Browse African Slang

Mix tea (prepare tea)

Hot tea

Beach/coastal

New shirt

Youth/young people

شبعان (Full / satisfied)

Beautiful/attractive (f)

Welad sughar fi sharia (Young people in the street)

Literally “youth/guys.” Used to address a group of friends (like “dudes”).

شابة - Young woman

Shabiki/mpenda timu (Fan/team lover)

Mpenda timu (Team fan)

شبكة - Engagement jewelry set

Kalam wihish bi khafa (Hidden mean talk)

Literally severe/intense, Sudanese youth use shadeed as slang intensifier for very or extremely

Shades (Sunglasses)

Very dark-skinned person (can be used in a teasing way among friends, but could be offensive).

شادو باند - حظر الظل (shadow banned)

شادو ورك (Shadow work)

شادو بان - Shadowban

تشجيع - Cheering

Work; job

شغالة - Working (f)

شغال - Working (m)

Slang for 'upcountry home' or rural village. Derived from Swahili ushago (countryside). Going 'ushago' means traveling t...

An exclamation similar to “eish,” expressing exasperation or surprise.

Shahada/hati ya masomo (Certificate/study document)

College degree

شهر عسل - Honeymoon (Arabic)

Tea (essential in Sudanese culture)

ሻይ ቤት/ሻይ ቤት (Tea house)

Shai ahmar fi jebena (Red tea in pot)

شك - Doubt/Suspicion

Shakara (Pride/showing off)

Mchezo wa kutikisa mkono (Hand shaking game)

Nickname for cheap local sorghum beer sold in cartons, also called chibuku.

Shake body (Dance)

(Pidgin) While it literally means to dance, in flirtatious contexts shake body can imply being confident and showing off...

Shake hands (Make peace)

Shake shake (Keep shaking)

Danser/bouger (Dance/move)

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

Shaku shaku (Nigerian dance)

Means a nosy person (male/female) who pries into others’ business. (Origin: Sudanese Arabic)

Shamba la kilimo (Farm/agricultural land)

Eneo kubwa la kilimo (Large farming area)

Shamba la mboga (Vegetable farm)

My farm

Popular Namibian music genre (Namibian house music)

Vergüenza, pena (Shame, embarrassment)