Browse African Slang

ሲም ካርድ/ሲም ካርድ (SIM card) - SIM card

ሳሙና/ሳሙና (Sabun) - soap

መልካም ጉዞ/መልካም ጉዞ (Melkam guzo) - safe journey

የደህንነት መሳሪያዎች/የደህንነት መሳሪያዎች (Yedehinet mesariyawoch) - safety equipment

ሳህን/ሳህን (Sahan) - plate

ቅዱስ ጊዮርጊስ/ቅዱስ ጊዮርጊስ (Kidus Giorgis) - football club

የሽያጭ ወቅት/የሽያጭ ወቅት (Yeshiyach wekt) - sale season

Short for “selanchi leka” (“leave it aside”), meaning drop it/forget it.

Derived from “sélugn” (to hang around), meaning wander aimlessly or loiter. Usage: Sunday yehone, be Piassa salugnin bal...

አሸዋ/አሸዋ (Ashewa) - sand

ሳንቲም/ሳንቲም (Santim) - cents/coins

ሣር ቤት/ሣር ቤት (Sar bet) - grass house

ሳርቤት/ሳርቤት (Sarbet area)

ፕሮግራም/ፕሮግራም (Program) - schedule

ሳይንስ/ሳይንስ (Science) - science

ስክሪን ፕሮቴክተር/ስክሪን ፕሮቴክተር (Screen protector)

ሰፈር/ሰፈር (Neighborhood)

ሰፌት/ሰፌት (Sefet) - basket weaving

ሰላም/ሰላም (Peace - Tigrinya)

ሰማያዊ/ሰማያዊ (Semayawi) - blue

ሴሚስተር/ሴሚስተር (Semester) - academic term

ደብዳቤ መላክ/ደብዳቤ መላክ (Debdabe melak) - send letter

ሲኒየር/የመጨረሻ አመት (Senior)

ሰንጠረዥ/ሰንጠረዥ (Senterej) - traditional chess

ሰርግ/ሰርግ (Wedding)

ስጋ ተራ/ስጋ ተራ (Siga tera) - meat section

ሻይ ቤት/ሻይ ቤት (Tea house)

ሻክላ ድስት/ሻክላ ድስት (Shakla dist) - clay pot

ሻመጣ/ሻመጣ (Barley drink)

ሻምፖ/ሻምፖ (Shampo) - shampoo

ፖስት ማጋራት/ፖስት ማጋራት (Post magarat) - share post

Means a low blow or something shady (from “shifta” – bandit). Usage: Asking about her ex in front of her fiancé was shef...

ሸቃጣይ/ሸቃጣይ (Shekatay) - seller

Means style or appearance. Youth comment “shekla new!” when someone looks good (like “nice fit!”). Usage: That jacket? S...

ሸማ/ሸማ (Shema) - traditional cotton cloth

ሸማቾች/ሸማቾች (Shemachoch) - buyers

ሽማግሌ/ሽማግሌ (Shemagile) - elder

ሸማኔ/የምትፈልገው ሰው (The one you desire)

Old Addis neighborhood name used to describe something old-school or outdated in style. Usage: That dance move is straig...

Filler word meaning “like…” or just a pause (similar to “ya’ni” in Arabic).

Literally “measure,” slang meaning “check yourself” or calm down. Usage: Shiber, konjo – don’t yell at me like that for ...

ሽማግሌ/አዛውንት (Old person/elder)

ሽሙጣ/አሳፋሪ (Disgraceful)

ሽንት ቤት/ሽንት ቤት (Shint bet) - toilet

ሽሮ/ሽሮ (Chickpea stew)

ሽሮ ተራ/ሽሮ ተራ (Shiro tera) - spice section

ጫማ ጥገና/ጫማ ጥገና (Chama tigena) - shoe repair

ሾላ/ሾላ (Shola area)

አቋራጭ/አቋራጭ (Shortcut)

ሾርት/ሾርት (Short) - shorts