South Africa has 11 official languages and so many different cultures. The result is that its people use a lot of slang, and there are much more than listed below. You’ll pick it up through the year, and we encourage you to embrace it and enjoy the culture of this Rainbow Nation!
Here are a few words and terms to help you get by in South Africa…
Bakkie: Utility, pick-up truck
Biltong: Dried and salted meat that can be made from just about anything from eland and ostrich to mutton or beef
Bobotie: Dish consisting of curried mince-meat with a topping of beaten egg baked to a crust, probably of Cape Malay origin
Boerewors: Spicy sausages, often sold by street vendors, and consumed at a braai, literally ‘farmers sausage’
Braai: A barbeque featuring tons of grilled meat. A South African institution.
Buy a Donkey: ‘thank you very much’, ‘many thanks’, actually it’s ‘baie dankie'
Né: Closest translation is ‘You agree?’. Common to include at the end of a sentence. “It’s cold, né?”
Fynbos: Term for the vegetation of the area around Cape Town, literally means fine or delicate bush
Gerkins: aka pickles
Ground & First Floor : for buildings with multiple levels, the first level is the “ground floor” and the next level is the “first floor”
Howzit?: All purpose greeting
Izzit?: Rhetorical question which most closely translates as ‘Really?’ and is used without regard to gender, person, or number of the subject. Therefore, it could mean ‘Is it?’, ‘Is that so?’, ‘Did they?’, ‘Are you?’, ‘Is he?’, ‘Are they?’, ‘Is she?’, ‘Are we?’, ‘Amazing!’, etc. Also ‘How izzit?, for ‘How are things?’, ‘How’s it going?’ etc.
Now-Now: “I will be there now-now”, does NOT mean immediate. Now-now indicates that the task is perhaps second on the priority list at that moment. So this could mean anything from 10 minutes.
Just Now: This one is a bit of a mystery and could mean anything from 5 minutes to 2 hours, to never happening. Just don’t trust it. It could also refer to the past, “I had lunch just now, so I’m full for now.”
Now: This means that the task is next on the priority list, so AFTER they have finished what they are doing right then.
Right Now: This should mean that the task is the first priority, as in exactly what the words are saying. To make sure, emphasize the “right” so people understand the promptness.
Koeksisters: Dough braided/plaited and deep-fried and drenched in syrup. – very gooey and figure-enhancing.
Kombi: Mini-bus
Lekker: Very good, enjoyable or tasty
Madiba: The tribal name by which Nelson Madela is often called.
Mielie Pap or Mielie Meal: Maize porridge
Napkin: women’s pad (for periods) (use the word “serviette”)
“Normal Tea”: black tea by the brand Five Roses
Oak: Bloke, guy
Plus-minus: Meaning ‘about’, this scientific/mathematical term has entered common parlance, particularly who don’t speak English as their first language, e.g. ‘the bus will come in plus-minus 10 minutes’, ‘I’ve been here for plus-minus four years’
Robot: traffic light
Rooibos: Literally ‘red bush’ in Afrikaans; Herbal tea which reputedly has therapeutic qualities
Russian: Large, red sausage, fried but often served cold
Serviette: cloth used to wipe your mouth (don’t use the word “napkin”)
Shame!: What a pity! or even Cute. “Shame, what a cute baby.” “Shame, she’s not feeling well.” It’s a term of endearment.
Tekkie: Gym shoe
Veld: Open grassland (pronounced ‘felt’), variations, lowveld, highveld, bushveld, sand-veld
Vienna: Smaller version of Russian (sausage)
Vlei: Lake area or marshy area (pronounced ‘flay’)
Ya well no fine: Yes-no-maybe-perhaps. Basically means “I’ve just thought about it, and it is fine.” In African English, repetition for emphasis is common: something that burnt you would be ‘hot, hot’; fields aVer the rains are ‘green, green’; a crowded minibus with no room is ‘full, full’; and so on
You Must: Often you’ll hear someone say “You must ____”, it actually isn’t a command, but instead an encouragement or light hearted suggestion
Taken from the Lonely Planet guide to Cape Town, March 1998. Edited & Modified by Lize Briedenhann, Sept. 2015
