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South African Culture: South Africa Glossary

South African Glossary

A listing of South African specific terms and phrases.

South African slang

A

ANC - African National Congress

Amarula - liquer made from berries

Apartheid - racial separation policies of the National Party

Arvie - afternoon

B

B&Bs - British-style Bed & Breakfast accommodation

Baai - Afrikaans word for "Bay"

Bafana Bafana - lit. 'The Boys' South Africa's soccer team

Bakkie - pick-up truck

Bergie - Table Mountain vagrant

Big Five - lion, elephant, leopard, Cape buffalo and black rhino

Biltong - sun-dried meat Read more about South African food

Blatjang - chutney

Bobotie - curried mince

Boer - early Dutch colonists, Afrikaaner

Bokkoms - dried fish

Braai - barbeque (BBQ) beloved of South Africans

Bubblegum - township style of music

Bundu - wilderness

Bunny chow - curry and bread dish from KwaZulu-Natal

C

Cap Classique - sparkling wine

Cape Dutch - style of architecture much seen in the Winelands

Coloured - mixed race people

D

Dagga - Marijuana

Dagha - mud used to construct indigenous homes

Dominee (DS) - Reverend

Dorp - country town or village

Drift - river ford

E

Egoli - Zulu name for Johannesburg, lit. 'city of gold'

F

Fundi - expert

Fynbos - fine-leafed plants of the Western Cape

G

Gogga - insect

Gogo - grandmother (Zulu)

H

Highveld - upland areas of Gauteng & Mpumalanga

I

Igogogo - improvised musical instrument made from an oil drum

Indaba - Zulu word for group meeting, discussion

Inkatha - Zulu nationalist party

Iziko - means a hearth in isiXhosa and is also the name of a museum group in Cape Town

J

Joeys - residents of Johannesburg

Jol - party, celebration

Jawl - a fun time

K

Karoo - arid plateau

Kloof - gorge, ravine

Knobkerrie - wooden club

Koppie - small hill

Kraal - enclosure of huts

Krans - cliff, rock wall

Kroeg - bar

Kwaito - South African youth music genre

Kwela - township style of music

L

Laager - circular camp of Voortrekker wagons

Lekker - nice, tasty

Lobola - wedding gift from groom to bride's family

Lowveld - lowland scrub

M

Maas - (amasi; amaas) soured milk

Mamparra - a fool

Matjieshuis - hut made of reeds

Mbaqanga - 1960s music style from Soweto

Mbira - thumb piano

Mielie - (mealie) maize

MK - aka Umkonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation) - once armed wing of the ANC

Mlungu - perjorative African term for a white person

Moffie - slang for gay

Moraba-raba - popular African board game

Mqomboti - traditional beer made from fermented sorghum

N

Naartjie - small orange

Ngaca - wise man

Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika - anthem of ANC and now South Africa

Nyanga - traditional African healer

O

Oke - guy, chap.

P

PAC - Pan African Congress

Pap - porridge

Pastorie - parsonage

Pinotage - South African type of hybrid grape and wine

Piri-piri - hot pepper

Platteland - country areas

Prinsevlag - Apartheid-era national flag

Protea - national flower of South Africa

R

Rand - (ZAR) South Africa's currency from the Dutch Zuid-Afrikaanse rand

Restcamp - accommodation in national parks

Rikki - Cape Town pick up truck used as a means of public transport

Robot - signal, traffic lights

Rondavel - circular building

Rooibos - herbal tea

S

SABC - South African Broadcasting Company

Samp - maize and beans dish

Sangoma - traditional spirit doctor, medium

Shebeen - unlicensed drinking place

Sjambok - whip

Skokiaan - home brew beer

Stoep - veranda

T

Takkies - trainers, sneakers

Telkom - state communications company

Totsi taal - ghetto slang

Township - apartheid-era area reserved for blacks

Toyi toyi - ANC dance march

U

Ubuntu - Ubuntu includes giving help and support to others to confirm our own humanity.

Umkonto we Sizwe - "spear of the nation" - the former armed wing of the ANC

Umuthi - traditional hernal medicine

V

Veld - grassland

Vetkoek - doughnut

Vlei - swamp

VOC - Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie (Dutch East India Company)

Voetsek - get lost, buzz off

Vuvuzela - or lepatata, controversial meter-long stadium horns

W

Woes - wound up, aggressive

Winelands - wine-growing areas of Western Cape

Witblits - home made liquor

Y

Yiso Yiso - hit South African TV drama

Yoh - an expression of surprise

Z

Zol - a homemade cigarette

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