Heritage Day South Africa
South Africa has filed a court appeal against a WADA decision that risks seeing the Springboks barred from flying their flag against France. Image: Pixabay

Home » Bladdy: South African slang word of the day

Bladdy: South African slang word of the day

With 11 official languages it is a surprise that the most commonly used language in South Africa is slang, it has its origins in different languages mainly Zulu, Xhosa, and Afrikaans which fall under the top 5 most spoken languages in South Africa. Slang sometimes referred to as ‘South Africanisms‘ borrows from a variety of South African […]

21-04-23 13:08
Heritage Day South Africa
South Africa has filed a court appeal against a WADA decision that risks seeing the Springboks barred from flying their flag against France. Image: Pixabay

With 11 official languages it is a surprise that the most commonly used language in South Africa is slang, it has its origins in different languages mainly Zulu, Xhosa, and Afrikaans which fall under the top 5 most spoken languages in South Africa.

Slang sometimes referred to as ‘South Africanisms‘ borrows from a variety of South African languages and cultures to make the most commonly used words.

These words words show up in our daily conversation, words such as “Howzit” and “Fede” equivalent to ‘hello’ or ‘how are you?’ are some of the most frequently used slang words.

SOUTH AFRICAN SLANG WORD OF THE DAY: BLADDY

Bladdy- Damn

So how do you use it in an English sentence?

Here’s an example: “I can’t believe the bladdy referee gave that penalty.”

Bakkie

Arvie

Ubuntu

Skollie

Bloutrein

SHARE YOUR FAVOURITE SOUTH AFRICAN SLANG WORD

Is there any lingo from South Africa’s 11 official languages so unifying like slang? We don’t think so.

Do you have a favourite South African slang word that you’d like to share?

If so, send an email to info@thesouthafrican.com or a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211 and we’ll publish the ones that we feel best depict the Rainbow Nation.

You can also follow @TheSAnews on Twitter and The South African on Facebook to read the latest Word of the Day.

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