Cairo

Egypt's sprawling capital on the Nile, home to ancient pyramids and modern urban life.

Cairo's Khan el-Khalili bazaar has been trading since the 14th century.

Moer

To beat someone to a pulp.

Can also be a swear word in Afrikaans

I will moer you.

Jiki jiki

Jiki jiki means all of a sudden or suddenly.

When we were growing you were dark, jiki jiki you are a yellow bone.

Tyhagi

Ityhagi is a derogatory term used to refer to a boy. Like an uncircumcised boy.

I will not take directions from ityhagi.

The Vid

Slang for the Covid-19 virus. Derived from the word "Covid"

I had the 'Vid last month. Had to go to a quarantine site for 14 days.

Ukutya

Ukutya is the Xhosa formal term for food.

Ndifuna ukutya kwam.
I want my food

Mkhaba

A Zulu term that refers to a huge belly, mostly seen in tenderpreneurs. Sotho people can spell it as mokhaba.

Stomach in, chest out. Umkhaba must fall.

Ayoba

Ayoba is a South African slang, which means something “cool”, “okay”, or “all right”. It was popular before the social media age but its use has declined.

Girl 1: We should go to the mall tomorrow.
Girl 2: Ayoba

Hhayi bo (haibo)

It is not Xhosa but Zulu phrase meaning to disapprove an act. It goes together with phrases like, kahle no, musa bo, woza bo, mana no, etc

Hhayi bo wnzani?

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.

Stockvel

A stokvel is a savings pool where a group of individuals contribute an agreed-upon monthly amount. The group have full control of how they would like to use that money. Two common methods are to pay out monthly or annually. The group can make monthly pay-outs, or they could keep investing their savings and get a lump sum at the end of the year.

I have joined a stockvel with the members of my community where we get monthly payouts.