Ordering a meal, asking for directions or sampling talking to the locals. These are the words you need to know.

THREADS from many languages can be heard in Johannesburg's unique lingo. It evolves almost daily and new words are made up or borrowed to reflect life in the city of gold.

Street poetry and music are hotbeds of invention, and influences from American music, movies and television shows also raise their heads.

And then there is Afrikaans, once the hated language of oppression; most Joburgers know at least a smattering of the language. Afrikaans words and phrases have become part of everyday communication - and some have even made it into the venerated Oxford English Dictionary, such as veld and stoep.

Today the hip young language of the street, shebeen and taxi rank is known as scamto.

Food and drink
A
achaar - a spicy salad made of mango and oil
amanqina - a hoof of a cow, pig or sheep, it is boiled, then spiced for taste

B
biltong - dried and salted raw meat similar to the beef jerky made in the USA
Black - Black Label beer
bobotie - of Malay origin, made with minced meat and curried spices; an egg sauce is poured on top of this and it is then baked
boerewors - a traditional spicy South African sausage made of beef or lamb, popular at braais
bredie - a traditional South African mutton stew, it now refers to any kind of stew
bunny chow - delicious and cheap food on the go, bunny chow is curry served in a hollowed-out half-loaf of bread

C
chakalaka - a salad of Indian or Malay origin made of onion, garlic, ginger, green pepper, carrots and cauliflower, spiced with chillies and curry

D
droewors - dried boerewors, similar to biltong
dumpie - a 340ml bottle of beer

F
frikkadel - traditional South African meat balls, made from tomatoes, onion, minced beef and other ingredients, and shaped into round balls

G
gherkin - a small pickled cucumber
graze - to eat

H
hanepoort - a sweet white wine

K
killer army - Amstel beer
koeksusters - traditional Afrikaner plaited dough cakes, they are syrupy, sweet and sticky
kota - bunny chow

M
mala -intestines, especially those of chicken
mampoer - a potent brandy made from peaches or other fruit, similar to the American moonshine
maotwana - chicken legs boiled, washed, salted, then fried
masonja - worms, similar to caterpillars in appearance, popular with the Shangaans, Vendas and Bapedi
mealie - maize or corn
mogodu - tripe
morogo - wild spinach, the most popular being thepe

N
naartjie (naar-tchi) - a tangerine
ngudu - Black Label beer

P
pap - boiled corn meal, often served with sous, a sauce usually featuring tomato and onions
papsak - cheap box wine sold in its foil container, without the box
potjiekos (poe-kie) - traditional Afrikaner food, generally a rich stew, cooked in a three-legged cast-iron pot over a fire

R
rooibos - herbal tea made from the Cyclopia genistoides bush, it has no caffeine and less tannin than tea

S
samoosa - a small, spicy, triangular-shaped pie that has been deep-fried in oil
skopo - head of a cow, sheep or goat
slap chips - French fries
smiley - head of a cow, sheep or goat, boiled, spiced and eaten
sosatie - a kebab
spaikos - fast food
spanspek - a cantaloupe

T
ting - a dish favoured by the Tswanas, it is a sour porridge made of sorghum

U
umngqusho - a delicacy among the Xhosa people, this is samp (maize kernels) mixed with beans

V
vetkoek - a doughnut-sized bread roll made from deep-fried yeast dough; mainly served with a savoury mince filling, it's artery-clogging and delicious

W
witblitz - potent home-made distilled alcohol, much like the American moonshine

Soccer speak
diski - soccer or football
grounds - stadium or pitch
kwetla - dribbling
laduma - a cheer to celebrate goals scored at soccer matches
shibobo or spaitwo - passing the ball through opponents' legs (making a fool out of the person)
vuvuzela - a large, colourful plastic trumpet with the sound of a foghorn, blown enthusiastically by virtually everyone in the crowd at soccer matches

Joburg speak
A
ag (pronounced with a hard ‘g' with the emphasis on the last letter) - generally used at the beginning of a sentence, to express resignation or irritation
amajita - young men

