Thursday 6 November 2014

The South African Lingo Book: A Guide to Our Slang pt2.

I hope you have mastered part 1 by now, because there is still more to come... pt2, pt3, maybe pt4 as well. Nevertheless, I am happy to be sharing this with you. It makes me Proudly South African.

D

dagga: [daah-gha] this is most the commonly used word for marijuana.

deurmekaar: [dee-ur-muh-car] Afrikaans for confused, disorganised or stupid.
Sentence: "I think he's a bit deurmekaar".

dinges: [den-ghes]something. Also known as "thingamabob, a wotzit or a whatchamacallit"
Sentence: "what's that dinges called again?"

doek: [dook] A head scarf worn to protect a woman's hair.

domkop: idiot, stupid or dumbhead.
Sentence: "Stop being a domkop and answer the question."

donner: [don-ner] to beat up. Remember "bliksem", they have similar meaning.
Sentence: "I'm going to donner you after class"

dof: stupid or slow to understand.

dop: alcohol or to drink alcohol. It is also associated with failing.
Sentence: "Let's go for a dop" or "I'm gonna dop that test."

dorpie: [door-pee] small town

Droëwors: [dro-ue-vors] Afrikaans for 'dry sausage', similar to biltong.

Durbs: The city of Durban. South Africa's playground.


E

eina: [ay-nah] Ouch! Can also mean "sore".
Sentence: "Eina! my leg!" or "I've got a big eina."

eish: [aysh] Used to express surprise, wonder, frustration or outrage.
Sentence: "Eish! That cut was eina!"

ek sê: I say! or Excuse me
Sentence: "Ek se, what time we going there?"

F

frikkadel: [freak-kuh-dell] A traditional meatball.

flou: an unfunny joke (from the Afrikaans word for weak), can also refer to weak coffee or tea. A person that is weak.
Sentence: "Haha, what a flou joke."

fray: kiss/make-out.


G

gatvol: [ghut-foll] Taken from Afrikaans, this means "fed up".
Sentence: "Eish, my china, I'm gatvol of working at this place." Translation: "Gee, my friend, I'm fed up with working at this place."

gogga: [gho-gha] Insect, bug. From the Khoikhoi xo-xon.

gogo: [goh-goh] Grandmother or elderly woman, from isiZulu.

gooi: [goy] throw, chuck or to someone.
Sentence: "gooi the ball."


H

heita: [hay-ta] "hello" or "hi".

hey: This popular expression can be used as a standalone question meaning "pardon" or "what"
Sentence: "Hey? What did you say?" Or it can be used to prompt affirmation or agreement, as in, "Great game, hey?" It can also be used to greet, especially when chatting via social networks.

hoesit, hoezit, howzit: [hoos-it/how-zit] derived from "How is it going? – contracted to how's it?_In English SA context, 'howzit' is more a greeting of "hello" rather than "how are you?".
Sentence: "hey howzit, long time no see."


I

is it: [as one word: izit] An expression frequently used in conversation and equivalent to, "Is that so?"


J

ja: [yaa] Yes.

jislaaik: [yis-like] An expression of outrage or surprise.
Sentence: "Jislaaik, I just saw Elvis! Actually, it was just Elvis Blue."

jol: [jawl] A versatile word with many meanings, including "party", "disco", "having fun", or just "thing".

Jozi: [jo-zee] The city of Johannesburg, South Africa's largest city, which is also known as Joburg.

just now: If a South African tells you they will do something "just now", they mean they'll do it in the near future – not immediately.
Sentence: "I'll be there just now."

ja-nee: [ya-nia] literally "yes-no", an expression of positive confirmation.
Sentence: "ja-nee, it's okay, you can come."

jislaaik! : [yas-like] expression of surprise, can be positive or negative. Often used when you get a fright, but equally often during particularly exciting parts of a game. Or to express anger/frustration.

Keep a lookout for pt3... coming soon to a computer/mobile screen near you!





No comments:

Post a Comment