Ag (pronounced agh - as in the Scottish loch) - Generally used at the beginning of a sentence, either to express resignation - as in "Ag well, I guess that's just the way it is" - or to indicate irritation, as in "Ag no man! What did you do that for?".
Amasi (pronounced um-ah-see) - A popular drink of thick sour milk. From the isiZula. An alternative name is maas.
Babbelas (pronounced bub-buh-luss) - A hangover. "Jislaaik, china, I dopped 20 dumpies last night and now I have a hang of a babbelas" would translate as "Gee, my friend, I drank 20 beers last night and now I have a terrible hangover".
Bagel - An overly groomed materialistic young man, and the male version of a kugel.
Bakgat (pronounced buck-ghut) - Well done, cool, awesome.
Bakkie (pronounced bucky) - A pick-up truck.
Bergie - From the Afrikaans berg, mountain, originally referring to vagrants who sheltered in the forest of Cape Town's Table Mountain and now a mainstream word for anyone who is down and out.
Biltong (pronounced bill-tong) - This South African favourite is dried and salted meat, similar to beef jerky, although it can be made from ostrich, kudu or any other red meat.
Biscuit - In South Africa a cookie is known as a biscuit. The word is also a term of affection, as in "Hey, you biscuit".
Bliksem - To beat up, hit or punch - or a mischievous person.
Blooming (pronounced blimmin) - A variation on very, as in "That new bakkie is blimmin big".
Bobotie (pronounced buh-boor-tee) - A dish of Malay origin, made with minced meat and spices, and topped with an egg sauce.
Boerewors (pronounced boor-uh-vors) - Literally, farmer's sausage. A savoury sausage developed by the Boers - today's Afrikaners - some 200 years ago, boerewors is South African food at its most traditional.
Boet (pronounced like book , with a t) - A term of affection, from the Afrikaans for brother.
Boma (pronounced bow-mah) - An open thatched structure used for dinners, entertainment and parties.
Bosberaad - A strategy meeting or conference, usually held in a remote bushveld (bos) location such as a game farm.
Braai (pronounced br-eye) - An outdoor barbecue, where meat such as steak, chicken and boerewors are cooked, served with pap and sauce.
Bru (pronounced brew) - A term of affection, shortened from Afrikaans broer, meaning brother. An example would be "Hey, my bru, howzit?".
Bredie (pronounced brear-dee) - A traditional South African mutton stew, first brought to the country by Malay immigrants. It now refers to any kind of stew.
Bunny Chow - Delicious and cheap food on the go, bunny chow is curry served in a hollowed-out half-loaf of bread. Perfect for eating on the side of the road while backpacking across South Africa.
Café (pronounced kaf-ay) - The ubiquitous small neighborhood convenience store, often found on street corners and stocking cigarettes, cold drinks, and newspapers.
China - To most people China is the country with the largest population in the world, but to a South African it can mean something entirely different. China means good friend, as in "this oke's my china". It's one of the few Cockney rhyming slang words to survive in the country, coming from china plate = mate.
Cooldrink - colddrink - this is the common term for a soda, such as Coca-Cola. Ask for a soda in South Africa and you will receive a club soda.
Deurmekaar (pronounced deer-muh-carr) - An Afrikaans name for confused, disorganized or stupid, as in "He's a bit deurmekaar".
Dinges (pronounced ding-us) - A thing, thingamabob, whatzit, whatch-amacallit or whatsizname "When is dinges coming around".
Doek (pronounced like book with d) - A headscarf worn to protect a woman's hair on a blustery day or when working.
Dop - An alcoholic drink "Can I pour you a dop?". It can also mean failure "I dopped the test".
Dorp - A small town on the platteland.
Droerwors - Dried boerewors, similar to biltong.
Dummy - A baby's pacifier.
Dumpie - A South African beer served in a brown 340ml bottle.
Durbs - The city of Durban.
Dwaal (pronounced dwarl) - Lack of concentration or focus "Sorry, I was in a bit of a dwaal. Could you repeat that?".
Eina (pronounced Ay-nuh or ay-nar) - Ouch! Can also mean sore.
Eish (pronounced aysh) - Used to express surprise, wonder, frustration, or outrage "Eish! That cut was eina".
Fixed up - Used to mean "that's good" or "sorted". Example: "Let's meet at the restaurant". The reply "Fixed up".
Flog - No whips implied. South Africans use flog to mean sell, as in "I have flogged my car".
