South Africa Slang Dictionary
South African slang is a rich, multilingual mix that borrows freely from the country's eleven official languages - isiZulu, isiXhosa, Afrikaans, Sesotho and more - plus street languages like tsotsitaal and Sepitori. It's the language of the townships, the taxi rank, kwaito and amapiano, and everyday Mzansi life from Joburg to Cape Town to Durban. Words like eish, howzit, lekker, sharp sharp and yebo are woven into how South Africans speak every day. Explore the community-built dictionary of South African slang below - and add the words you know.
Sharp fede majita, dintshang da?
She was downing 1818, that's why she's this drunk.
Each Kasi has its own tsotsi taal or its own way of speaking, meaning tsotsi taal from Soweto might differ from that of Pitori.
Teacher: You cannot speak that Tsotsi Taal in my class. Here we speak proper English.
Go buy some bread at the spaza shop.
Tjo ngwana ona na ke lepyatla.
I speak a bit of Tswana plus sepitori.
I use my lepopotane for my side chicks, and I make sure I hide it inside the spare wheel so that my main chick doesn't see it.