“Who’s Heard of These?”: British Man’s Mispronunciation of Naartjie Humours South Africa

• Manchester Jack, a traveller from the United Kingdom, shared that he bought a naartjie in Cape Town
• However, he mispronounced the citrus fruit, which is known to resemble an orange and has a sweet and tart taste
• The British man's mispronunciation amused South African social media users, who corrected and informed him about the naartjie

A man from the United Kingdom, who was roaming the streets of Cape Town, stumbled upon a naartjie, comically mispronouncing the tasty citrus fruit. Of course, in true South African fashion, locals blew up the post and schooled the man on the correct way of saying it.

Travel content creator Manchester Jack, a tourist travelling Africa, took to his TikTok account on 30 July, 2025 and told his followers that he thought he bought an orange. Instead, he bought a naartjie, which he pronounced and wrote in his video as notcher.

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"Who's heard of these South African oranges called notcher or something like that? Please tell me."

What is a naartjie?

According to the website Fruitsinfo, a naartjie (Citrus unshiu) is a citrus fruit that has a sweet taste and resembles a mandarin orange. It is typically seedless and has a thin, leathery outer rind. While the taste is similar to an orange, a naartjie is described as both sweet and tart.

Fruitsinfo adds about the fruit:

"A naartjie has the capability of lightening dark spots and hyperpigmentation. It highly inhibits the activity of tyrosinase, an enzyme causing hyperpigmentation. Thus, consuming the fruit regularly gives healthy and glowing skin."

SA responds to UK man's pronunciation of naartjie

Thousands of South African members of the online community gathered in the comment section to correct Manchester Jack's pronunciation, while other local TikTok users stated that it was not an orange.

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@appleuser38893332 found the clip amusing and said:

"Sorry, I need a moment to just laugh. Who taught this man to say 'notcher?'"

@hussaind_1 provided the pronunciation and wrote:

"It’s pronounced like Archie, but with an N in front."

@isthatjadon12 made fun on the situation, writing in the comment section:

"Where in South Africa did you find that notcher? I've been living here for 20 years and have never tried a notcher."

@iinkpanda informed Manchester Jack:

"Nope, it's not an orange nor a mandarin. It's called a naartjie. It's more easier to peel than a mandarin and an orange, and more easier to take the inside apart as well."

@tshego_fatso4321 asked in the comments:

"Who told this guy that oranges are called notchers in South Africa?"

@clarindarayner told people on the internet:

"It doesn’t matter if it’s called a mandarin, a clementine or a satsuma. In South Africa, it’s a naartjie, end of."

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Take a look at the TikTok video below:

Briefly News recently shared a funny video by TikToker @usbari.addi, an American guy living in South Africa, who could not stop laughing at some local words. In the clip, he reacts to South African terms like “toilet,” “chips,” and “chemist,” comparing them to what they are called in the US, and his reaction is funny.

Usbari is married to a South African woman, and the two are a hit on social media, with over a million followers on their joint account. They’re known for their culture-clash content, sharing skits, language mix-ups, and moments from their life. The couple has become internet favourites for showing the funny side of being in an intercultural relationship and adjusting to life in Mzansi.

3 Other Briefly News stories about pronunciations

• In another article, a proud mother shared a video of her son pronouncing dinosaur names with ease. He mentioned species that internet users never knew existed.
• A young South African man created a buzz online when he shared the correct pronunciation of popular items. His video left locals in stitches in the comment section.
• A video of local music artist Oscar Mbo pronouncing his name confused and humoured the public. The producer didn't say the second part of his name the way South Africans usually did and was accused of being bougie.

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Updated by Hilary Sekgota, Human Interest HOD at Briefly News.

Source: Briefly News