B
babalaas - what you get the morning after the night before; a hangover
bagel - an overly groomed materialistic young man, and the male version of a kugel
bakgat (pronounced buckgut, with a guttural ‘g') - well done, cool, awesome
bakkie (pronounced bucky) - a pick-up truck
bencha - to get out a car or taxi once you are at your destination
biltong - dried and salted meat, similar to beef jerky, although it can be made from ostrich, kudu or any other red meat
bioscope - a cinema or movie theatre
bliksem - 1. to beat up, hit or punch 2. a mischievous person
blooming - a variation on very
boerewors - literally, farmer's sausage, a savoury sausage developed by the Boers
boet - a term of affection, from the Afrikaans for brother
boma - an open thatched structure used for dinners, entertainment and parties
bonsella - surprise gift, something extra, or a bribe
bosberaad - a strategy meeting or conference, usually held in a remote bushveld location such as a game farm
braai - an outdoor barbecue
bra or bru - a term of affection, shortened from Afrikaans broer, meaning "brother".
bushveld - a terrain of thick scrubby trees and bush in dense thickets, with grassy groundcover

C
café - a small neighbourhood convenience store
chayisa - to end the day's work
cheese boy - a rich kid
chila - to sit back and relax
china - a good friend. It's one of the few Cockney rhyming slang words to survive in the country, coming from "china plate" = "mate"
chisanyama - braaied meat
chiskop - a bald head
chommie - a friend
clipa - R100
cooldrink, colddrink - a soda, such as Coca-Cola. Ask for a soda in South Africa and you will receive a club soda

D
deurmekaar - confused, disorganised or stupid
dinges (hard ‘g') - a thing, thingamabob, whatzit, whatchamacallit or whatsizname
doek - a head scarf worn to protect a woman's hair
donga (hard ‘g') - a natural ditch resulting from severe soil erosion
donner - to beat up
dop - 1. an alcoholic drink 2. failure
dorp - a small town on the platteland
dwaal - lack of concentration or focus

E
eish - used to express surprise, wonder, frustration or outrage

F
five bob - 50 cents
fixed up - sorted
flog - to sell
fohla - to jump a queue
fosho - absolutely
four-four - a four people sitting on a seat in a minbus taxi

G
gatvol (guttural ‘g', gut-fol) - fed up, had enough
gemors (guttural ‘g') - a disaster or a mess
gogga, goggo - an insect or bug
gogo - a grandmother or elderly woman
gova - to get a lift somewhere

H
half tiger - R5
hap - to taste or bite
heita - a greeting
hey - can be used as a standalone question meaning "pardon" or "what", or it can be used to prompt affirmation or agreement
howzit - how are you or hello
hola - hello

I
indaba - a conference or meeting
inyanga - a traditional herbalist and healer
is it - equivalent to "Is that so?"

J
ja (pronounced with a ‘y' as in ‘yacht') - yes
jagile - to hurry up
jampass - late night
jawelnofine - literally, "yes, well, no, fine", similar to the rhetorical expression "How about that?"
jealous down - don't be jealous (often seen painted on minibus taxis)
jislaaik - an expression of outrage or surprise
jol (pronounced like ‘joy') - a versatile word with many meanings, including party, disco, having fun
Jozi - Johannesburg, which is also known as Joburg, Joeys and eGoli
just now - means in the near future, not immediately

K
ka daar - that side
ka'i - where
kara - a car
kasi - a township
khaya - home
kif - cool, neat, great or wonderful
knobkierie - a fighting stick with a knob on the business end
kwaito - the music of South Africa's urban black youth, a mixture of South African disco, hip-hop, R&B, ragga, and a heavy dose of house music beats
kwela - a popular form of township music from the 1950s, based on the pennywhistle
kwela-kwela - police vans

L
late-bells - late at night
lekgotla - a planning or strategy session.
lekker - nice, good, great, cool or tasty
loose - a cigarette sold singly, not a box of cigarettes
loose counts - coins
loxion - a township

