List of lexical differences in South African English

This is a list of words used in mainstream South African English but not usually found in other other dialects of the English language. (For a list of slang words unique to South Africa see List of South African slang words.)

[edit] List

bakkie - a utility truck, pick-up truck
bergie - refers to a particular subculture of vagrants in Cape Town (from Afrikaans 'berg', mountain, originally referring to vagrants who sheltered in the forests of Table Mountain.) Increasingly used in other cities to mean a vagrant of any description.
bioscope - cinema, movie theatre (now dated)
billion - as in the UK this officially means a million million. Nowadays the American usage (one billion is one thousand million) is almost exclusively used.
biltong - dried meat, similar to jerky
biscuit - same as American cookie, in South Africa, cookie is used for cupcake
boerewors - spicy sausage from (Afrikaans) "farmer-sausage" (usually made with beef)
bonnet - hood of a car
book of life - national identity document (now dated)
braai - a barbecue, to barbecue (from Afrikaans braaivleis)
brinjal - eggplant (from Portuguese berinjela, also used in Indian English)
bundu - a wilderness region, remote from cities (from Shona bundo, meaning grasslands)
bunking - playing hooky, skipping school/class
bunny chow - loaf of bread filled with curry, speciality of Durban, particularly Durban Indians

cafe - when pronounced "caffee" refers to a convenience store not a coffee shop (originally such stores sold coffee and other basic items)
call - when someone says that they will "call" this typically means that they will make a telephonic call, not visit in person, phone and (less commonly) ring are also used
candy floss - as in Britain this is used for cotton candy
chemist - besides meaning a scientist specializing in chemistry the term is also used for a pharmacist and for a drugstore (short for chemist shop in the latter case)
chips - used for both French fries and potato crisps
circle - traffic roundabout
coloured - refers to typically light skinned South Africans of mixed European and Khoisan and/or Malay ancestry.
costume - besides meaning attire worn to a dress-up party/play it also refers to a bathing suit (short for "swimming costume"), sometime abbreviated cozzie
cookie - used exclusively for a cupcake
cool drink, cold drink - soft drink, fizzy drink not necessarily chilled
cubby hole - car glove compartment
dagga - marijuana
dam - also used to mean a reservoir
donga - a ditch of the type found in South African topography (from Zulu, 'wall')
dorp, dorpie - small town, off the beaten track
erf plural erven - a plot of land for a building (from Cape Dutch).

flat - as in Britain this is used for an apartment
football - typically refers to soccer
freeway' - as in America and Australia refers to what is known as a motorway in Britain
garden boy - a black male gardener (of any age) (derogatory, although commonly used by older white South Africans without meaning to be)
geyser - domestic water boiler
globe - as formerly used in Britain, a light bulb
homeland - under apartheid typically referred to a separate state for black South Africans
how's it - hello, how are you, good morning (despite being a contraction of 'how is it', howzit is almost exclusively a greeting, and seldom a question)
is it? - an all purpose exclamative, equivalent to "really?", "uhuh"
ndaba - conference (from Zulu, 'a matter for discussion')
jam - a fruit preserve spread whether containing pieces of fruit or not, never called a jelly in South Africa
jelly - when referring to food this always means a frozen flavoured gelatine dessert never a fruit preserve spread
just now - idiomatically used to mean later, or in a short while

koki, koki pen, a fibre tip coloured art pen (from a local brand name)
kombi - any type of minivan (from the Volkswagen 'Kombi' van)
lift - as in Britain this is used for an elevator; also used for a ride in another person's vehicle
lobola - traditional African bride-price
location - an urban area populated by black, coloureds or Indians (dated, replaced by the term township in common usage)

main road - what is generally called a high street in Britain
matric - school-leaving certificate or the final year of highschool or a student in the final year, short for matriculation
mielie - an ear of maize (from Afrikaans mielie)
mielie meal - used for both maize flour and the traditional porridge made from it similar to American grits, the latter also commonly known by the Afrikaans word pap
muti - traditional medicine
naartjie - a tangerine (from Afrikaans)
now now - idiomatically used to mean soon (sooner than just now)

rand - currency, divided in to 100 cents. The plural of rand is rand, not rands
robot, robots - besides the standard meaning, in South Africa this is also used for traffic lights. The etymology of the word derives from a description of early traffic lights as robot policemen, which then got truncated with time.
rubber - as in Britain, a rubber eraser

samoosa - Indian samosa
score - to French kiss (baseball euphemism)
shebeen - illegal drinking establishment (also used in Scotland)
shongololo - millipede (from Zulu and Xhosa, ukushonga, to roll up)
shop - as a noun the same as American store
sosatie - a kebab on a stick
spanspek - a cantaloup (from Afrikaans)
spaza - an informal trading post/convenient store found in townships and remote areas
spit - as a verb this is only used for the present tense unlike in America where it is also used for the past tense. The form spat is used for the past tense.
standard - besides other meanings referred to a school grade higher than grades 1 and 2 (now defunct)
State President - head of state between 1961 and 1994 - now known as President
stiffy - a 3.5 inch floppy disk, floppy is used exclusively for the old 5.25 inch or larger disks
sub-standard - besides other meanings referred to first two school grades sub A/B (now grades 1 and 2)
sucker - used for both a popsicle (frozen sucker) and a lollypop
sweets - confectionery, candy (singular sweet used for an item of confectionery)

takkies - sneakers, trainers (from Afrikaans tekkies)
taxi - shared taxi (usually a minibus taxi) as well as taxicab
tea room, tearoom - has the same meaning as 'cafe', a corner shop or convenience store
third force - agents provocateur, especially used for alleged provacteurs behind political unrest, their actions being described as third force activity
toasted cheese - a grilled cheese sandwich, in contrast cheese on toast refers to unmelted cheese on toasted bread.
torch - used for a modern battery operated flashlight as well as a traditional torch
township - large residential suburb lacking city infrastructure, in particular the areas allocated to non-white South Africans under apartheid
veld - wide open rural spaces