SaltyCrax Backpackers

Saltycrax’s guide to South African slang

Can you speak “South African”? This well-known term stems from the 11 different languages spoken in South Africa. With such a diverse and multilingual country, no wonder South Africans have their unique language that everyone from every background understands.

To help you during your travels, here are a few useful South African slang words to better understand the locals and their lingo.

01

Babelas

Pronounced: [buh-be-las] A hangover.

Example: “I’ve got such a babelas after one too many drinks”

02

Bru

Pronounced: [brew] Can be used casually for men and women

Example: “Hey Bru, how are you?” or “My Bru, you are a legend”

03

Chommie

Pronounced: [chommy] Friend 

Example: “Hey my chommie, it’s good to see you”

04

Chow

Pronounced: [Chow] Food, Meal or Eat

Example: “I’m hungry, let’s get some chow” or “Food is ready, let’s chow”

05

Eina

Pronounced: [ey-na] Ouch, both an exclamation and a noun

Example: “Eina! That hurt!” or “I’ve got an eina on my leg”

06

Eish

Pronounced: [eysh] An exclamation, usually used to express dismay

Example: “Eish, that bill was expensive”

07

Hectic

Pronounced: [hectic] Extreme, usually stressful

Example: “That conversation was hectic” or “That wave was hectic”

08

Howzit

Pronounced: [hows-it] Used to ask someone how they’re doing

Example: “Howzit my bru?”

09

Hayibo

Pronounced: [hai-bo] Wow!

Derived from the Zulu word, meaning “definitely not!” Usually expressed on its own or at the start of a sentence.

Example: “Hayibo!” or “Hayibo, I can not believe it”

10

Jol

Pronounced: [jol] Party or a good time, can be a noun or verb

Example: “That was such a jol” or “Are you coming to the jol tonight?”

11

Just now or now now

Pronounced: [just now] Sometime soon, anytime, soonish, in no specific time frame

Example: “I’ll get around to it just now” or “I will be there now now”

12

Kak

Pronounced: [kuk] Crap or awful

Example: “That was a kak game”

13

Lekker

Pronounced: [lak-kerr] Great, fresh, nice

Example: “It’s a lekker day today” or “You look lekker in that dress”

14

Oke

Pronounced: [oak] Male person, usually a stranger

Example: “I was waiting in line with a bunch of other okes”

15

Tune

Pronounced: [tune] Tell off or talk

Example: “Don’t tune me, it wasn’t my fault” or “What’s that you’re tuning me?”

16

Robot

Pronounced: [robot] A traffic light

Example: “Stop at the robot when it is red”