Chp 136. Mizo slang among the youth [Mizo]

Due to the over-whelming number of responses, I have separated the previous post [Mizo Contemporary Slang] into two, one dealing with Mizo slang derived only from English, and this one dealing with Mizo slang derived from… well it would be politically incorrect to say “Mizo” since most of them are derived from “sounds” and “made up code words”

It usually starts as a special code shared by a group of friends, and the word gets out, spreads to other group of friends, and soon everybody starts using that word Such words are not in any Mizo dictionary, and the older Mizo folks have no idea what it means. The difficulty with this section is, there are just too many such slangs, as each group have their own code. Hence only the really popular ones are listed. Feel free to contribute the slangs anyway. Enjoy.

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MIZO SLANG

|  90  |  Amos  |  Bawl  |  Bon  |  Chhas  |  CK  |  Dapthawl  |  Funte  |  Jabit  |  Jakoos  |  Kap  |  Krainch  |  KS  |  Ox  |  Pehtreh  |  Sis  |  Sox  |  Tual  |  Strots  |  Zuai  |  Zawnga  |  Hmel-a  |  Ek-a  |  Marzar  |  Opie  |  Zimmy  |

90

Ok the only reason why I put this up here is because I always used to think it was the Mizos who made this “slang” up, until I found out recently that non-Mizos too actually use it. When someone use 90 as a verb “va 90 zuai i la” (lets go and 90), it means “to go to a local wineshop and ask the shopkeeper to pour 90ml (large) on a glass and drink it right there at the shop itself (which by the way is not a bar)”.

Amos

"Amos" or "Mos-a" is used in reference to (usually) guys who “swim upstream”, if you know what I mean. The person need not be a stereotype gay (effeminate, puts on make-up, hair wax etc). He is content with his lifestyle and may even have one or two Heterosexual relationships before he receives his true calling. “Amosa Pub ah kal i la” (Let us go to a Gay Pub), “Saw pa inchei dan saw a va Mos-a ve” (That dude is dressed up so… gay) and “Jail ah chuan an lo Amos ang che” (In jail, they’ll do “things” to you).

Bawl

There is no direct meaning of this word in English. It basically means, “To pull one’s leg in such a way that the one who is pulling your leg is only doing so to make fun of you slyly, while the innocent victim is unknowingly playing along, not knowing that the other person does not actually mean what he is saying to him”. Phew, that’s a long translation to the single word!

Bon

This is another word that has made its way into the foray of “normal Mizo words”. Older generation Mizos would definitely disapprove of its usage. “Bon” is used to intensify a particular verb or adjective. “A sang bawn tawp” (He is very tall), “Ka ngei bawn tawp” (I really hate him) and “Ka hah bawn tawp” (I am extremely exhausted).

Chhas

Other slangs for this are “saas” and the less popular “chhis”, “chhus”, “chhos” etc. “Chhas” is definitely the most popular slang word in Mizoram. In fact it has become so popular that it has now become a normal Mizo word. It has three main meanings:

1. “A beautiful girl”. Even though some people use it to describe a good looking male too, most of the people use the word in reference to a female only. “a chhas khawp mai” (Literally: She is very “chhas”) which means she is very pretty.
   
2. The second usage is to describe a boyfriend or girlfriend. In this case, the word “chhas” refers to either sexes. “Ka chhas a ni” which means “He/she is my boyfriend/girlfriend”. This term has now been accepted as a formal word by most people.
   
3. The third category is quite demeaning: It is used in eve-teasing incidents. Suppose a bunch of guys in a car call out “chhas” (beautiful girl) to a girl walking by the road, then it is purely an incident of grave eve-teasing and most girls take it as an extreme insult and offence. Even though the “chhas” here and the “chhas” in the first explanation means the exact same thing, the former usage is more about complimenting somebody in a positive way, especially a friend or somebody close. But in the latter incident, it’s more about degrading women and treating them as sex objects.

