Things South Africans say

 

Howzit

This is somewhere between "hello" and "how ya doin?" but it doesn't seem like people really use it as a question. It's just "howzit." When Barack Obama spoke at the University of Cape Town last month he opened with "Howzit!" and got a big laugh.

Lekker
An Afrikaans word. It means "good," "cool," etc. I thought people were talking about "liquor" all the time for the first week I spent here.

Robot
Adorably, a traffic light. My coworker had a fun time explaining this to me when she was driving me around one day.

Shame
I'm still not 100 percent sure what people here mean when they say this, but they say it all the time. It seems to come up in the same places that we would say "that's a shame," or "what a pity," but then they also use it when they see a cute baby or hear a funny joke, so I guess it's a multipurpose expression. When I had a bad cold a few weeks ago, people said "oh, shame!" to me so much I began to wonder if it might also be some sort of religious blessing meant to exercise one's demons.

Is it?
This is another confusing one. We say "is it?" too, but usually only in response to a statement that contains the word "is," as in,
"It's raining outside."
"Oh is it?"
But in South Africa, "is it?" can be used as a response to almost any statement, as in,
"The child is very sick."
"Is it?"
"You owe me 10 rand."
"Is it?"
"I don't understand your weird slang."
"Is it?"

Hectic
When I use the word hectic, I'm usually describing a busy schedule or bad traffic while trying to sound slightly fancy or Britishy. When South Africans use the word hectic they're describing something that I would describe as "crazy," which is confusing, because that can be something good or bad, as in,
"The crime in that neighborhood is really hectic!"
or
"Did you see that amazing cricket game? It was hectic!"

Bakkie 
A pick-up truck, but also sometimes a Tupperware container.

Bru
Like "bro" or "buddy" or "brother."

Braai
A barbecue. 

Now/now now
This is used to mean the opposite of the actual meaning of the word "now." When someone tells you "I'll be ready now," it does not mean they're there and ready to go, it means they're almost ready. When your waiter in a restaurant tells you your food is coming "just now," it means you'll be waiting 10 more minutes. It's not that South Africans are always tardy, it's just that they have completely re-purposed this word.

Pleasure (pronounced pleh-zhuuuuuh)
South Africans use this about the same way we would use it, that is,
"Nice to meet you."
"Pleasure!"
But they use it much more frequently than any American would.

Kind regards
The only way to end an email. 

Sorry
I don't think I've heard any South African use the phrase "excuse me." "Sorry" seems to be the preferred response in situations such as offending someone, asking someone to speak up, apologizing for bumping into someone in a crowded grocery store aisle, or begging for money from a passerby. I was taking a picture the other day and a man standing nearby kept saying "Sorry! Sorry!" I thought he was apologizing for getting in the way of my shot--turns out he just wanted me to give him money and was trying to get my attention.  

Short i=short u
I haven't come close to mastering any part of the South African accent (possibly because there are so many different accents and dialects heard in South Africa), but one common speech pattern I have picked up on is the pronunciation of the short i sound, which comes out sounding more like how I would pronounce a u. For example, you don't watch a film here, you watch a fulm; it's not an elevator or a lift, but a luft; my burthday took place on July fufteenth; and at the end of the meal you have to pay your bull.