South African Lingo

Being South African, the lingo comes naturally, but since some of you out there may not know what on Earth I’m going on about, I’ve prepared this handy vocab and commonly used phrase list.

‘n All
An Indian expression adopted by most South Africans, meaning “and everything.”
“He took my TV ‘n all”, “Things are sometimes better off simple, you don’t always need that ‘n All, ‘n All, ‘n All”

Ag, Nee Man! [ach, neer man]
Oh, No Man!

Alles [Al-liss]
Afrikaans for “Everything”

Amped
Keen, full of energy, looking forward to.
“I’m amped for the concert this weekend!”

Babbelas [bub-buh-luss]
A Hangover (Derived from a Zulu word).

Baggies [bag-ees]
What Americans refer to as Swimming Trunks, this refers mainly to surf shorts males wear.

Bail
To leave.
“It’s getting pretty late, come, let’s bail.”

Ballie [Ba-li]
Assumed as “Old Man”, also used a term for father as in, “I went to visit my ballie the other day”.
Can also refer to both parents, “My ballieshave gone away for the weekend.”

Bakkie [buck-ee]
A Pick Up Truck

Biltong [bill-tong]
Raw meat, salted, spiced and dried – YummY! Similar to Beef Jerky. Bilton is commonly made from Cow, but Kudu, Ostrich, Elephant or any other type of meat will generally do.

Biscuit
Otherwise known as a Cookie.

Bliksem [blick-sim]
To beat up or cause injury to someone (See Also Donner). Can also refer to calling someone this by name.
“I’ll bliksem you!” or “Jou bliksem! Come back here!”

Blikkie [Blick-y]
A small container.

Boerewors [boor-uh-vors]
Thick South African, “Farmer’s Sausage”. It has a distinct flavour and is encased in intestine. Also referred to as “Wors” and used in Wors Rolls, which are like hotdogs with boerewors instead of everyday sausage.

Boet [like book, with a t]
Afrikaans word for “Brother” (See Also Bru).
“Hey Boet”

Boot
What Americans refer to as a Car Trunk.

Bunny Chow
Favoured by Indians, but adopted by all South Africans, it is curry served within a hollowed out, half loaf of bread. The bread innards are often served alongside as a dipper.

Braai [br-eye]
Similar to a BBQ, but no paraffin is used. Usually wood, newspaper and perhaps a few firelighters are used to start the coals burning.

Bru [Brew]
Bro (See Also Boet).
“Hey My Bru!”

Camp
Gay
“Man, those shorts look so Camp”

Check
To Look
“Hey, come check this!”

Cheers
A friendly way of saying goodbye.

Chick
A girl or younger woman. Can be classed as sexist.
“Those chicks are hot ek se!” means “I say, Those are hot girls!”

Check
Used in reference not only to “See you later” terms, but also in the context to see or investigate something.
“Wow, come check this seriously massive braai!”
“Check ya later bru!”
“Check it out!”
“Hey, Check you out! Nice outfit!”

Cherrie
Another version of the slang word “Chick” (See Above).

China
Term of affection for Good Friend
“Hey China!”

Chirp
Similar to the word “Tune”, but not as harsh, usually between partners.
“My chick is forever chirping me about picking up my socks”

Chop
Idiot (See Also Doos, Plank).
“You’re such a chop you know that”

Chow
Food or To Eat
“I’m starved, got any chow?” or “Hey, let’s go chow”

Chuffed
To be happy or pleased with (See Also Stoked).
“I’m quite chuffed with the results from last week’s exam!”

Crash
Sleep (See Also Dos).
Willem : “You coming to the party after work?”
Kobus : “Nah, think I’m gonna go home and crash hey”

Digs
Home or place of residence. Can also be referred to as a “Pad”
Henry : “Hey, what you think of my new digs?”
Jon : “Wow, you have a lekker pad hey!”

Dinges [ding-us]
Afrikaans for a Thing, a Thingy, a Wotsit, a Doodat, a Hoozit, etc.

Dodge
If something is Dodge, it is suspect, derived from the word “Dodgy”
“Hey bru, that last pie looks a bit dodge”.

Doff
Stupid.
“What were you thinking, are You doff ?”

Doos
Idiot (See Also Chop, Plank).
“Doos!”

Donga
A big hole, typically used to describe large potholes.
“Wow, That was a groot donga!” (big ditch)

Donner [dor-nuh]
To Fight, Flatten, Pound, Beat Up (See Also Bliksem, Donner).
“If you touch that, I’ll donner you!”

Dop [dawp]
Alcoholic Drink or To drink.
“Buy me a dop” or “I’m going to the bar to dop”

Dorpie [door-pi]
A small town.

Dos [dors]
To sleep or nap.
“I’m buggered, I’m gonna go dos”

Dummy
A baby’s pacifier.

