Word of the Day [31 Dec 2025]
East Rand
The East Rand is a major urban area located in the Gauteng province of South Africa. It includes the towns of Bedfordview, Benoni, Boksburg, Brakpan, Edenvale, Germiston, Kempton Park, Linksfield and Modderfontein.
I grew up in the East Rand.
Whuzet
Is a popular Xhosa slang which means What's going on. It's most popular in the Eastern Cape streets.
Whuzet nawe nalamntana uMbali?
Alexandria
Egypt's Mediterranean jewel with Greco-Roman history and modern library.
Alexandria's Corniche stretches 20km along the seafront.
Rha
Rha
Pronounced (ggggaaah); is a Khoikhoi word for “plenty” or “enough”. Used in Xhosa as a term for “That’s enough”often in anger and sometimes in disgust hence mistaken for “ew”.
In Khoikhoi: There is a river in the Eastern Cape called Birha. Bi is milk, and rha is plenty. Hence “a place of milk”. Another use is in the Xhosa chief Gambushe’s nickname: Rharhabe meaning “Minister of Plenty”.
In Xhosa it varies:
In a Dismissal Manner
Someone: I’m going to out race you.
Me: Rha! That would be the day.
To stop a child who is hitting another child a parent could say “Stop it. Rha! That’s enough”
In a Disgusting Manner
When a child see poop usually they used to say “Rha! Poo”
When people hear, smells, or see a disgusting thing they can say “Rha!”
In an Elated Manner
A person recounting an exciting moment of thriumph can say “Rha! I out did myself”
Feeling pretty? “Rha! I’m beautiful”
Ikati ilele eziko
This is a Xhosa figure of speech that describes hunger or poverty. It directly translate to "a cat is sleeping in the fire (cooking) place (or stove if you may say)". So the cat is sleeping where people are supposed to be cooking because there's no fire and no food to cook.
Grandma had to send the kids back to their mothers because ikati ilele eziko.
Central African Republic
A landlocked country with rich natural resources but political instability, featuring rainforests and savannas.
The Central African Republic has struggled with conflict despite its mineral wealth.