, had enough |
| Goof, goef |
Swim, dip |
| Gooi |
Throw |
| Graze |
Eat |
| Guzzie |
Friend |
| Hap (hup) |
A bite, a taste |
| Haw! |
Expression of amazement or disbelief, 'Wow!' |
| Hit a luck |
Met with good fortune |
| Hoesit, hoezit, Howzit |
How’s it going? How is it? How are you? |
| Izit |
Is it? (used when you've got nothing else to say) |
| Ja, ya |
Yes |
| Jeeslyk! |
Jeepers! |
| Jislaaik! |
Wow! |
| Jol |
To have fun, to party - 'Man! What a jol we had'. To go somewhere - 'Let's jol to the movies' |
| Just now (jisnow) |
A short time from the present - past or future |
| Khaya |
House, home, shack |
| Klap |
Smack, crack |
| Koppie |
Small hill |
| Kugel |
An overly groomed, materialistic woman |
| Kwaito |
South African urban youth music |
| Laanie |
Fancy |
| Laduma! |
A popular cheer at soccer matches |
| Lag |
Laugh |
| Lappie (luppy) |
Small rag / cloth |
| Lekker |
Nice, good, great |
| Madala |
Respectful term for 'old man' |
| Make tracks |
Get going |
| Mal |
Mad, crazy |
| Mampara |
Not too bright, 'goofy', stupid |
| Mampoer |
See - 'Witblitz' at the bottom of the page |
| Moegoe |
Stupid, loser, 'half-wit' |
| Moerse |
Big, massive, impressive. |
| Mos |
Similar to the English word 'then' |
| Mossie |
Sparrow |
| Muggie |
Little flying gnat |
| Muti |
Medicine |
| Nooit |
Never, no way unbelievable |
| Now now |
A short time from the present - past or future |
| Onetime |
Of course, without delay |
| Ou ballie |
Old man |
| Ou tannie |
Old woman |
| Ou, oke |
Bloke, guy, man |
| Pap |
Deflated, flat, sloppy - also means porridge |
| Pozi |
Home, sit down |
| Robot |
Traffic-light |
| Rock-up |
To arrive somewhere (usually implies unexpectedly) |
| Sangoma |
Traditional healer |
| Sarmie |
Sandwich |
| Sat |
Fed-up, tired |
| Scale |
To steal |
| Scaly oke |
Devious, untrustworthy guy |
| Sjambok |
Leather whip |
| Scheme |
To think that |
| Shebeen |
Illegal drinking-establishment |
| Shongololo |
Millipede, centipede |
| Sis |
Disgusting |
| Skelm (skelim) |
Crook |
| Skinner |
Gossip |
| Skollie |
Gangster, hangabout |
| Skop |
Kick |
| Skop, skiet en donner |
Kicking, shooting and punching. Hectic, action packed |
| Skraal |
Very hungry |
| Skrik |
Fright |
| Skyf |
Cigarette, a puff |
| Smaak |
To like |
| Soek |
Look for trouble |
| Sommer |
For no particular reason, just because |
| Spaza |
Informal trading-post |
| Stoep |
Porch, verandah |
| Stompie |
Cigarette butt |
| Straw |
Cigarette |
| Stukkend |
Drunk, 'stoned' |
| Stukkie |
Piece of |
| Tekkies, takkies |
Sneakers |
| Tjerrie (cherry) |
Girl 'chick' |
| Tjoen (tune) |
To insult, poke fun at, 'don't tjoen me grief' |
| Toppie |
Father, older man |
| Toyi-toyi (toy-toy) |
Protest-dancing |
| Trek |
Move |
| Tsotsi |
Gang member, layabout |
| Ubuntu |
Compassion or kindness, humanity |
| Veld (felt) |
Field, grasslands, savannah |
| Veldskoen |
Outdoors shoes made from hide |
| Voertsek (footsack) |
Get lost, buzz off, go away, scram |
| Vrek |
Derogatory term for dead or dying |
| Vrot |
Rotten, putrid, drunk |
| Wena |
You |
| Windgat (vindgut) |
Bag of wind, show off |
| Yebo |
Yes |
| Yesterday |
'Wow', amazement |
| Yoh! |
An expression of surprise |
| Woza! |
Come |
| Woza Lapa! |
Come here |
| Witblitz (vitblitz) |
'White Lightning' - home-made distilled alcohol, similar to American 'moonshine', Irish 'Poteen' and Swiss 'Kirsch' |
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