To help foreigners fit in and avoid trouble during the World Cup, use this handy lingo guide
Babbelas (Bubble-us): Hangover. Usage: "Jeez, I had too many dops last night. I've got a hectic babbelas."
Bliksem (Bluk-sem): If you're in a pub and you accidentally spill a beer belonging to a man with a thick neck, he may say: "Do you want me to bliksem you?" Don't respond. Just run. Run for your life. It's the Afrikaans word for hit or strike or punch.
Boet: means 'brother' in Afrikaans. An affectionate (though not too much) term for a friend. It's like saying 'dude' or 'buddy'.
Broekies (Brookies): Panties or underwear. Usage: "I phuza'd with this girl last night and she came back to my hotel. When I woke up this morning, she was gone but she left her broekies behind."
Dagga: Again pronounced with a harsh "g". Marijuana. Illegal, but admittedly very easy to get hold if you're so inclined. Just ask your car guard.
Dinges (ding-us): An indeterminate, nondescript thing or term for an object whose name you've momentarily forgotten. Like this: "Please pass me my dinges there." "What?" "My dinges. I want to blow it." "You mean your vuvuzela?" "Yes, my vuvuzela."
Dof: Stupid.
Dop: If someone says, "Do you want to go for a dop?" Always say yes. It means you'll be going for a drink.
Doss: Slang for 'sleep'. Usage: "Is it cool if I doss at your place tonight?"
Eina (ay-na): Expression of pain, as in 'ouch'. Usage: "Ooh, looks like Rooney just shattered his pelvis. Eina!"
Hundreds: Normally repeated twice in a sentence as in 'Hundreds, bru, hundreds.' It expresses either total agreement with what someone has just said, or confirmation that your life is all good (e.g.: "How are you?" "Ah, hundreds, man, hundreds"). Can also be used as a way of simply saying yes.
Ja-well-no-fine: Nobody really knows what this means, because it doesn't really mean anything. But South Africans like saying it.
Jol: Party. Can be used as either a noun or verb, as in "That was a lekker jol'' or "I went jolling last night and ended up in Fabio Cannavaro's hotel room. It was great. We set fire to it."
Just now: An indeterminate amount of time. If a waiter says "I'll be with you just now", it could mean anything from five minutes, to 10, to never.
Laduma: Celebratory exclamation when a goal is scored. For best effect, try to hold the 'u' for as long as possible on one breath, so that the 'ma' comes out as a desperate choke. Laduuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.ma.
Mampara: Idiot.
My china: Or just 'China'. An affectionate term similar to 'boet'. "Howz it China"" is a standard South African greeting. Except when meeting an actual Chinese person. Then you probably shouldn't say it.
Mzansi: Popular term for South Africa. Best describes its gritty energy and loud African spirit.
Nooit (noyt): Expression of disbelief or disdain. As in "Aah, nooit! There's chewing gum on my seat!" Or "When I saw that advert with Ronaldo striking a homoerotic pose in a pair of tight underpants, I just thought 'Nooit, bru'!"
Now-now: Not to be confused with 'Just now'. Now-now is a much smaller indeterminate amount of time. Hmm. Don't worry you'll get it.
Phuza (poo-za): A drinking session. 'Phuza Thursday' is a noble tradition in South Africa. Try to uphold it while you're here.
Robot: When you're asking for directions and someone says: "Left at the third robot," it is not because the streets are overrun with menacing cyborgs made by Japanese scientists. No. A robot is simply our word for traffic light.
Sharp-sharp!: Okay. This is a complicated one. An expression of agreement. Or a greeting. Or a way of saying goodbye. Or a way of saying 'Okay, sure.' Or a way of 'forget it'.
Tsotsi (tot-si): Not just the name of the Oscar-winning film made by local director Gavin Hood. Tsotsi is a township term for a young boy who's already committing crimes like hijacking cars and stealing. Hopefully not from you.
Umlungu (oom-loong-gu): African word for 'white man'. For a laugh, if someone says "Eita, umlungu!" Reply "Sharp-sharp!"
Zhoosh: Very fancy. A word normally utilised by well-kept women with French manicures who will never, ever understand the off-side rule. Use the word if you must (it feels nice in the mouth), but aggressively avoid these women.
“ From thesoccerroom.com
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