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.

East London, or eMonti a city on the southeastern coast of South Africa, in the Eastern Cape province.
Example

East London niggas are always full of shit.

Maps • 14 June 2024
eMonti is the Xhosa name for East London, a city on the southeastern coast of South Africa.
Example

Masambe siye eMonti.

Let's go to East London.

Maps • 14 June 2024
Kempton Park is a city in the East Rand region of Gauteng province, South Africa. It is part of the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality. It is situated south of Tembisa, one of the largest townships in South Africa, which is also part of Ekurhuleni. South Africa's busiest airport, O.R. Tambo International Airport is located in Kempton Park.
Example

We need to go to the airport in Kempton Park.

Maps • 14 June 2024
Germiston, also known as kwaDukathole, is a city in the East Rand region of Gauteng, South Africa.
Example

I hate travelling to Germiston in the morning. The traffic is crazy.

Maps • 14 June 2024
Boksburg is a city on the East Rand of Gauteng province of South Africa. Gold was discovered in Boksburg in 1887. Boksburg was named after the State Secretary of the South African Republic, W. Eduard Bok.
Example

I can't wait to visit my brother in Boksburg.

Maps • 14 June 2024
Bedfordview is an affluent suburb in western Ekurhuleni, sharing an administrative boundary with the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng, South Africa. Bedfordview has been part of the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality since 2000.
Example

We are going to Eastgate mall in Bedfordview.

Maps • 14 June 2024
1632 is the area code of Tembisa, a township in Gauteng, South Africa.
Example

I represent 1632 till I die!

Maps • 14 June 2024
Tembisa or Thembisa is a large township situated to the north of Kempton Park on the East Rand, Gauteng, South Africa.
Example

Tembisa is my Kasi. 1632 for life.

Maps • 13 June 2024
Mambisa is an informal name used to refer to Tembisa township.
Example

I was born and bred in Mambisa.

Maps • 13 June 2024
Brakpan is a mining town on the East Rand of Gauteng, South Africa. It is known as the Alabama of South Africa, or the armpit of South Africa.
Example

If you divorce your wife in Brakpan, she remains your sister.

Maps • 13 June 2024
A very strong strain of dagga or weed grown in Durban.
Example

This is not your normal shit, this is Durban poison.

Siya • 13 June 2024
Daka Boy is a derogatory term for someone who mixes the cement during construction.
Example

He lied to you, he’s not the foreman, he’s the Daka Boy.

Siya • 13 June 2024

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