takkies

Takkies are what South Africans call sneakers or trainers: canvas or athletic shoes. “Wear your takkies, we’re walking.”

What takkies means

Any casual sports shoe counts: running shoes, canvas lace-ups, school gym shoes. It’s usually plural, a pair of takkies, though one shoe is a takkie. You’ll also see it spelled tekkies, which is how Wikipedia lists it among South African English words.

Examples

• “My takkies are soaked, I walked through every puddle.”
• “Do I need formal shoes, or are takkies fine?”
• “School shoes in the week, takkies on Saturday.”

Where it came from

Wiktionary traces it to the Afrikaans tekkie, an athletic shoe. Its earliest English citation is from a 1948 biography, in which a shopkeeper recalls a customer coming in for “a pair of takkies to play tennis.”

Related terms

• Jandals: Kiwi flip-flops.
• Thongs: Aussie flip-flops.
• Drip: stylish outfits and shoes.
• Bakkie: a pickup truck.

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