Browse African Slang

ኤኤዩ/አዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ (Addis Ababa University)

አባዬ/አባቴ (My father)

አባ/አባት (Father - Oromo)

አበባ/አበባ (Abeba) - flower

አበሻ ልብስ/አበሻ ልብስ (Abesha libs) - traditional clothes

አበሻ ፕራይድ/የአበሻ ኩራት (Abesha pride)

አቦል/የመጀመሪያ ቡና (First round coffee)

ሒሳብ ሠራተኛ/ሒሳብ ሠራተኛ (Hisab serategna) - accountant

“New dress,” used when someone suddenly acts brand new or different (like they got fancy overnight). Usage: Now that he ...

አዲስ ቫይብ/የአዲስ ስሜት (Addis vibe)

አደባባይ/አደባባይ (Square/plaza)

አድማስ/አድማስ (Admas)

አይሮፕላን/አይሮፕላን (Aeroplan) - airplane

አፈር/አቧራ (Dirt/worthless)

አፍተርፓርቲ/ከድግስ በኋላ (Afterparty)

አገልግል/አገልጋይ (Servant/helper)

Literally “eat country,” meaning talking patriotically or acting like a village elder. Used when someone is being overly...

አጎት/አጎት (Agot) - uncle

አጎዛ/አጎዛ (Agoza) - traditional leather mat

Amharic for “donkey,” used to tease someone for being stubborn or for having an “ugly laugh.”

አሁን/አሁን (Now)

የአየር ማጽጃ/የአየር ማጽጃ (Yeayer matsja) - air purifier

የአውሮፕላን ማረፊያ መኪና/የአውሮፕላን ማረፊያ መኪና (Yeawroplan marefia mekina) - airport shuttle

ኤርታይም/ካርድ (Airtime)

አክስት/አክስት (Akist) - aunt

አካም/እንዴት (How - Oromo)

አኩኩሉ/አኩኩሉ (Akukulu) - traditional game

አላርም/አላርም (Alarm) - alarm

አለርጂ/አለርጂ (Allergy) - allergy

መሠዊያ/መሠዊያ (Mesewiya) - altar

አሜሪካ/አሜሪካ (America)

Means “to chill” or “relax” (from “amesa” meaning afternoon, like taking an afternoon rest). Usage: Let’s amesa at my pl...

“I’m thankful,” often said ironically among youth to mean “I’m good, no thanks.”

አምላክ/አምላክ (God)

አንበሳ/አንበሳ (Anbessa) - lion game

Literally “one piece,” used to say “really quickly” or “in one go.”. Usage: He finished his lunch and chiqa, he was gone...

መልስ መቅጃ/መልስ መቅጃ (Melis mekja) - answering machine

አንተ ብሮ/አንተ ወንድም (You bro)

የቤት ዕቃዎች ጥገና/የቤት ዕቃዎች ጥገና (Yebet ekawoch tigena) - appliance repair

ቀጠሮ/ቀጠሮ (Ketero) - appointment

Means “street-smart” or “sly.” Refers to someone savvy about city life or a bit of a hustler.

አራት ኪሎ/አራት ኪሎ (Four kilo)

አረቄ/አረቄ (Local liquor)

አረንጓዴ/አረንጓዴ (Arenguade) - green

Amharic for “pig,” slang for someone who eats messily or greedily.

Slangy “okay” (variation of ishi). Sometimes drawn out like “ashiii” to tease or show reluctant agreement. Usage: Ashii ...

አስቴር/አስቴር አወቀ (Aster Aweke)

አተር/አተር (Ater) - peas

Means someone who’s a poser or tries too hard to act cool (from “to arrange oneself” maybe). Usage: Don’t mind his sungl...

አትሌቲክስ/አትሌቲክስ (Athletics)