List of South African English regionalisms

This is a list of words used in mainstream South African English but not usually found in other dialects of the English language. For internationally common English words of South African origin, see List of English words of Afrikaans origin.

A-B

aikhona

(informal) meaning ''no'' or ''hell no''

bakkie

a utility truck or pickup truck. Can also mean a small basin or other container.^[1]

bergie

(informal) refers to a particular subculture of vagrants in Cape Town (from Afrikaans berg (mountain), originally referring to vagrants who sheltered in the forests of Table Mountain). Increasingly used in other cities to mean a vagrant of any description.^[2] The term hobo is also used for homeless white vagrants.

bioscope, bio

cinema; movie theatre (now dated)^[3]

biltong

dried meat, similar to jerky ^[4]

bladdy

(informal) occasionally heard South African version of bloody (the predominantly heard form), from the Cape Coloured/Afrikaans blerrie, itself a corruption of the English word

boerewors

traditional sausage from Afrikaans "farmer-sausage", usually made with a mixture of beef and pork and seasoned with spices.^[5] Droëwors is a Boerewors that has been prepared the same method as biltong.

boy

in addition to its normal meaning, an archaic and derogatory term for a male domestic servant of colour, for example, a gardener may be called a garden boy (not uncommon)

braai

a barbecue, to barbecue ^[6]

buck

a rand,^[7] referring to the Springbok that is featured on the South African R1-coin (one rand coin).

bundu, bundus

a wilderness region, remote from cities (from Shona bundo, meaning grasslands) ^[8]

bunny chow

loaf of bread filled with curry, speciality of Durban, particularly Indian South Africans ^[9] also called a kota by black South Africans, on account of it commonly being sold in a quarter loaf of bread (see also spatlo).

bokkie

originally referring to a baby antelope. It refers to a nubile (often Afrikaner) white girl, and it can also be applied as a pet-name between lovers.

C-E

cafe

when pronounced /kæˈfiː/ refers to a convenience store not a coffee shop (originally such stores sold coffee and other basic items) ^[10] called a tea room by Durbananites.

china

(informal) a friend, abbreviated rhyming slang, "china plate", for "mate" also used in Cockney rhyming slang, e.g. "Howzit my China?" ^[11]

circle

Used to refer to the shape but also used to refer to a roundabout, given its circular shape

Coloured

refers to typically brown skinned South Africans of mixed European and Khoisan or black and/or Malay ancestry, a definition formally codified under apartheid.^[12]

combi/kombi/coombi

a mini-van, people-carrier, especially referring to the Volkswagen Type 2 and its descendants.

cool drink, cold drink

soft drink, fizzy drink (not necessarily chilled) ^[13]. Groovy was used to refer to canned soft drinks (after one of the first brands to introduce the container to South Africa) ^[14]

creepy crawly Kreepy Krauly

automated pool cleaner

dagga

(pronounced /dæxə/ or more commonly, /dʌxə/) marijuana ^[15]

donga

a ditch of the type found in South African topography (from Zulu, wall) ^[16]

draadkar/draad-kar

a toy car which is constructed out of throw-away steel wires.

erf

(plural erfs, in English, erven/erve in Dutch/Afrikaans) a plot of land in an urban area (from Cape Dutch) ^[17]

F-J

girl

in addition to its normal meaning, archaic and derogatory term for a female domestic servant of colour. Superseded by "maid", and more recently "domestic worker" or "domestic".

gogga

(pronounced /ˈxɔːxə/, the latter similar to the Afrikaans pronunciation) a creepy crawly or an insect ^[18]

gogo

Zulu word meaning grandmother/grandma. Became part of the iconic slogan Yebo Gogo (Yes, Grandma) from the South African cellular service-provider Vodacom

homeland

under apartheid, typically referred to a self-governing "state" for black South Africans

howzit

(colloquial) hello, how are you, good morning (despite being a contracted of 'how is it going', howzit is almost exclusively a greeting, and seldom a question)

imbizo

A meeting or conference, similar to a legotla or indaba, formerly called a bosberaad (Afrikaans for bush meeting): often a retreat for senior government and political officials to discuss policy. ^[19]

is it?

(colloquial) Is that so? An all purpose exclamative, can be used in any context where "really?", "uh-huh", etc. would be appropriate, e.g. "I'm feeling pretty tired." "Is it?". Often contracted in speech to "izit".

indaba

a conference (from Zulu, "a matter for discussion")^[20]

jam

(informal) can also be referred to as having a good time, partying, drinking etc. e.g. "Let's jam soon"

ja

(colloquial) yes (from Afrikaans "yes"). Pronounced "ya".

janee, ja-nee, ja/nee, ja nee

(colloquial) meaning yes/agreed, in response to a question: "Ja no, that's fine." (From Afrikaans "ja nee", which is used in the same sense)

jol

(informal, pronounced /dʒɔːl/) another term more commonly used for partying and drinking. e.g. "It was a jol" or "I am jolling with you soon." ^[21] Can also mean having a lighthearted fling or affair ("I'm jolling that cherrie").

just now

idiomatically used to mean soon, later, in a short while, or a short time ago, but unlike the UK not immediately.^[22]

