Browse African Slang

ጋሪ/ጥሩ (Good - Oromo)

ጋቢ/ወፍራም ነጠላ (Thick traditional blanket)

ጋላቶሚ/አመሰግናለሁ (Thank you - Oromo)

የጨዋታ ምሽት/የጨዋታ ምሽት (Yechewata mishet) - game night

Means buddy or friend (Oromo influence in Addis youth slang). Usage: Hello gara, how’s the day going?

ጋሼ/ታላቅ ወንድም (Big brother/respected guy)

ገበያ/ገበያ (Market)

ገበሬ/ገበሬ (Gebere) - farmer

ገበጣ/ገበጣ (Traditional board game)

ገበያ/ገበያ (Gebya) - market

ገዳም/ገዳም (Gedam) - monastery

ገጀራ/ገጀራ (Gejera) - sickle

ገና/ገና (Traditional hockey)

ልግስና/ልግስና (Ligsina) - generosity

ገንፎ/ገንፎ (Porridge)

ገና/ገና (Genna) - traditional hockey-like game

ጂኦግራፊ/ጂኦግራፊ (Geography) - geography

“My bad” or “oops, my mistake” (from gereg = mistake).

ገርጂ/ገርጂ (Gerji area)

ጌሾ/ጌሾ (Gesho)

ፈጥነህ ዳን/ፈጥነህ ዳን (Fetneh dan) - get well soon

ጂጂ/እጅጋየሁ ሺባባው (Gigi Shibabaw)

ግራ/ግራ (Gira) - left

ግርልፍሬንድ/ግርልፍሬንድ (Girlfriend) - girlfriend

ግንባር/ግንባር (Gnbar) - fog

Means “bravo” or “well done!” Also used to call someone smart or courageous.

ጎዳና/ጎዳና (Street)

ጎጆ/ጎጆ (Gojo) - hut

ጎመን/ጎመን (Collard greens)

ጎንደር/ጎንደር (Gondar) - castle city

“Let’s go wander” (literal from a folk song line), slang for going out with no specific plan. Usage: Bored? Endé, gonder...

Stereotype slang for someone from Gonder known to be proud/traditional (like saying “redneck” jokingly). Usage: He insis...

መልካም ዕድል/መልካም ዕድል (Melkam idil) - good luck

እንደምን አደርክ/እንደምን አደርክ (Endemin aderk) - good morning (m)

ደህና ሁን/ደህና ሁን (Dehna hun) - goodbye

መንግስት/መንግስት (Government)

12ኛ ክፍል/12ኛ ክፍል (Grade 12)

ግሬልስ/የምትፈልገው (Grails/most wanted)

ያልበሰለ ቡና/ያልበሰለ ቡና (Yalbesele buna) - green coffee

መጥበስ/መጥበስ (Metibes) - grilling

ግሮሰሪ/ግሮሰሪ (Grocery) - grocery store

የቡድን ፕሮጀክት/የቡድን ፕሮጀክት (Yebudin project) - group project

ጓደኛ/ጓደኛ (Guadegna) - friend

ጠባቂ/ጠባቂ (Tebaki) - guard

ጉግስ/ጉግስ (Gugs) - traditional horse racing game

ጉክስ/ጉክስ (Traditional game)

ጉሊት/ጉሊት (Gulit) - roadside seller

ጉሊት/ጉሊት (Gullit) - wholesale market

ጉንዶ/ጉንዶ (Gundo) - traditional seat

የጉራጌ ዳንስ/የጉራጌ ዳንስ (Gurage dance)