Discover Contemporary Shona Slang
A community-driven dictionary of modern Zimbabwean expressions
All Words(359 words)
When someone’s lips have that pale-red, patchy tint that screams “I’m on that AIDS diet”, the neighbourhood shorthand for showing visible HIV/AIDS symptoms.
Why polony? Take a cheap red polony, nibble the end, and you get a faded, blotchy sausage tip. Same vibe as the discoloured lips & weight-loss halo everyone gossips about. Voilà: akaruma polony.
"Dzinenge dzakaruma polony idzi, mbiri yadzo yekuchinjanisa mahubla every day yakambonetsa muna 2008"
"Looks like he's got HIV/AIDS, he was well known for changing hookers every day back in 2008"
HIV/AIDS
Muzvezve is a colloquial Shona slang term used to refer to HIV/AIDS, often indirectly or euphemistically. Because of the stigma historically associated with HIV/AIDS, people may use this word instead of naming the illness openly.
The term carries a sensitive tone and should be used carefully, especially when speaking about someone’s health or death. It is not a formal medical term, but rather community/street slang.
"Vamwe vaiti akagonya nemuzvezve asi kuchibhezhi zvainzi aneTB"
"Some say he died of HIV/AIDS but the hospital said he had Tuberculosis"
HIV/AIDS
"Mbinga dziriko dzinozora vana musvebhere."
"There are some sugar daddies who infect young girls with HIV/AIDS."