K-L

kaffer

(derogatory/offensive, pronounced /kæfə/) a black-skinned person (from Arabic kafir meaning non-believer) used as a racial slur ^[23]

kif

(informal) indicating appreciation, like "cool" ^[24]

kip

a nap

koki, koki pen

(pronounced /koʊkiː/) a fibre-tip pen (from a defunct local brand name).

koppie

a small hill, (also Afrikaans for a cup/mug)

koeksister

a Dutch-derived sweet pastry dessert dipped in a syrup. Pastry is traditionally shaped in the form of a French braid. The name ''koeksister'' translates as ''Cake-sister''

lapa

permanent, semi-open thatched structure used for entertaining

lekker

(informal, pronounced /lɛkə/) nice, pleasant, enjoyable (from Afrikaans "nice") ^[25]

lappie

(informal) a small dishcloth used for cleaning, as opposed to a dishcloth or teatowel

laaitie

(informal) one's own child or younger brother, specifically refers to a young boy, or to refer to a young person as a lightweight or inexperienced in something particular ^[26]

location, kasi

an apartheid-era urban area populated by Blacks, Cape Coloureds, or Indians. It was replaced by "township" in common usage amongst Whites but is still widely used by Blacks in the form of kasi ^[27]

M-N

matric

school-leaving certificate or the final year of high school or a student in the final year, short for matriculation ^[28]

mielie, mealie

an ear of maize (from Afrikaans mielie) ^[29]

mieliemeel, mealie meal

used for both cornmeal (maize meal) and the traditional porridge made from it similar to polenta, the latter also commonly known by the Afrikaans word pap, and is a traditional staple food of black South Africans. See pap

Melktert/Milktart

a Dutch custard-tart with a strong milk flavor, usually sprinkled with cinnamon on top.

monkey's wedding

a sunshower.^[30]

Moola

currency used by the now-defunct South African mobile-data service Mxit; money in general

muti

any sort of medicine but especially something unfamiliar (Zulu for traditional medicine) ^[31]

naartjie

a mandarin orange (from Indonesian via Afrikaans), a tangerine in Britain. Mandarin is used in Durban, rather than naartjie

now now

(colloquial) derived from the Afrikaans ''nou-nou'' (which can be used both in future- and immediate past-tense) idiomatically used to mean soon (sooner than just now in South Africa, but similar to just now in the United Kingdom)

O-R

outjie

a person, similar to "bloke" (man)

ousie

Afrikaans for maid/housekeeper, usually applied only to female housekeepers of colour, but is far more derogatory than maid/mate and is often never used except to be derogatory.

pap

porridge-like dish made from maize meal (cornmeal)

poppie

(informal) a ditzy woman (derogatory term), from the Afrikaans word pop, meaning a doll

robot

besides the standard meaning, in South Africa this is also used for traffic lights. The etymology of the word derives from a description of early traffic lights as robot policemen, which then got truncated with time.^[32]

rondavel

round free-standing hut-like structure, usually with a thatched roof,^[33].

S

samp

dried and roughly ground maize kernels, similar to American grits

sarmie

a sandwich ^[34] Used by whites

samoosa

a small triangular pastry of Indian origin. South African spelling and pronunciation of samosa.

Sangoma

a traditional African healer

shame

an exclamation denoting sympathy as in "shame, you poor thing, you must be cold". Also used to describe a ''cuteness factor''.

sharp, shapp, shapp-shapp, pashasha, pashash

General positive exclamation meaning "OK", "all's good", "no worries", or "goodbye". ^[35] Often accompanied by a thumbs-up gesture. A similar, more recent term used in Cape Town is aweh^[35]. Also means intelligent (that laaitie is sharp).

shebeen

(also used in Ireland and Scotland) an illegal drinking establishment, nowadays meaning any legal, informal bar, especially in townships ^[36]

shongololo, songololo

millipede (from Zulu and Xhosa, ukushonga, to roll up) ^[37]

skyfie

segment of an orange or other citrus fruit^[38]

snackwich

a toasted sandwich made in a snackwich maker/snackwich machine

sosatie

a kebab on a stick ^[39]

soutie

derogatory term for an English-speaking South African, from the Afrikaans soutpiel (literally "salty penis"), which referred to British colonial settlers who had one foot in England, one foot in South Africa and, consequently, their manhood dangling in the Atlantic Ocean.

spanspek

a cantaloupe ^[40]

spaza

an informal trading post/convenience store found in townships and remote areas ^[41]

standard

besides other meanings, used to refer to a school grade higher than grades 1 and 2 (now defunct)

State President

head of state between 1961 and 1994 - the position is now the President of South Africa

T-Z

tackies, takkies, tekkies

sneakers, trainers ^[42]

tea room

convenience store, used by Durbanites (see also cafe).

tickey box, ticky-box, tiekieboks

a payphone, derived from "tickey" coin (threepenny coin minted in 1892), as one had to insert a coin to make a call. Archaic, and superseded by public phone and payphone.

township

residential area, historically reserved for black Africans, Coloureds or Indians under apartheid. Sometimes also used to describe impoverished formally designated residential areas largely populated by black Africans, established post-Apartheid.^[43] Formerly called a location. Also has a distinct legal meaning in South Africa's system of land title, with no racial connotations.

veld

virgin bush, especially grassland or wide open rural spaces.^[44] Afrikaans for Field.

vetkoek

Afrikaner deep fried dough bread

References