Greetings
Sawubona / Ngiyabonga
sow-BOH-na / n-gee-ya-BON-ga
'I see you' / 'thank you' in isiZulu. Roughly four in five people in KwaZulu-Natal speak isiZulu at home — these matter more here than anywhere else in the country.
Unjani? / Ngiyaphila
oon-JAH-nee / n-gee-ya-PEE-la
'How are you?' / 'I'm well.' The full exchange, not just a greeting — skipping the reply reads as rude.
Hamba kahle
HAM-ba GASH-leh
'Go well' — the standard isiZulu farewell. The person staying says 'sala kahle', stay well.
Food
Bunny chow ('a quarter mutton')
BUNny chow
A hollowed quarter-loaf of white bread filled with curry — Durban's own invention. You order by size and filling: 'a quarter mutton'.
Mother-in-law masala
masa-LAH
The fiercest of the local chilli blends, sold at every spice counter. The name is the warning. Durban curry runs hotter than anywhere else in South Africa.
Shisa nyama
SHEE-sa NYA-ma
Literally 'burn the meat' — a township grill where you buy raw meat at the counter and it is cooked in front of you. The weekend social institution.
Social
Sharp / sharp-sharp
shahp
'Fine / got it / see you', usually with a thumbs-up. Doubling it means genuine enthusiasm.
Eish
AY-sh
Frustration, sympathy or resignation in one syllable — 'eish, the water's off in Umhlanga again'.
Daily life
Robot
ROH-bot
A traffic light. Every set of directions here is counted in robots.
Just now / now now
just now / now now
'Now now' is soon-ish, 'just now' is later and vague. Neither means now. Durban runs slower than Joburg, so this is doubly true.
Emergency
Help — emergency
help
Dial 112 from any mobile, 10111 for police, 10177 for an ambulance, or 031 361 0000 for eThekwini fire and emergency services.
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