As we crown 2021, another year of the pandemic, there have been new variants of the Ugandan vocabulary that cannot go unnoticed. Ugandans used a number of new slangs and phrases inspired by different things that unfolded in the course of the year.
Plugged compiled some of the slangs that came top on the list.
Kusimbula/Tusimbudde
Used to mean the mood for enjoyments.
Toyina kyongamba
2020 was a difficult year, and as such, it left people with hardened hearts (emitima gyakaluba). 2021 was no different and with this came an attitude of people not tolerating crap. Toyina Kyongamba is like a the luganda version of giving zero f***s.
Process by Process
In June, it emerged Pirra Ssematimba had been engaged in a love affair with his house help. How the hell did this happen? Process by process. And thanks to this love story, Ugandans ran with the phrase.
Nabbanja
The Prime Minister, Robinah Nabbanja made a pledge to desperate Ugandans – to wire cash relief to their phones. And boy did they wait for sente za Nabbanja. There’s even a Mun*G song about Nabbanja.
Nsula ku pillow mbisi
The pandemic has been tough enough. It taught us the value of socializing and company. You can only imagine how single people or those nursing broken hearts have managed. Well, by crying themselves to sleep. This phrase was born out of a viral video of a random guy singing this song.
Vayolensi
The more Ugandans have become idle this year, the more they’ve become toxic and mean online. Everyone wants to start a fight. Same reason there has been a high prevalence of online violence this year.
Chilling with the big boys
You’ve probably seen this on countless statuses and TLs. It is a line from a song ‘Ameno Amapiano Remix’ by Goya Menor and Nektunez. The definition of ‘big boys’ depends on who you ask.
Kuyisawo bibyo
The phrase was common online to refer to people that are either hijacking situations to sneak in their own agenda or those that use sarcasm to put across an issue.
Kwetega
Social media became the new hunting ground for the singles and those that want to get laid. Kwetega was what people did to catch the opposite sex’s attention.
Tojja
Remember the high prevalence of online vayolensi? With that came mean comments of ‘tojja’ (you won’t eat) each time a guy revealed their crush or even made an innocent compliment to a lady.
Olemwa
Uganda being the circus it is, it’s really hard to keep up. When a video of Kasuku saying it’s hard to keep up with Uganda, went viral, everyone picked up the slang, ‘Olemwa’ (you fail).
Heaven is the goal
This became more like a consolation slogan for people that needed to justify their actions.
God when?
This phrase applied to many circumstances that evoked envy. But perhaps nobody has used it more than those aspiring to get married or be in successful relationships.
Issa Friday
Thanks to MC Africa (the guy who popularized the Tupaate song), we got this phrase as the official Friday anthem. A video of him jamming to Tupaate and hyping it with ‘Issa Friday’ had gone viral.
This life no balance
This Nigerian phrase (Ugandans continued to consume a lot of Nigerian entertainment content) simply means life ain’t fair.
Gamba nogu
The Runyankole phrase which is translated as ‘Speak with this one’ became popular in reference to people from Western Uganda who use phone calls (to people in positions of influence) to evade the law. Generally, it now means people with connections.
Tokisusa
Tokisusa (don’t exaggerate) has dominated the vocabulary this year. Used mostly in response to people who are trying to exaggerate something or be petty. In many cases, it was used generally to disagree with what someone is saying.
If you don gerrit, forget abourrit
Inspired by a viral video of a Nigerian man who was asked the full meaning of CV. He replied it means certificate. He then whistles and tells the interviewer, “You gerrit… if you don’t get it, forget about it”. Now, everyone is throwing the question around.
Vibes
This word can be interpreted in several ways. It can also mean a state of being just there fwaaa. It also got used to mean the sense of lacking substance. On the other hand, it could be positive – to mean a vibrant mood.
I donno nokudono
When people found themselves in a situation where they were puzzled, shocked or confused, they used this phrase which is basically a blend of English and local dialect.
Make lisaachi
Many people just want to go on social media and sound clever. Often times they are not informed. They don’t make research (lisaachi). Inspired by a viral video of MP Ssewungu, this phrase remained popular in 2021
Chop money, problems no dey finish
This Nigerian phrase has become a convenient line for Ugandans looking for an excuse to eat their money, considering there will be new demands everyday anyway.
