Special Sub-Topic: South African Slang Click Here To Play: South African Slang

Below are a couple of greetings, some of which you may have heard before. Which one is typically South African?

Howzit. Originally from the "How is it going?" (how are you?) after one said hello. Shortened to "How is it?", which sounds (and spelled these days) "Howzit" when pronounced fast.

If you were in Cape Town, South Africa and one of the locals invite you to a braai, which of the following would you be more likely to take with you?

Boerewors and Castle. Boerewors (which translates as "Farmer's Sausage") is a very popular dish/snack at a braai (a barbecue). South Africans always cook on coals (either from charcoal or wood) and you'd probably whet your whistle with Castle Lager or Black Label (beer).

If a South African says to you "Lekker tekkies bru!", what does that mean?

Nice running shoes man!. Lekker is used to describe a lot of nice or good things. Running shoes, cross trainers, tennis- and squash shoes - all known as tekkies. Bru (from brother) is used in the the same context as a lot of Americans would use "dude", New Zealanders "bro" or Australians and Britons the term "mate", when talking to a male person.

If you were told in South Africa "a couple of skelms have just scaled that bakkie", what would you have been told?

A few thieves have stolen a pick-up truck. Ute in Australia, Pick-up in the US of A - Bakkie (pronounced 'bucky')in South Africa.

South Africans sometimes say "I've got a heavy babbie, I need to crash!" What does it mean?

I have got a massive hangover, I need some sleep. "Babbie" (pronounced "bubby") is short for babbelaas - slang for a hangover.

When a Saffa tells you he/she will do something "just now" or "now now", they generally mean to do it when?

In a minute. When a South African tells you they'll be there 'just now' it means they're on their way (probably just finishing up something first, hang on…)

Translate the South African sentence into 'real' English: "This other oke skipped the red robot"

The man drove through the red traffic lights. South Africans refer to traffic lights as robots. An oke is the same as a bloke (Britain), e.g. some random male person.

When in Pretoria (Capital of South Africa) and you find yourself on the wrong side of the tracks and are being told "Don't charf my cherry, I'll buckle your frame China!", what are you being told?

Leave my girl alone, I will smash your head in son!. Sad but true, in some areas of South Africa a girl/girlfriend is known as a "cherry" and to "charf" someone is the same as 'chatting up' or 'checking out' - catch my drift?

Which of the following can you drink?

Both of these. Brandy (usually drunk with Coke on ice) is probably the favourite spirit in South Africa. Of the local manufactured brands "Klippies" (short for Klipdrift) is one of the more popular ones. Rooibos is a South African tea (caffeine free) made in the Cape from the Cyclopia genistoides bush. Rooibos is an Afrikaans word meaning "red bush". When people speak of rooibos they are referring to rooibos tea.

"Chips" in South Africa means/refers to:

All of these (Potato crisps, Fries, 'Look out!' [A warning]). Chips usually refers to the packets of (hard) potato crisps. Also used to describe fries, however they are sometimes called 'slap chips' (pronounced 'slup chips'). "Slap" is Afrikaans for limp or floppy, eg to describe the fries as opposed to hard crisps... The word "chips!" is also used to say "look out" or "watch out", i.e. when school kids are smoking they'd say "Chips! Mr Smith is coming."