Frenchman stuns his SA girlfriend with 'new' Afrikaans word
Ah, the way we can confuse people with our languages...Even South Africans get confused about what is considered slang and what's not.
It was story time for a South African woman living abroad, and things got interesting.
She revealed that she has been dating her French partner for many years, and he has become quite proficient in understanding and using South African slang.
But something happened recently that tested her own proficiency in SA languages and made her question if she is even South African.
The woman said her partner recently went out for drinks with a fellow South African and returned home telling her he had learnt a new South African word that she didn't teach him. She doubted he could be right; she was certain she had taught him everything she knew.
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When she asked what the word was, he said, 'Rehearse.' This left her confused as she had never heard this word before, well, not in the context in which he used it.
She asked him to use it in a sentence, and he did, but she was still confused.
After some time, she realised that he could be saying 'Gees'.
The Afrikaans word 'Gees' means 'spirit', but it refers to having great spirit and enthusiasm.
She stumbled on this one because it is a valid Afrikaans word, but it isn't usually associated with common slang words in South Africa.
Watch her video from TikTok below.
@devilwearspyjamas REHEARSE?! never heard of her #southafricanslang #southafricantiktok #interculturalcouple #southafricantiktoker ♬ original sound - devil wears pyjamas
Many South Africans came to the comments to share their insight.
- "I'm a South African Zulu, I don't know that word..."
- "‘Gees’ is Afrikaans for spirit. People sometimes say "Show me your gees, " which means show me your energy, typically in a sporting context. I wouldn’t know it’s a slang word, though. Interesting take."
- "Someone level me here, please. " Gees is not South African slang; it is an Afrikaans word meaning spirit. It's used plenty, but it's not slang."
- "Gees only live in South Africa, so I see why you can't use it a lot."
She admitted that it was not slang, but it threw her off because he presented it to her that way.
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Image Courtesy of iStock