| EXPRESSION | LITERAL TRANSLATION | TRANSLATED FROM
THE VERNACULAR | INTENDED MEANING |
| Djy moet
jou nwata gedagtes |
You and your
stupid/foolish ideas |
"nwata"
usually denotes worthlessness |
I
disagree/you are being stupid |
| Hy's oraait
kak vedala |
something
like "he has become seriously old" |
"dala" is
derived from Xhosa, meaning old, as in "madala" (old man) but in this
context it is also used to mean having a battle/fight with yourself
|
He caused
himself to look (physically) older (run-down) |
| Slat my dood
met 'n pap snoek |
Hit me with
a soft snoek (snoek=fish) |
As in
English |
I am
overwhelmed (surprised/shocked) |
| Ek sal jou
witbiene maak |
I'll turn
you into white bones |
Only your
skeleton will be left |
I'll kill you
|
| Djy's nes 'n
doos, wiet djy |
You are like
a box, you know |
You're
acting like a vagina, you know |
You're
acting stupidly/you are worthless/you are unpredictable |
| Djy! Hou vir
jou in |
You! Keep
yourself in |
You! Stop it
|
Behave/control
yourself |
| Kryp in jou
moer, man |
Crawl into
your mother's womb, man |
Go back to
where you came from |
Piss Off
|
| Sy's (Hy's)
lekker poenankies |
?
|
?
|
She's
(he's) cute (mostly refers to babies) |
| Djy's
lekker deurie naai |
You are
pleasantly affected by sex |
You have sex
on the brain |
You are
mistaken/misguided |
| Hy't hom
stukkend gelag |
He laughed
himself broken |
He laughed
so much that he broke down |
He
collapsed with laughter |
| Sy kekkel
heeldag op sy kop |
She clucks
(as in chicken) on his head all day |
She doesn't
stop nagging him |
She's a
real nag |
| Hy's kens
gekekkel |
He's been
clucked childish |
Because of
all the nagging, he's become like a child |
He can no
longer think straight/he submits to his wife's will
Note: this expression is also applied to women and in both cases it has
the connotation that the person being referred to is a little crazy
|
| 'is sopnat
|
it's as wet
as soup |
it is
soaking wet |
This is
(everything is) great/in order |
| Moet my nie
vir 'n pop vattie |
Don't take
me for a doll |
Don't think
I'm dumb or stupid |
I'm not
easily fooled |