| LUGHA YA MITAANI TANZANIA | 05. SOCIAL RELATIONSHIP SOCIAL STATUS |
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SOCIAL RELATIONSHIP
Terms which the young males use to refer to their male friends
| Slang term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| braza | 'brother' = brother, friend |
| brazameni | 'brother man' = brother, friend |
| broo | 'brother' = friend, bloke, brother |
| majita | people from the street, hooligans, friends |
| mchalii | boy, young man, friend |
| mchizi | cool guy, friend |
| mshirika | partner, close friend |
| msela, (ma-), (wa-) | youth, bachelor, also exceptionally used for women |
| suhuba / swahiba | partner, close friend |
Terms which denote the relationship between a man and a woman
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Acha kipanya kwenye picha ili ujipatie tafsiri kwa kiingereza / Leave the mouse on the picture to get the English translation.
| Slang term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| bingo | man having a short term relationship with an unmarried woman who aims at getting money out of him |
| buzi | 'big goat' = well-off man who provides financial support for a woman in exchange for a sexual relationship. |
| chuna buzi | have a sexual relationship with a man in order to get money out of him |
| mambo ya isidingo | Westernised lifestyle, especially in regard to changing partners |
| mshika pembe | 'hold horns' = man who pretends to have a girlfriend |
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Acha kipanya kwenye picha ili ujipatie tafsiri kwa kiingereza / Leave the mouse on the picture to get the English translation.
Terms that concern kinship-relations
| Slang term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| maza | 'mother' = mother |
| shem | 'shemeji' = brother or sister by law |
Terms which denote friendship relations, regardless to sex
| Slang term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| damdam | relationship between close friends (not lovers) |
| mshikaji | 'shika' (hold) = close friend, homeboy, female friend, girlfriend |
SOCIAL STATUS
We can identify three categories in this domain :
- humans with low status
- humans with high status
- people from rural areas, or country-bumpkins
humans with low status
| Slang term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| deiwaka | 'day worker' = labourer, worker without contract |
| kidampa | day labourer, somebody doing badly paid jobs |
| kulakulala | 'eating-sleeping' = person without employment, depending on his parents, who eats and sleeps at his parents' place. |
| mentali | 'mentali' (crazy) = poor youth |
| mento | 'mental' = crazy, stupid person |
| mtoto wa mama | 'mother's child' = lazy person who is not a hooligan |
humans with high status
| Slang term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| baga sosi | 'burger sauce' = a teenager of high social class, from a well to do family |
| dingi | father, daddy; leading man; important man with money; old man |
| kibosile | boss, rich person |
| mdosi | wealthy person, Indian businessman, European |
| mlami | star, rich person ; European |
| mnene | 'nene' (fat) = boss, person having money |
| mshua | father, friend |
| mtanashati | well-off person |
| pedeshee | 'PDG' = boss, person having money ; person who likes to please |
people from rural areas, or country-bumpkins
| Slang term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| kilasa | idiot, illiterate |
| kinabo | layman, country bumpkin |
| mbushi | 'bush' = person from a rural area, country bumpkin |
| mgoroko | fool, layman, country bumpkin, new to the city |
| mjombamjomba | 'mjomba' (maternal uncle) = layman pretending to know things (of the city life), country bumpkin |
| mlugaluga | layman, country bumpkin |
| mporipori | 'pori' (bush) = layman, country bumpkin |
| mtindiga | peasant |
| wa kuja | 'kuja' (come) = stranger, someone from the rural area, layman, country bumpkin |
| wabushi | 'bush' = plural of 'mbushi' |
| wagrosevu | peasants |
| yeboyebo | layman, country bumpkin ; freshman |
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