boet

Boet is South African slang for brother, and more broadly for a close friend or mate. “Thanks, boet.”

What boet means

It can mean an actual brother (“my boet is coming down from Joburg”) or work as a warm term of address for a friend, like bro or mate. Wiktionary notes it’s often put in front of a man’s first name, as a nickname: Boet Jan, Boet Pieter.

Examples

• “Ja, boet, that was a lekker game.”
• “My boet’s getting married next month.”
• “Don’t stress, boet, we’ll sort it out.”

Where it came from

Boet comes from Afrikaans, where it means brother or comrade. Wiktionary traces it further back to a Dutch word for boy, probably a pet form of the Dutch for brother. Collins lists it in English as “brother; mate, chum.” It rhymes with “book,” not “boat.”

Related terms

• Bru: another South African “bro.”
• Fam: close friends, like family.
• Bloke: a man, in British and Aussie slang.
• Lekker: nice, great.

More South African words are in our South African slang guide.