Category: General

O-week

AKA Orientation week or 0-week, Is the first week of University where students are supposed to be orientated but they spend it binge drinking and making bad decisions.


I will never forget how awesome O-week was this year.



Matric Dance

Also known as Matric Farewell - Is when grade 12 (last year of high school) learners have one final formal function, often followed by parties, underage drinking and bad decisions. Each school usually has its own dance and pupils usually come with a date and wear expensive suits and dresses.
Americans would call it prom


I don't know who I am going to take to the Matric Dance.



Mahala

A Zulu term that means for nothing. Free; obtained without payment or difficulty. It is however not only used by Zulu, it has been incorporated to modern South African lingo.


Buy 1 drink and get the second one mahala.



Toyi-toyi

A quasi-military dance-step characterized by high-stepping movements, performed either on the spot or while moving slowly forwards, usually by participants in protest gatherings or marches, and accompanied by chanting, singing, and the shouting of slogans


They were toyi-toying for the lack of service delivery in their community and apparently the money was misused by a local tenderpreneur



Yebo

It means "yes", but it is used as an extremely expressive form of the affirmative. It's often used as a double positive, saying "Yebo yes!".


Man 1: Are you gonna watch the game tomorrow?
Man 2: Yebo yes!



Ungenaphi?

An African proverb (apparently), is taken from Xhosa and directly translate to "where do you enter?". It means how is that/this any of your concern?


Guy: I don't like the fact that you smoke.
Girl: Ungenaphi?



Stlamatlama

Also known as babalaas is hangover.


Stlamatlama is killing me today.



Babalaas

Can also be spelled Bhabhalaza, Babalaz, bhabhalazi - is a hangover or that feeling in the morning after a night of heavy drinking.


I'm struggling to wake up today because babalaas is nyisaring me.



Swazi

Weed from Swaziland that is very potent.


Come let's smoke, I've got some swazi here.



Vosho

A South African dance where the person squats and kicks at the same time. It is one of the most popular dances in South Africa.


Look at how she does the vosho. You can see that she is a regular at groove.




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