Dutchman
A slang term used to describe a Afrikaans male.
“Only a true Dutchman can down a lager like that!”

Dwaal [dwarl]
Day Dreaming or having your mind some place else.
“Sorry, what? I was in a bit of a dwaal”

Eina [ay-nuh or ay-nar]
The Afrikaans word for “Ouch!”

Eish [aysh]
A Zulu word used to express shock, wonder, sympathy and on occasion “sigh”.
Peter : “My car was stolen yesterday…” John : “Eish! Sorry Man”
Hendrik : “I got an A+ on my exam!” Owen : “Eish! Well Done” (Really!)

Fader
Someone who never follows through with their plans or who avoids committing to any.
Can also be used in place of the word “wuss” to encourage someone to do somethibg they weren’t really planning on.
“You’re too tired to come out again? That’s like the third time this month, man! You’re such a fader you know that!”
“Ag, you’re not coming? Fader.”

Flog
To Sell off cheaply, almost to throw away.
“I’m going to flog my old toys”

Fully
Definitely. This can also be used in a sense of “I’m with you.”
Not a truly South African slang term, but over-used by many surfers.
Kobus : “You coming to the braai on Saturday?”
Jan :”Ja, Fully Bru!”

Gatvol [ghut-foll]
Afrikaans word for “Fed Up”.
“Ek is Gatvol!”

Hectic
Meant in the usual Chaotic sense, but can also mean to have a chaotic good time.
This word can even be used to express sympathy.
“Traffic was hectic today”
“That party was hectic bru, man you missed out!”
“Hey, I heard you didn’t pass your drivers test, that’s hectic bru, I’m sorry to hear it.”

Hey
Used for emphasis in South African slang.
“What you up to, hey?”

How’s Your Mind?
Are you insane – What’s wrong with you!?

Howzit
Greeting for “Hello” can also be a combination of both “Hello” and “How’s it going?”, commonly used in the sentence
“Howzit My China!” or “Howzit My Bru!”

Is it? [izzit]
Commonly used in the sentence “Is it hey?” Translated into “Really?”

Ja
Afrikaans for “Yes”

Jam
Spread for bread or toast. While Americans have Peanut Butter and Jelly, South Africans will have Peanut Butter and Jam. In other words, what Americans call Jelly.

Jelly
What Americans call Jello.

Jislaaik [yis-like]
An Afrikaans expression of outrage or surprise.
“Jislaaik, did you see how that taxi just cut me off!”

Jol [jawl]
Club or Party or to Party
“I’m going out jolling tonight”

Just Now
In the “near” future (See Also Now Now).
No promise of exactly when, a much longer time period is involved than with Now Now.

Kiff
Neat! A word only really popular in the 90’s, much like the word “cool”.

Klap
To hit or smack (See Also Bliksem, Donner).
A.A.K – Attitude Adjustment Klap.

Koki [koh-key]
A coloured marker or felt-tip pen.

Kyk Daar
Afrikaans for “Look There”, commonly used to describe Window shopping.

Lager
Beer. An affectionate adopted for Castle Lager, traditional South African beer, home brewed by South African Breweries (SAB).

Lank
A lot or extremely.
“This lecture is lank boring.”

Larny
Posh or expensive. Can relate to anything from houses, cars and clothes to any other possessions.
“That’s a larny house hey”

Lekker [lekk-irr with a rolling r]
The Afrikaans word for “Nice”, has more zing to it don’t you think? Nowadays it can also be said to mean Great, Good, Cool or Tasty. Often heard used in a sentence such as “Lekker soos a Krakker” which answers the commonly asked “How are you doing?” question in a most hearty manner.

Lift
An Elevator

Lighty
A Youngster.
“When I was a lighty, we used to play with Yo-Yo’s”

Mal [Mull]
Afrikaans for Mad or Angry.

Mealie
What Americans refer to as Corn on the Cob.

Miffed
Another term for the commonly used phrase “PissedOff”.
“Wow, what did you say to her?! She looks pretty miffed.”

Mission
Used to describe when someone is not taking advice from anyone else or if someone is very determined.
Can also be used to describe undertaking a task which is a lot of effort. (See Also Schlep).
“I tried to talk him out of it, but he is on his own mission.”
“She is on a mission to find out what happened last night.”
“Taking out the garbage is always such a mission.”

Moer [moorr]
To fight or severely beat up.
“If you talk about my mother like that one more time, I swear, I’m gonna moer you.”

Mozzie
A Mozquito.

Munchies
Used to express a feeling of hunger or to describe food itself.
“I really have the munchies, let’s go to Steers.”
“Before the movie starts, let’s go to the kitchen and get some munchies.”

Nogal
Too or As well, sometimes used in bad slang as “… too nogal”.
“He scaled the carpet nogal!”

