South African Lingo and “isms” you should know

South African “gees” is a little low today after the national team lost to Uruguay 3-0 last night. Gees is a word meaning “spirit” but there are many other South African –isms our visitors should know.

GEES has been clearly demonstrated over the past few days with vuvuzela blowing, flags waving, large smiles, singing and gesticulating. You’ll hear the word a lot – except possibly today! However South African’s are resilient and determined and the gees will return – after all we have stunning football stadiums, there is amazing football being played in them, all South Africans finally know the national anthem and sing it, languages from all over the world are being heard on our streets and we are hosting the biggest football tournament on the planet – successfully!

Here are some classic South African-isms and we hope the lingo guide will help you on your journey around South Africa. (thanks to Oliver Roberts on Times Live for the majority of the article).

AG (pronounced ach as in the German Achtung) – 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?”

BABBELAS (BUBBLE-US): Hangover. Usage: "Jeez, I had too many dops last night. I've got a hectic babbelas."

BLIKSEM (BLUK-SEM): If you're in a pub and you accidentally spill a beer belonging to a man with a thick neck, he may say: "Do you want me to bliksem you?" Don't respond. Just run. Run for your life. It's the Afrikaans word for hit or strike or punch.

BOET: Means "brother" in Afrikaans. An affectionate (though not too much) term for a friend. It's like saying "dude" or "buddy"."This guy is my boet!"

BRAAI (pronounced br-eye) - This is the popular South African version of a barbecue where meats such as steak, chicken and boerewors (boo-ruh-vorss) are cooked. Boerewors is a traditional spicy South African sausage made of beef or lamb and is also referred to as wors (vorss). Chances are that you will also be introduced to pap en sous (pup en sohss) at a braai. Pap is boiled corn meal, and sous is the sauce it is covered with, usually featuring tomato and onions. A South African might also indicate that he is feeling physically run down by saying "I'm pap." Translation: "I am feeling weak."

BRU (pronounced brew) - A term of affection used among men, meaning "brother". An example would be "Hey, my bru, howzit?"

CAR GUARD: Found in most urban areas, a car guard's office is the parking lot. He keeps an eye on your car while you're at the match, in the mall or at the pub. You're expected to tip him when you return to your car and it hasn't been stolen or broken into. No. That's a lie. You'll be expected to tip him even if it has.
CAR WORDS - South Africans put petrol in their cars, not gasoline. Trunks are referred to as boots, while hoods are called bonnets.

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" is a term of affection meaning good friend, as in "This oke's my china". It is term used in casual conversation, and would not be appropriate in more formal surroundings.

DINGES (DING-US): An indeterminate, nondescript thing or term for an object whose name you've momentarily forgotten. Like this: "Please pass me my dinges there." "What?" "My dinges. I want to blow it." "You mean your vuvuzela?" "Yes, my vuvuzela."

DOF: Stupid.

DOP: If someone says "Do you want to go for a dop?" always say yes. It means you'll be going for a drink.

DOSS: Slang for "sleep". Usage: "Is it cool if I doss at your place tonight?"

EINA (AY-NA): Expression of pain, as in "ouch". Usage: "Ooh, looks like Rooney just shattered his pelvis. Eina!"

EISH (AYSH): Common term that denotes a wide range of emotions from joy and surprise to confusion and anger. When in doubt, use it.

GATVOL: Literally means "hole fill" in Afrikaans. Means you've had enough of something that's making you angry. Usage: "Boet, I'm gatvol of this ref's bad decisions." Again with the harsh "g".

HOWZIT - A traditional South African greeting that translates roughly as "How are you?" or "How are things?"

HUNDREDS: Normally repeated twice in a sentence as in "Hundreds, bru, hundreds." It expresses either total agreement with what someone has just said, or confirmation that your life is all good (eg: "How are you?" "Ah, hundreds, man, hundreds"). Can also be used as a way of simply saying yes.

IS IT?: Actually pronounced "uzz ut" or as one word “izit” It's a casual way of saying "Oh really?" or “is that so?” Usage: "Dude, I saw Messi coming out of a ladies toilet yesterday." "Uzz ut?"

JA-WELL-NO-FINE: Nobody really knows what this means, because it doesn't really mean anything. But we like saying it.

JOL: Party. Can be used as either a noun or verb, as in "That was a lekker jol" or "I went jolling last night and ended up in Fabio Cannavaro's hotel room. It was great."

JUST NOW: An indeterminate amount of time. If a waiter says "I'll be with you just now", it could mean anything from five minutes, to 10, to never.

KAK (KUK): Literally "shit". Popular uses include "What a load of kak" and "Don't talk kak".

KE NAKO! Meaning “it’s time”. This term has been popularized by the start of the much anticipated football tournament happening in South Africa.

LADUMA: Celebratory exclamation when a goal is scored. For best effect, try to hold the "u" for as long as possible on one breath, so that the "ma" comes out as a desperate choke. Laduuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.ma.

LANK: Beyond cool is lank cool. Also means a large amount of, as in "There were lank vuvuzelas at the game last night."

LEKKER (LAKKA): Great, awesome, amazing and used to describe anything, as in “lekker dinner last night” to “the game was lekker hey?”

MAMPARA: Idiot.

MZANSI: Popular term for South Africa. Best describes our country's gritty energy and loud African spirit.

NOOIT (NOYT): Expression of disbelief or disdain. As in "Aah, nooit! There's chewing gum on my seat!" or "When I saw Khune being red carded, I just thought 'Nooit, bru!'"

NOW-NOW: Not to be confused with "Just now". Now-now is a much smaller indeterminate amount of time. Hmm. Don't worry - you'll get it.

OKE,OU - A colloquial reference to a man, similar to "guy", "chap" or "bloke". For example: "Do you know that oke?" The word "ou" (pronounced oh) can be used interchangeably.

PHUZA (POO-ZA): A drinking session. "Phuza Thursday" is a noble tradition in South Africa. Try to uphold it while you're here.

ROBOT: When you're asking for directions and someone says: "Left at the third robot," it is not because our streets are overrun with menacing cyborgs made by Japanese scientists. No. A robot is simply our word for traffic light.

SHARP-SHARP!: Okay. This is a complicated one. An expression of agreement. Or a greeting. Or a way of saying goodbye. Or a way of saying "Okay, sure." Or a way of ... forget it.

SIFF: Gross, disgusting. "Check, that guy is picking his nose." "Siff, boet."

SKINDER, SKINNER (pronounced skinner) - Gossip, as in: "Hey china, have you heard the latest skinner?" Someone who talks behind someone's back is known as a skinnerbek. Example: "Jislaaik bru, I'm going to donner that skinnerbek for skinnering about me." Translation: "Gee my friend, I'm going to hit that guy for gossiping about me behind my back."

STRUESBOB (pronounced s-true-zz-bob) - "As true as God", meaning it's the gospel truth. An example is: "I decided to bet just R10 on Brazil winning and struesbob I won R2 000."

ZHOOSH: Very fancy. A word normally utilised by well-kept women with French manicures who will never, ever understand the off-side rule. Use the word if you must (it feels nice in the mouth), but aggressively avoid these women.

Cape Point Route offers a wide range of accommodation, activities, attractions, restaurants, venues, shops, tours and packages on the Cape Peninsula, Cape Town, South Africa. Call us for ideas and suggestions at the information office +27 (0)21 782 9356.