Word of the Day [18 May 2026]
Mngani wa yena
A Tsonga term for "his friend / her friend" that is apparently used to identify unknown soccer players by commentators.
They would call all the names of the "famous" players and when they reach the unknown player, they would say mngani wa yena (his friend).
And he passes the ball to Jabu Pule... Jabu Pule passes to mngani wa yena.
Skopas
Term mostly used in the Northern parts of the country to refer to sweet flavoured and coloured popcorns.
Some parts of the country call them amaKip-kip
I bought my nephews some skopas from the Spaza shop.
umshologu
properly used to mean a “spirit” from
u -> the
m -> child of, person of, thing of
Shulgi -> an ancient Sumerian king who deified him just like Jesus and so people were said to perform wonders “In the name of Shulgi”.
On seeing a ghost: I saw umshologu.
On seeing a magic performance: He’s using umshologu.
A church was in the old days called: The House of umshologu
On someone who loves to go to church: He’s the ash of the house of umshologu. (you can modernize the expression by using “furniture” instead of “ash”)
Sizwe Dhlomo
Sizwe Dhlomo is a South African tweleb and part time radio show host. He is always giving “expert” opinion on every topic on X, formerly Twitter, which inspired the term Dhloogle.
“I know it’s correct cause Sizwe Dhlomo said it” - said no one ever.
Mdantsane
Mdantsane is a township in East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is the second largest township in South Africa, after Soweto.
That boxer is from the streets of Mdantsane.