Guide to South Africanisms: Part 2
By Simone Matus
A few weeks ago, we introduced you to the most common South African phrases that visitors might need a bit of help deciphering. But you didn’t think you could learn it all in just one lesson, did you?
There are also many Afrikaans words that have been adopted into South African English. Here are some of the crossover words that you’re likely to hear most often:
Ja – Yes, yeah, yip
“Ja, that’s fine.”
Dop – Drink
“Bring a few dops and we’ll have a braai.”
Jol – Party
“That was an awesome jol last night”
Bakkie – Truck or Pick up, a car that has an open rear area
“Jump on the back of the bakkie”
Lekker – Nice
“We had such a lekker weekend!”
And then we have the every day South African slang, some of which can be quite tricky for visitors:
Graze – Food
“Let’s go get some graze.”
Kiff – Awesome
“That was such a kiff movie.”
Rock up – Arrive without planning
“They said we could just rock up, no RSVP needed.”
Tackies – Trainers
“You’ll need your tackies to walk up the mountain.”
Lank – Beyond / More than
“I saw this lank kiff movie last week.”
Robot – Traffic light
“That car went straight through the red robot!”
Boot – Car Trunk
“Can you put your bags in the boot please?”
Fringe – Bangs
“I like your new fringe.”
Serviette – Napkin
“May I have a new serviette please?”
Chips – Fries
“Would you like chips with your burger?”
Tomato Sauce – Ketchup
“I would like some tomato sauce with my chips please.”
Learn these and enjoy a conversation with the locals! They’ll probably invite you to a lekker braai, and offer you a dop or two!
Simone Matus
