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by jonathanlydall 2315 days ago
Speaking as a South African, still living here.

gatvol = "fed up"

It disappoints me that so many fellow South Africans are seemingly oblivious to the audience they are interacting with and casually use local slang regardless.

5 comments

When I saw it I guessed it was some local slang, and I was excited to learn what it meant from someone who really knew rather than some online dictionary. I don't think it should be a disappointment, it contributes to the wonderful diversity of language.
As a Brit, likewise - and the context of this thread is fairly, well, South African.
Reading South African as a Dutch person is always great. I understand most of the words, but it’s still clearly a completely different language/context.

Gatvol = hole is full

When I learnt Dutch is came is a surprise that ‘opgewonde’ does not mean excited.

I told many an executive at KPN that I was opgewonde to work on their project. :)

Apparently Google Translate hasn't had the epiphany that you did yet. What does it mean? :)
Afrikaans: opgewonde → excited Dutch: opgewonde → aroused.

:)

More specifically, in this word gat would mean ass.
As a non-South African, it's always great to learn local slang from around the world. On forums such as HN or Reddit, there's always someone around to explain it means. It's never an impediment to understanding the point being made.
Jislaaik. Don't skrik bokkie.
I’m not South African, my husband is. I picked it up from him. We use it around our home quite a bit. I was replying to a South African. Whilst talking about South Africa. I'm fairly sure nobody's upset about it, more intrigued.