12 South African sayings you need to know

Zuid-Afrika is een heel levendig land en daar horen ook idem gezegden bij. Het Zuid-Afrikaans vinden wij een amusante taal en dat geeft bepaalde gezegden ook nog extra charme. Wij verzamelden er twaalf bijzondere speciaal voor jou. Leer hier 12 Zuid-Afrikaanse gezegden en wie weet tover jij een lach op mensen hun gezicht wanneer je ze zegt!

12 South African sayings

1 That most beautiful freckle is in your drome

The most beautiful fairy tales appear in your dreams. So not everything that looks nice is it.

2 Ashes that fit skoen, don hom

If the shoe fits, put it on. So if something feels right, you have to go for it.

3 Jy never knows how strong jy is nie, until strong be your only opsie is

You never know how strong you are until you have no choice but to be strong and go to extremes. You’re capable of a lot.

4 Early in that bed make that purse fat

If you go to sleep early, you have the benefits of that.

5 Dis ‘a land of color and sound, dis ‘a land of earlode and drink

This proverb is a very appropriate one for South Africa. It says in a nutshell what you can expect from this country: color, sound, drink and abundance. Plenty of all the previous cases. One of our favorite South African sayings.

6 As that cat is gone, that mouse is boss

We also know this proverb as “When the cat is away from home, the mice dance on the table”.

7 All jy need to know is that jy more ash is enough

One of the most beautiful South African sayings is this one, if you ask us. You have to remember that you are enough as a person.

8 Good dinge is on our almal se pad… Moenie stop to step nie

There is happiness on everyone’s path, you just have to keep walking and finding it.

9 Two rye spore loop

This is a statement to say someone’s drunk. He literally walks in two rows. So you can apply this to your friends after a night out.

10 Everything we do or se, come down to choices that make us

Who we are or what we do all comes down to the choices we’ve made in our lives. A source of truth.

11 Sukses is that sum total of all your little attempts bymekaar counted

Success is achieved by linging all your small successes and attempts. Every step you take in the right direction will lead you to success.

12 Make wrong, giggel baie, take kanse, vertrou jouself and follow your heart

This last quote is perhaps our favorite of them all. You can make mistakes, you have to laugh a lot, take opportunities, have confidence in yourself and follow your heart. It describes well what is important in life and has some typical African words such as “baie”.

Your favorite South African sayings?

This was our selection of 12 South African sayings. What was your favorite and why? Let us know in the comments on our Facebook page ! Or take a look at our Pinterest page.

More Quotes

Looking for more than these South African sayings? Be sure to take a look at our Mexican or Spanish sayings.