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.

Add a South African word

South Africa

Bottle Kop

A bottle kop is a broken glass bottleneck that is used to smoke weed like a pipe.

Example

I'm tired of this rolled weed, let's use a bottle kop.

LinguistZA • 03 November 2022

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South Africa

Coloureds

Coloured, formerly Cape Coloured, a person of mixed European (“white”) and African (“black”) or Asian ancestry, as officially defined by the South African government from 1950 to 1991.

Example

Coloureds are mostly found in Cape Town but can be found all over South Africa.

LinguistZA • 03 November 2022

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South Africa

Township

In South Africa, the terms township and location usually refer to the often underdeveloped, racially segregated urban areas that, from the late 19th century until the end of apartheid, were reserved for non-whites, namely Black Africans, Coloureds and Indians.

Example

Each and every township in South Africa is almost the same.

LinguistZA • 03 November 2022

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South Africa

Cape Flats

The term Cape Flats refers to a flat, sandy stretch of land which is located on the outskirts of the city of Cape Town. It has been accurately described as the "dumping ground of apartheid" and it is here that people of colour (non-whites in "old South Africa" language) were relocated to in terms of the infamous Group Areas Act.

Example

I am from the Cape Flats where we hear gunshots every night.

LinguistZA • 03 November 2022

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