what is a customary way to say hello for a south african?

Question

i know obviously people in south africa speak english... but is there a customary hello? maybe africaans or soething

lizzy... I know most South Africans are not retards, but im not really convinced that you are not... and what is hallo? hahaha

Answer 1

In Afrikaans or English you can greet somebody with "howzit?"

Afrikaans: Hi, how are you? = Hi/Hello, hoe gaan dit?
What is your name? = Wat is jou naam?
Xhosa: Hi, how are you ? = Molo! Kunjani?
What is your name? = Ngobani igama lakho?

I only speak English, Afrikaans and a little Xhosa, so this is as far as I can help. (It is a VERY PC country :) so I apologise for my fellow countrywoman being rude to you!)

Please, be careful who you appraoch, caution is key. South Africa is a beautiful country with beautiful and kind people, BUT stick to tourist info spots/ helpdesks. (If you are planning to visit)

Thank you for trying to learn our language. :)

Answer 2

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
what is a customary way to say hello for a south african?
i know obviously people in south africa speak english... but is there a customary hello? maybe africaans or soething

Answer 3

We all say Howzit...whether we're English or Afrikaans!! It means Hello and how are you!! Whenever someone says that to me I never know if they're asking how I'm doing or just saying hi!! I'm South African...and that greeting does confuse me!! But I take it as a hello!!

Answer 4

Having 11 official languages makes it difficult. Here's a few pointers:

Howsit! - Cool for everyone.
Molo boetie (boo-ti = male/brother) or Molo sisi (see see = female/sister) - Xhosa or Zulu persons
Molweni! - Formal greeting for groups of Xhosa or Zulu persons

Many more, but these are safe, at least someone will reply in kind. Be careful when approaching strangers, a safe precaution in any country.

If you're gonna visit, drop by, I'll give you some wine!!!

Answer 5

It's not like were ******* retards. In Afrikaans normal hallo is said the exact same . By the way check ur spelling... There are different languages to say hallo but not all people in SA are black so why the **** do all people say south africans speak weird languages and dress weird ... I've been in Australia and i'm in canada for a while so believe me theres no difference between all people besides their accents...!!!

Answer 6

My goodness, how on earth did this question become so heated??

South Africans have 11 official languages, so people have different ways of greeting each other, depending on their age, the context, language, etc. Mostly I think South Africans greet each other saying "howzit", ofcourse "hi", "hello" and yes "hallo" (Afrikaans spelling) is used as well and many, many more. In one day, I have had people say to me: "Dumela", "Hi", "Howzit my china", "hello", "hey", "kunjani", "more", "middag", "good day", and my German neighbour with his "gruss got" etc etc. We are a diverse group of people and we greet each other in a variety of languages.
Sometimes in the street or shops, a smile is a greeting too!

Answer 7

Hello, Dumelang, Sawabona, etc.
As a Joke " Hello, give me your keys. I will now be taking your car!!!"

Answer 8

afrikaans south africans do not say how-sit, i am afrikaans, and believe me that saying is long gone, its just plain hello, actually its always been

Answer 9

Howzit china

Answer 10

Hello

more informal is howzit
or howzit bro'(durban=))
or howzit ma china(ma for my)