South African term of endearment and address for a grandfather, borrowed directly from Afrikaans.
South African term of endearment and address for a grandfather, borrowed directly from Afrikaans. Warm and informal, oupa is the go-to word across many South African households regardless of language background, much like 'gran' or 'pops' in other English varieties. It carries strong family warmth and is used both to address a grandfather directly and to refer to him in conversation.
We spent every Sunday at oupa's house, where he'd tell us stories about growing up on the farm.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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The Afrikaans word for grandmother, used freely in South African English across all language communities. 'Ouma' is one of many Afrikaans family terms that have crossed into general South African English usage. It carries warmth and familiarity — a grandmother figure is typically an ouma regardless of the family's home language. Also used as an honorific for elderly women in the community, not just biological grandmothers.
(South Africa) A grandmother.
(US, informal) grandfather.
(South Africa, affectionate) An older brother or a male friend.
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(South Africa) A grandfather.
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