As with most other countries, South Africa has its own slang. South African slang has some of the coolest, weirdest and down right confusing slang words of any language I’ve ever seen!
Many South African slang words have their origins in English, others have their origins in Afrikaans, others in Zulu, others in Xhosa, whilst a few have their origins in many other languages.
Before you go around using these South African slang words, I feel the need to warn you. If you’re white, or have any near European heritage (two generations), you may be told by locals not to use it.
For the most part, this is due to racial tensions between the white South Africans and black South Africans. A very minute number of black South Africans will get confrontational if a white person uses them.
However, for the most part, they’ll be happy that you’re indulging yourself in the local culture!
15. Just now – Later
No, I am not joking. Yes, in South African slang, the term just now does actually mean “Later”. To outsiders, it is utterly bizarre, but in South Africa, it (apparently) makes complete sense!
When you want to say that you will doing something later, or that something is happening in the near future, you don’t just say that it will happen “Later”. In South Africa, you’ll say it will happen just now.
After saying it a few times, you actually start to understand why South Africans say it. It will only be just a few moments until you will do it. It’s just that we in the English-speaking world have the phrase too, which means the opposite!
Example:
“Will you do your homework?”
“I’ll do it just now!”
14. Yebo – Yes!
In recent years, American slang has yielded words like sick or wicked to mean “Yes”. However, it isn’t a “Yes” that you can use to answer a question, it’s something that you’d use to show you’re excitement at something.
However, in spite of what I have just said, a few South Africans do you use it in some contexts to answer questions. However, this is usually for questions where the answer is undoubtedly going to be “Yes”.
Some South Africans, especially many of the European ones, add yebo as well as the English word “Yes” together, making yebo yes. This means the exact same thing, it’s just a little bit more excited!
Example:
“We’re going to Disneyland!”
“Yebo!”
“Yebo yes!”
13. Jol – Party
Countries like Colombia are are well known for their party scenes, with much of their slang being based around it. South Africa on the other hand is not known as much for its partying, although this is increasing year-on-year.
With this comes several South African slang words. Jol in particular is quite common, usually translated to mean “party” or more specifically a “club”. Some South Africans also use it to mean “to have fun” as well!
Perhaps not surprisingly, as many of these parties involve alcohol, jolling (a verb derived from jol) is a South African slang term used in the same way that American slang speakers might use the term “to make out”.
Example:
“Hey, we’re going to Mkhize’s jol, were you invited?”
“Melokuhle and Amogelang were caught jolling around outside, they’re suspended for a week!”
12. Lekker – Great
In Germany, lecker means “Tasty” or “Delicious” or even “Yummy”. Lekker is the Afrikaans equivalent of German’s lecker, deriving from the Dutch word. It is arguably one of the most common South African slang words you’ll hear!
And this is what lekker’s literal meaning is. And for the most part, it is used in that way. On top of this, lekker is also used to mean “Nice” or “Cool” or even “Great”.
Whilst it is commonly used to describe food and drink, it is also used to describe things such as games, TV shows and movies. If you have small children, you’ll often hear it on the South African-produced English language children’s TV shows!
Example:
“Do you like the food?”
“Oh yeah, it’s lekker!”
11. Shebeen – Bar
Shebeen is one of the few South African slang words that doesn’t originate from English, Afrikaans or one of the native Bantu languages. Instead, shebeen actually originates in Irish slang!
Up until Apartheid, shebeen was only an Irish word. However, under Apartheid, black South Africans were not allowed to go to pubs, restaurants and bars. However, this did not completely stop them.
Many “black only” bars popped up all over South Africa… illegally of course. These were known as shebeens by the populous. Once Apartheid ended, shebeen became a blanket term for bars as a whole.
Example:
“Hey, are you going to shebeen after work today?”
“No, I’ve got to go to the shops instead”
10. Indaba – Conference
In many ways, South Africa is just like any other western country. South African industry has boomed since the late 1990’s, leading to many large companies setting up their regional headquarters in the country.
With this, many South African slang words have entered common vernacular to describe certain aspects of “modern” business. One of these such words is indaba.
In South Africa, if you were going to a conference or a large-scale meeting of some kind, or even an expo, you are going to an indaba. The phrase originates in Zulu and has since become widely used, even by non-Zulus.
Example:
“Do you want to come to the shebeen tonight?”
“Sorry, can’t. I’ve got to pack for my indaba in Johannesburg at the weekend. Maybe next time!”
9. Bliksem – Punch (you!)
Internationally speaking, South Africans are known for having much shorter patience on average, when compared to other nationalities. As such, if you decide to annoy them, they’ll tell you so.
Assuming you continue, you’ll probably hear the term “Bliksem”. Literally, bliksem is the Afrikaans word meaning “Lightning”. However, in a slang context, it literally means to punch or to hit.
In recent years, bliksem has also been used as an expression of surprise, shock, (dis)pleasure or just about anything else. In many ways, it has become the South African equivalent of “OMG!”
Example:
“If you don’t shut up, I’ll bliksem you!”
