“I’ll Be There Now Now”: US Woman Talks About SA Slang She Picked Up After Moving to the Country
- A US woman shared a video showing the three South African slang words she now uses daily
- The video shows how she's picked up words most South Africans use without even realising it
- Social media users found it hilarious, with many explaining what the words actually mean
Source: Facebook
A US woman has left South Africans laughing after sharing the local slang she's picked up since moving to the country. The video was posted on Facebook by the user @nkululeko.cele.77 on 9 October 2025. In the clip, the woman stated that the words that have become part of her everyday vocab without her even realising it at first.
She starts by explaining that the first word is 'chommie,' which means friend. She uses it when greeting people, like: 'hi friend.' Or, sometimes in a saucy way when she's not happy, like 'nuh uh chommie.' She said that she catches herself saying it all the time now.
The second word is 'shap,' which her family back in America has no idea what she's saying. She noticed she uses it when she's on the phone, catching up with them or when she visits during the summer. She went on to explain that shap basically means bye, or 'shap shap' when you're about to leave somewhere.
The third one is 'now now,' and she feels a bit bad about picking this one up because it's confusing. When someone asks when she's coming, she'll say 'now now,' but she knows she's actually about 35 to 45 minutes away.
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Source: Facebook
Mzansi loves the US woman's slang
Facebook users flooded the comments section with reactions and explanations for the words she used:
@Moozy Jobe joked:
"Now now.. means 'bantu time' bantu time means 'wait an hour' 🤣🤣🤣."
@Sanele Mseleni asked:
"Doesn't Tupac Shakur say chomie in one of his songs? Listen to: I ain't mad at cha."
@Siya Nyamende explained:
"The second 'now' is to emphasise the first because saying it twice means you are serious 😂."
@Skosh Motshaisa broke it down:
"If you say hi, friend - 8ta. If you say bye-bye - Shap Shap. If you say I'm coming as fast as I can - now now. If you say friend, it's chomi."
@Vusumzi Mthunywa shared:
"Lol! One of my American friends caught me out the other day when I told him, 'I'll be there now now.' He was like, maan you still far away, don't lie!😅😆😅."
@Zama Inkzee said:
"Thought you said 'shop.'"
The world's take on South African slang
Facebook user @nkululeko.cele.77 shared the funny video on his Facebook page, showing the woman's experience with SA slang is something many foreigners go through when they spend time in the country.
South Africa has 11 different official languages, which is why the country has developed its own unique slang that everyone from every background somehow understands. Sites like Saltycrax actually keep lists of common SA slang words to help foreigners have an easier time when they're travelling here. Some other popular ones include babelas for a hangover, bru, which can be used for men and women casually, and eish, which is usually for almost all expressions and many more
Watch the Facebook clip below:
More about Americans and SA
- Briefly News recently reported on an American woman learning Afrikaans sayings from her South African husband.
- A Zulu man working in America shared a video where he discussed safety and offered advice on living legally and respectfully in the US.
- A US content creator praised South African women after looking at them online and was impressed by their beauty.
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Source: Briefly News