Nooit
A refusal to do something, no way.
Jannie : “Jump in the River Simon!”
Simon : “Nooit Bru!”

Nought
No Way, Gasp, Really?
Fredrik : “Sorry man, can’t come out tonight, my folks grounded me hey”
Joubert : “Nought hey!”

Now-Now
In a bit (See Also Just Now).
Quicker than just now, still no guarantee of exactly when.

Oke
Guy or Bloke, “He’s a good oke”, (See Also Ous).On a Mission
Visible determination to complete a task. Cannot be persuaded.
“I tried to stop him from doing it, but he was on a mission.”

On My Ace
On my own, by myself.

One Time
More of an Indian term, used to describe something being done quickly and easily.
“Don’t worry, I’ll wash it for you one time!”

Ou(s)
Afrikaans word for “Guy(s)”, as in “Hey Ous”Park Off
To chill out or relax.
“Let’s just park off tonight and watch a movie.”

Pavement
What Americans refer to as the Sidewalk.

Phased
Worried.
“I told her that the final for this is tomorrow, but she wasn’t too phased about it.”

Phuza Thursday
Drinking Thursday. A tradition started off by Gareth Cliff from 5FM Phuza is a zulu word and Phuza Thursday is generally followed by Phuza-Faced Friday.

Pip
A person’s head.
“Eina! That ball klapped me on the pip!”

Pitch Up
To arrive (See Also Rocked Up).
“I pitched up wearing my new jacket”

Plank
An Idiot (See Also Chop, Doos).
“I felt like such a plank hey!”

Pluck
Refers to a problem. What’s your problem hey?
“What’s your pluck China? Are you tuning me grief nogal?”

Potting
Happening.
“Sheesh, I’ve been watching this for an hour and I still have no idea what’s potting!”

Rock Up
To arrive somewhere. (See Also Pitch Up).
“I rocked up at the mall around 9am”

Robot
What Americans refer to as a Traffic Light.

Rubbish Bin
What Americans refer to as a Garbage Can.

Sarmie
A Sandwich.

Scaly
A scaly person is suspect, slimey or untrustworthy… (See Also Dodge).
Someone can also portray scaly behaviour.

Scale
To scale is to steal something.
“That ou just scaled my wallet!”

Schlep
When something requires a lot of effort or is annoyingly intricate (See Also Mission).
“Washing the dishes is always such a schlep, maybe we should consider buying a dishwasher.”

Shame
This word is often used to express sympathy in a cute manner.
“Ag Shame Bru”, “Look at that cute little kitten, ag shame man!”

Shot
Thank You.
“Shot hey!”

Sif
Gross or disgusting.
“Eww man, don’t do that, it’s sif!”

Skelm [skellem]
A crook, swindler or untrustworthy person; often someone involved in criminal activity.

Skinner
To gossip.

Skrik
Afrikaans word for “Fright”

Slap Chips [sl-up chips]
Fat french fries, usually soft and oily. Slap is Afrikaans for “limp”, which is how French fries are generally made here. Except for at McDonalds, where they only serve anorexic chips.

Slops
A type of sandal, you can’t go to the beach without ‘em!

Sorted
Taken care of
Hennie : “Did you do the dishes?”
Hendrik : “Ja, it’s sorted!”

Stoked
Happy, Chuffed, Overjoyed.
“My ballie just bought me a new car, I’m so stoked hey!”

Stukkie
A woman. Can be classed as sexist.

Swak
Also meaning weak in Afrikaans, it can mean nasty, disappointing or both.
“He took you money? Eish, that’s swak hey”

Takkies
What Americans refer to as Sneakers.

Taxi (Mini-Bus Taxi) [aka deathtrap]
Not a metered car with a single occupant, but a minibus taxi used to transport a large number of people. These taxi’s are highly unsafe, they drive at high speeds, take chances and are often witnessed going through red robots. Most drivers got their licenses out of a lucky packet and are exceptionally impatient, often seen travelling in the emergency lane on freeways.

Trek
A long walk or hike.

Tune
To backchat or insult someone in an effort to cause trouble.
“Hey Man, Don’t Tune Me Grief!”

Voetsek [foot-sak]
Afrikaans for “Bugger off!” or “Get Lost” / “Go Away”.

Vol Kak [fol kak]
The Afrikaans way to say “Full of Sh!t”
“Jy is vol kak my bru!”

What Kind?
Don’t be a jerk, What happened?, What on Earth have you done? This phrase can be used in a surprised manner. If someone damages something belonging to someone else, they may respond with, “Hey, What Kind?”

Woes [vors]
An Angry, Aggressive emotion.
“I feel woes china”

Yonks
Ages.
“Hey China! I haven’t heard from you in yonks!”