Frikkadel (pronounced frik-kuh-dell) - A traditional meatball.
Fundi - Expert. From the Nguni umfundisi, meaning teacher or preacher.
Gatvol (pronounced ghut-foll) - Taken from Afrikaans, this means fed up, as in "Jislaaik china, I'm gatvol of working in this hot sun". Translation "Gee my friend, I'm fed up with working in this hot sun".
Gogga (pronounced gho-gha or gho-gho) - Insect, bug.
Gogo (pronounced goh-goh) - Grandmother or elderly woman, from isiZulu.
Hang of - "Very" or "big", as in "It's hang of a difficult" or "I had a hang of a problem".
Hap (pronounced hup) - Taste, bite, as in "Take a hap of this".
Hey - The popular expression hey can be used as a stand alone question meaning pardon or what "Hey? What did you say?" Or it can be used to prompt affirmation or agreement, as in "It was a great film, hey?".
Howzit - A traditional South African greeting that translates roughly as "How are you", "How are things" or simply "Hello".
Indaba (pronounced in-daa-bah) - A conference or expo, from the isiZulu word meaning a matter for discussion.
Inyanga - A traditional herbalist and healer.
Is it - (pronounced izit) - An expression frequently used in conversation and equivalent to "is that so". It is sometimes used to express mild surprise. For example "My car is the same colour as yours" and reply "Is it?".
Ja (pronounced yaa) - Yes.
Jislaaik (pronounced yis-like) - An expression of outrage or surprise "Jislaaik, I just saw Elvis".
Jol - A versatile word with many meanings, including party, disco, having fun.
Jozi - The city of Johannesburg
Just now - If a South African tells you they will do something "just now", they mean they will do it in the near future - not immediately.
Kasie (pronounced kaa-see) - Shortened form of lokasie, "location" in Afrikaans, the older word for township - the low income dormitory suburbs outside cities and towns to which black South Africans were confined during the apartheid era.
Khaya (pronounced K-eye-ya) - Home.
Kif - Cool, neat, great or wonderful. From the Arabic kayf, meaning enjoyment or wellbeing.
Koki (pronounced koh-key) - A coloured marker or felt-tip pen.
Koppie (pronounced kor-pie) - A small hill.
Kugel (pronounced koo-gell) - An overly groomed materialistic young woman, from the Yiddish for a plain pudding garnished as a delicacy. A bagel is the male variety.
Kwela (pronounced kw-eh-la) - A popular form of township music from the 1950s, based on the pennywhistle - a cheap and simple instrument taken up by street performers.
Laduma (pronounced la-doo-mah) - A popular cheer celebrating goals scored at soccer matches, from the isiZulu for it thunders.
Lappie (pronounced luppie) - A cleaning cloth.
Lekker (pronounced lekk-irr with a rolling r) - Nice, good, great cool or tasty.
Madiba (pronounced muh-dee-buh) - An affectionate name for former President Nelson Mandela, and the name of his clan.
Mal - Mad, from the Afrikaans.
Mampoer (pronounced mum-oo-er) - Extremely potent brandy made from peaches or other fruit.
Marmite - A popular spread made from a salty vegetable extract and used on bread or toast.
Mielie (pronounced Mih-lih) - Maize or corn. A mielie is a maize cob, and mieliemeel is maize meal, the staple diet of South Africa.
Moegoe (pronounced moo-ghoo) - A fool, buffoon, idiot or simpleton.
Muti (pronounced moo-tie) - Medicine, typically traditional African medicine.
Mzansi - A popular word for South Africa.
Naartjie (pronounced nar-chee) - The South African word for tangerine, Citrus reticulate.
Nappy - A baby's diaper.
Nca - Fine, beautiful. Pronounced with a downward click of the tongue.
Ne - Really or "is that so". Often used sarcastically.
Now Now - Shortly, in a bit "I will be there now now".
Oke - A man, similar to bloke or guy.
Pap (pronounced pup) - The staple food of South Africa, a porridge made from mieliemeel (maize meal) cooked with water and salt to a fairly stiff consistency - stywepap being the stiffest. Pap can also mean weak or tired, and a papsak is cheap box wine sold in its foil container.
Pasop (pronounced pus-orp) - An Afrikaans word meaning beware or watch out.
Pavement - South Africans walk on pavements and drive cars on the road. The pavement is the side walk.
Platteland (pronounced plutt-uh-lunt) - Farmland, countryside. Literally flat land in Afrikaans, it now refers to any rural area in which agriculture takes place, including the mountainous Cape winelands.