8. Skinner – Gossip
Skinner (pronounced more like Skunner) is perhaps one of the most common South African slang words you’ll hear. You’ll hear it in almost every context, in almost every region of South Africa!
In most of the English-speaking world, Skinner is used as a last name. Indeed, this is partly the same in South Africa, albeit with only a very (very) small amount of the population having Skinner as a last name.
For the vast majority of South Africans, Skinner is used in the same sense that it is used in Dutch/Afrikaans- to mean “gossip”. Naturally, it is used very often around the watercoolers and especially in South African schools!
Example:
“Have you heard the latest Skinner? Dave and Rebecca and back together!”
7. Eish – Oh!
Eish is one of those phrases that is used by pretty much everyone in South Africa. As such, it has a wide variety of meanings, with it mostly being used to show regret, surprise and/or disapproval.
The term originated in the Xhosa language, meaning roughly the same thing that it does today. Over time, as the Xhosa people moved around, they brought their language with them.
This language subsequently formed the integral parts of many South African slang words.
Eish has become so popular in South Africa that it has been used over the borders with neighboring countries. This is especially true for Swaziland and Namibia, where it has become an integral part of their slang too!
Example:
“Eish I just crashed my car!”
6. Is it? – Really
The South African slang term is it? can be used in practically every situation you are presented with. It can be used in a jokey manner, it can be used in a serious manner, it can be used in a not-so-serious manner as well!
It may confuse many outsiders, but is it? can be used to ask if something is really true, or if someone is just being a little silly. Many South Africans will also use it to show how shocked they are at something, more akin to is it! rather than as a question.
Most commonly, you’ll hear it pronounced almost as if it’s one word. For example, you’ll likely hear it pronounced more like izzit? rather than hearing it pronounced as two separate words (“Is it?”)
Example:
“I just got a new car, I paid five hundred thousand Rand for it”
“Is it?”
“Yeah!”
5. Slap chips – French Fries
French fries may have been developed in France/Belgium in the late 18th century, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they can’t be a part of another country’s slang! South Africa is that other country.
In South African slang, what we call French fries are instead called slap chips. The slap part of it comes from the Afrikaans word meaning “limp”. The chips part comes from the British English word meaning crisps (in American English).
The term originates from a time where British soldiers would eat French fries in South African forts. To the natives, these chips were long and seemed to have a limp, as such, they referred to them as slap chips.
Example:
“Let’s go to a restaurant and order some slap chips!”
4. Braii – Barbeque
Internationally speaking, Australia is known for its barbeques, with them being among the largest in the world. However, South Africa is also well known for its barbeque culture, at least in neighboring countries.
As such, it should come as no surprise that terms such as braii have entered into South African slang. Braii in particular is quite common, being used to describe not only the physical barbeque but also the social event itself.
Braii is not just a noun either, it is also a verb. Especially if you go around the national holiday time (Heritage Day on September 24), you’ll hear the below example all too often!
Example:
“We had a braii yesterday and we braiied all of the meat”
“I bet it was so lekker!”
“Definitely!”
3. Boerewors – South African sausage
Boerewors are something that you’d probably cook on your braii. Whilst almost unheard of outside of South Africa, Boerewors are a mainstay of any braii in South Africa and an essential part of any South African’s diet.
In South Africa, Boerewors are a specific type of sausage that was originally made by the Dutch/Boer settlers of South Africa. Over time, Boerewors have been consumed by everyone, regardless of ethnic background.
Boerewors are well known for their distinctive, continuous spiral shape, with many measuring several meters long! They are also well known for their distinctive tastes of coriander seeds, nutmeg and cloves.
Example:
“We cooked Boerewors on the braii yesterday, they were lekker!”
2. Shame – Sorry
On the surface of it, seems rather complicated, however it’s really not! Depending on where in the English-speaking world you live (eg. outside of South Africa!) you may actually be quite familiar with shame.
Literally, shame is an emotion felt after doing something wrong. However, in South African slang, shame also has another meaning: sorry. However, this isn’t sorry in the conventional sense.
Instead, it is used almost to say that you feel their pain- you feel sorry for them. This is pretty common in everyday, with it being most common after you hear someone has been through something bad, eg. a nasty breakup.
Example:
“I broke up with Kevin”
“Shame. He was a really nice guy, what happened?!”
1. Bra / Bru – Bro / Dude
Regardless of what/which language(s) you speak, your language(s) undoubtedly have an equivalent of bra/bru. For example, in English, we have the term “Bro” or even, “Dude”.
The term is largely derived from the Afrikaans word boet, meaning “Brother”. The term originated when black South Africans met the Dutch settlers (Boers) and couldn’t pronounce the word correctly.
Depending on the region of South Africa you visit, you may hear it pronounced in different ways, ranging from bra to, bro to, bru to, boet to boetie. These are mostly regional differences.
Example:
“Hey bru, how are you?!”
“I’m great thanks bra, how are you?”
Which are your favorite South African slang words? Tell me in the comments!