South Africa Glossary

B

braai the ubiquitous South African barbecue, a common street fare.

C

cheers can either mean "goodbye," "thank you," or "Let's have a toast."

E

eish it usually does not mean anything, but it's a common South African expression that the locals usually use to start a sentence as in: "Eish, it's hot" or "Eish, that's far."

H

heita is another term for "hello."

howzit means "How is it?"

L

lekker what to say if you think something is enjoyable or nice

M

Molo means Hello in Xhosa

O

oom means "uncle," a term used to respect an older man

R

Rand or ZAR, the South African currency.

R

robot If a taxi driver says "robot," it means traffic light

S

sharp means "okay" or "all right."

sure-sure pronounced as "shoo-shoo," means "You're right," "You are correct," "We have an agreement," or "Thank you."

T

tannie means auntie, a term used to respect an older woman

Y

yebo means "yes"