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 a list of slang words unique to South Africa see List of South African slang words.)

List

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

A-B

• bakkie - a utility truck, pickup truck or ute in Australia
• bergie - 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.
• bag - refers to kissing someone or hooking up with them. Can be used as "Did you bag?" or "Did you get baggings?" meaning "Did you kiss or make-out with someone?".
• bioscope - cinema, movie theatre (now dated)
• biltong - cured meat, similar to jerky
• biscuit - same as American cookie
• bladdy - South African version of bloody, from the Afrikaans blerrie
• boerewors - spicy sausage from (Afrikaans) "farmer-sausage" (usually made with a mixture of beef and pork)
• book of life - national identity document (now dated)
• braai - a barbecue, to barbecue (from Afrikaans)
• buck - a Rand
• brinjal - eggplant (from Portuguese berinjela, also used in Indian English)
• bundu - a wilderness region, remote from cities (from Shona bundo, meaning grasslands)
• bunking - as used in the UK, playing truant, skipping school/class
• bunny chow - loaf of bread filled with curry, speciality of Durban, particularly Durban Indians

C-E

• cafe - when pronounced /kæˈfiː/ refers to a convenience store not a coffee shop (originally such stores sold coffee and other basic items)
• china - (e.g. howzit my china?) - rhyming slang for "mate" derived from Chum
• chips - used for both French fries and potato crisps
• circle - traffic circle or roundabout
• Coloured - refers to typically brown skinned South Africans of mixed European and Khoisan or black and/or Malay ancestry.
• clutch pencil - a mechanical pencil
• costume - besides meaning attire worn to a dress-up party/play it also refers to a bathing suit (short for "swimming costume" or "bathing costume"), sometime abbreviated cozzie also used in Britain.
• cool drink, cold drink - soft drink, fizzy drink not necessarily chilled
• dagga - marijuana, dag-gah, dagca (similar in pronunciation to an Arabic herb)
• dam - also used to mean a reservoir
• donga - a ditch of the type found in South African topography (from Zulu, 'wall')
• erf plural erven - a plot of land for a building (from Cape Dutch).

F-J

• garden boy - a male gardener (of any age), (Commonly used by older white South Africans, now considered politically incorrect)
• geyser - domestic water boiler
• globe - as formerly used in Britain, a light bulb
• homeland - under apartheid, typically referred to a self-governing "state" for black South Africans
• house - a free-standing dwelling. Usage differs from the UK, where a house is not free-standing, unlike a bungalow.
• hey? - similar to "eh?" or "huh?"
• howzit - hello, how are you, good morning (despite being a contraction (grammar) of 'how is it', howzit is almost exclusively a greeting, and seldom a question)
• is it? - an all purpose exclamative, can be used in any context where "really?", "uh-huh", etc. would be appropriate; for example: "I'm feeling pretty tired." "Is it?". Often contracted in speech to "izit"
• indaba - conference (from Zulu, 'a matter for discussion')
• jam - can also be referred to as having a good time, partying, drinking etc. e.g. "Let's jam soon"
• ja well no fine - expression of indifference or ambivalence.
• jol - another term more commonly used for partying and drinking. e.g. "It was a jol" or "I am jolling with you soon."
• just now - idiomatically used to mean soon, later, or in a short while, but unlike the UK not immediately.

K-L

• kiff, kief, adj., indicating appreciation (like "cool"). Originating from the resin glands of cannabis Kief
• koki, koki pen, a fibre-tip (coloured) art pen (from a local brand name)
• kombi - a minivan, esp. Volkswagen (from the Volkswagen 'Kombi' van)
• lekker - originating from the Afrikaans word for sweet, now meaning nice, pleasant or enjoyable in South African English.
• location - an apartheid-era urban area populated by Blacks, Cape Coloureds or Indians (dated, replaced "township" in common usage amongst Whites, but still widely used by Blacks)

M-N

• "Mail" - email an less specifically stated otherwise (the postal service in south africa has demonstrated a lack of reliability and email is the standerd form of mail)
• main road - what is generally called a "High Street" in Britain or a "Main Street" in North America
• matric - school-leaving certificate or the final year of high school or a student in the final year, short for matriculation exemption. Equivalent internationally to A-Levels or Twelfth grade.
• mielie - an ear of maize (from Afrikaans mielie)
• mielie meal - used for both maize flour and the traditional porridge made from it similar to American grits, the latter also commonly known by the Afrikaans word pap
• monkey's wedding - a sunshower.
• muti - traditional medicine.
• naartjie - orange-colored citrus fruit with separable segments and skin that is easily peeled (from Afrikaans), similar to a Tangerine in Britain
• now now - idiomatically used to mean soon (sooner than just now in South Africa, but similar to just now in the United Kingdom)

O-R

• Rand - currency, divided into 100 cents. The plural of rand is Rand, not Rands
• robot, robots - 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.
• rondavel - round free-standing building, usually with a thatched roof

S

• saami - a sandwich
• samoosa - Indian samosa
• shame - an exclamation denoting sympathy as in "shame, you poor thing, you must be cold"
• shebeen - illegal drinking establishment (also used in Scotland)
• shongololo - millipede (from Zulu and Xhosa, ukushonga, to roll up)
• SMS - a text message sent via a mobile / cell phone.
• snackwich - a grilled cheese sandwich (made in a snackwich maker / snackwich machine)
• sosatie - a kebab on a stick
• spanspek - a cantaloupe (from Afrikaans meaning: Spanish Bacon)
• spaza - an informal trading post/convenience store found in townships and remote areas
• standard - besides other meanings referred to a school grade higher than grades 1 and 2 (now defunct)
• State President - head of state between 1961 and 1994 - now known as President
• stiffy, stiffy disk - a 3.5 inch floppy disk, floppy is used exclusively for the old 5.25 inch or larger disks
• sucker - used for a popsicle (frozen sucker), a lollipop

T-Z

• takkies - sneakers, trainers (from Afrikaans tekkies)
• taxi - shared taxi (usually a minibus taxi) as well as taxicab
• third force - agents provocateur having no official sanction from either the government or its opposition regardless of which one they consider themselves to be benefiting, used especially for alleged unknown provocateurs behind political unrest, their actions being described as third force activity
• toasted cheese - a grilled cheese sandwich, in contrast cheese on toast refers to unmelted cheese on toasted bread.
• township - large residential suburb lacking city infrastructure, in particular the areas allocated to non-white South Africans under apartheid
• veld - virgin bush, especially grassland or wide open rural spaces

See also

• List of South African slang words
• List of colloquial South African place names
• South African English