Robots - Traffic lights.
Rock up - To arrive somewhere unannounced or uninvited. It's the kind of thing friends do "I was going to go out but then my china rocked up".
Rooibos (pronounced roy-borss) - Afrikaans for red bush, this popular South African tea made from the Cyclopia genistoides bush is gaining worldwide popularity for its health benefits.
Rooinek (pronounced roy-neck) - English speaking South African, from the Afrikaans for red neck, but without the connotations given the term in the US. It was first coined by Afrikaners decades ago to refer to immigrant Englishmen, whose white necks were particularly prone to sunburn.
Rubbish bin - garbage can, dustbin, dirt bin.
Samoosa (pronounced Suh-moo-suh) - A small, spicy, triangular-shaped pie deep-fried in oil. Originally made by the Indian and Malay communities, samoosas are popular with all South Africans.
Sangoma - A traditional healer.
Sarmie - Sandwich
Scale, scaly - to scale something means to steal it. A scaly person is not to be trusted.
Shame - Broadly denotes sympathetic feeling. Someone admiring a baby, kitten or puppy might say "Ag shame" to emphasis its cuteness.
Sharp - Often doubled up for effect as "sharp-sharp". This word is used as a greeting, a farewell, for agreement or just to express enthusiasm.
Shebeen - A township tavern, illegal under the apartheid regime, often set up in a private house and frequented by black South Africans.
Shongololo - Large brown millipede, from the isiZulu ukushonga meaning to roll up.
Sjambok (pronounced sham-bok) - A stout leather whip made from animal hide.
Skelm (pronounced skellem) - A shifty or untrustworthy person, a criminal.
Skinner - gossip, from Afrikaans. A person who gossips is known as a skinnerbek "Jislaaik bru, I'm going to donner that skinnerbek for skinnering about me". Translation would be "Gee my friend, I'm going to hit that guy for gossiping about me".
Skollie (pronounced skoh-li) - Gangster, criminal, from the Greek skolios, meaning crooked.
Skop, skiet en donner (pronounced skorp, skeeta en donner) - Action movie. Taken from Afrikaans, it literally means kick, shoot and thunder.
Skrik - Fright "I caught a big skrik". Meaning "I got a big fright".
Skirk vir niks - Scared of nothing.
Slap chips (pronounced slup chips) - French fries, usually soft, oily, and vinegar-drenched, bought in a brown paper bag. Slap is Afrikaans for limp, which is how French fries are generally made in South Africa.
Slip-slops - Sandals or rubber thongs with a thin strap between the big toe and the next toe.
Smokes - Cigarettes
Snoek (pronounced like book with s) - A popular and tasty fish, often eaten smoked.
Sosatie - A kebab on a stick.
Spanspek - An orange fleshed melon.
Spaza - Informal township shop.
Spookgerook - Literaaly, in Afrikaans, ghost-smoked. Used jokingly, the word means mad or paranoid.
Stoep (pronounced stup) - Porch or verandah.
Stroppy - Difficult, uncooperative, argumentative, or stubborn.
Struesbob (pronounced s-true-zz-bob) - As true as god, the gospel truth.
Tackies - Running shoes or sneakers. Fat tackies are extra-wide tyres.
Tannie (pronounced tunny) - An Afrikaans word meaning auntie, but also used for any older female of authority.
Taxi - Not a metered car with a single occupant, but a minibus used to transport a large number of people, and the most common way of getting around in South Africa.
To die for - An expression popular in the affluent suburbs of Cape Town and Johannesburg, denoting enthusiastic approval for an object or person "That necklace is to die for".
Tom - Money
Toppie - Old man.
Toyi-toyi - A knees-up protest dance.
Tsotsi - A gangster - and the title of South Africa's first Oscar-winning movie.
Tune grief - Cause trouble.
Ubuntu - Southern African humanist philosophy that holds as its central tenet that a person is a person through other persons.
Velskoen (pronounced fell-skun) - Simple unworked leather shoes.
Voetsek (pronounced foot-sak) - Go away, buzz off.
Vrot (pronounced frot) - Rotten or smelly.
Vuvuzela - A large, colourful plastic trumpet with the sound of a foghorn, blown enthusiastically by virtually everyone in the crowd at soccer matches.
Windgat (pronounced vint-ghut) - Show off or blabbermouth. Taken from the Afrikaans, it literally means wind hole.