M
Madiba - an affectionate name for Nelson Mandela and the name of his clan
makoya - the real deal
mal - mad
mampara - an idiot, a silly person
mampoer - a potent brandy made from peaches or other fruit, similar to the American moonshine
magenge - a group of guys
moegoe (hard ‘g') - a fool, buffoon, idiot or simpleton
muti - medicine, typically traditional African medicine
Mzansi - South Africa

N
nca - fine, beautiful, pronounced with a downward click of the tongue
nê - really? or is that so? Often used sarcastically.
nkalakatha - the man of the 'hood
now-now - shortly, in a bit

O
oke, ou - a man, similar to guy or bloke
oorkant - overseas
ou toppie - old man

P
pancha - a punctured tyre
pap - weak or tired
papsak - cheap box wine sold in its foil container, without the box
pasop - watch out
phashasha - fantastic
phola - to relax
platteland - farmland, countryside

R
rasa - to make a loud racket
reya - to catch a lift
robots - traffic lights
rock up - to arrive somewhere unannounced or uninvited
rooinek - English-speaking South African

S
saga - to get down and dance
sangoma - traditional healer or diviner
scale - to steal
scaly - a person not to be trusted
scamto - township slang language
shame - broadly denotes sympathetic feeling
shebeen - a bar, pub or tavern
shesha - to hurry up
sho! - absolutely
shongololo - large brown millipede
sho't left or short right - to get off a minibus taxi at the nearest left or right street
sjambok (shum-bok) - a stout leather whip made from animal hide
skaf tin - a lunchbox
skelm - a shifty or untrustworthy person; a criminal
skholana - a cold drink, or the American soft drink
skinner - gossip
skinnerbek - a person who gossips
skop, skiet en donner - an action movie, it literally means "kick, shoot and beat up"
skorokoro - a banged-up, rusty old vehicle
skollie - a gangster, criminal
skrik - fright
skrik vir niks - scared of nothing
smaak stukkend - love to bits. In Afrikaans smaak means like, and stukkend means broken
spaza - informal shop, usually found in the townships
spookgerook - literally ghost-smoked, used jokingly to mean "mad" or "paranoid"
stadig - slow
stoep - a porch or verandah
stompie - anything short, especially a cigarette butt
stroppy - difficult, unco-operative, argumentative or stubborn
struesbob - the gospel truth

T
takkies - running shoes or sneakers; fat takkies are extra-wide tyres
tannie - auntie, also used for any older female of authority
taxi - a minibus used to transport a large number of people; it is the most common way of getting around in South Africa
thula - to be quiet
tiger - R10, so R20 would be 'two tiger' and R30 would be 'three tiger'
township - low-income dormitory suburb outside cities and towns - effectively ghettos - to which black South Africans were confined during the apartheid era
toyi-toyi - a knees-up protest dance
tsotsi - a gangster, hoodlum or thug
tune grief - cause trouble

U
ubuntu - southern African humanist philosophy that holds as its central tenet that a person is a person through other people

V
vaya - go
veld - open grassland
velskoen - simple unworked leather shoes
voetsek - go away, expression of annoyance
voetstoets - "as is" or "with all its faults". The term is used when advertising, for example, a car or house for sale. If the item is sold voetstoets the buyer may not claim for any defects, hidden or otherwise, discovered after the sale
vrot - rotten or smelly

W
windgat (hard ‘g') - a show-off or blabbermouth
wena - hey you

Y
yebo - yes

Z
z'ikhiphane - what's going on, what's happening

Car talk
G4 - Golf 4
G5 - Golf 5
16V - Golf GTi
Cab - minibus taxi
G-string - BMW 3 series
Gusheshe - BMW325is
Half-past-three - BMW 330i
Land roving - walking
Quarter-to-eight - BMW 745i
Starter Pack - Toyota Tazz
Skaf Tin - Mitsubishi minibus
Two series - walking
Zola Budd - Toyota minibus

Sources:
The South African Official Gateway: southafrica.info
SA English
SA Food