CK

This is a funny slang, as it is pronounced “C-K”. I always used to wonder who made this word up. It is another very popular slang that most people are familiar with, but the actual abbreviation is still murky. One rumor says that it actually stands for “changkang” which means “sophisticated”. However, in contemporary youth expression, “CK” means “to flirt”. “Johna leh Mary an ck a” (John and Mary flirted with each other), “Hman party ah khan i va ck ve” (You were quite a flirt at the party) and “internet ah a ck hrat lutuk” (He/she flirts a lot on the internet).

Submitted by Anonymous: Another theory on the origin of "CK" is from a guy who used to flirt a lot… Hence people used to call him "Chhas Kumar-a" = "CK-a".

Submitted by Jinx: Similar to the above lines, a girl who flirts a lot is also called a CK, just as how CK for guys means "Chhas Kumar-a", the CK equivalent for girls is "Chhas Kumar-i".

Dapthawl

Contributed by: Sekibuhchhuak

Contributed by Sekibuhchhuak, dapthawl means to praise the Lord and dance in his Glory with arms raised up high.

Funte/Pehtreh

Contributed by: Hruaia

This comes under “alcoholic slang”. A “funte” literally means “small package”, and it is used in reference to our locally brewed liquor. The illegal local (arrack) is packed into a small (transparent) polythene package, and such a package is aptly names “funte”. It is also popularly known as “Pehtreh”.

Corrected by Bekang^Roll and Jinx that Pehte is Pehtreh. Corrections made. Thank you.

Jabit/jakoos

Contributed by: Opie

This means to have sex. It can also be used in other contexts such as, “Jabit film in nei em?” (Do you have any porn movies?) and “A jakoos zei hmel khawp mai” (She looks like a real pro when it comes to sex) . Other slangs for this are “Marzar” [Submitted by Sundancer] and “Sox” [Submitted by Bekang^Roll].

Kap

One meaning for “kap” is a proper mizo word meaning “to shoot”. The other slang version of it basically means “to make fun of”. “Sam an mi kah a hrat” (Sam loves to pull everybody’s leg), “Mi a kap na thei” (He really makes fun of people harshly).

Krainch

Another slang invented by the youth. “An in krainch a” which means “they krainched each other” where the verb krainch does not exactly make complete sense but obviously making a statement that they some sort of flirted or kissed each other.

KS

This is slang for “prostitute”. It is an acronym for “Khawpui Service” which means “somebody who services the entire city”. Cute huh.

Ox

This is slang for “kiss” / “smooch”. Other slang expressions for the term “kiss” are “pe dak” and “kuai dak” [Sub by: Hruaia]

Sis

This is a popular slang among the youth… It means "marijuana". It is pronounced with a hissing sound, like the sound you make when you inhale tobacco deeply, and that is probably how it got its name. “sis in nei em” (Do you have any marijuana) and “i sis chu han zu i la” (Let’s smoke your grass). It is also known as “Tual” [Sub by: Hruaia]

Strots

Another slang that’s quickly becoming popular, it is again used in reference to somebody who is dressed in tight fitting clothes (especially skintights or tight jeans). “saw nu saw chu a ava strots ve” and “kha pa kha a kal strots strots mai”.

Zuai

It means “a quickie”. Further explanation not required, I believe.

Single letter usage

The act of adding the single alphabet “s” to a formal word is very popular among the youth. They have the habit of modifying a particular word and adding the alphabet “s” at the end, in order to sound more youth-like or hep. “Ka ngei bawn tawps”, “Ka puar over tawps”, “Ka star raps” etc

Another form of informal Mizo is the use of the “o” instead of “aw”. In proper Mizo, “aw” is pronounced like the English “o” while the Mizo “o” is prounced like the English “ow”. Inspire of this, many youngsters now use “o” in place of “aw”. Eg: “Top” instead of “Tawp”. And then there is the use of other alphabets like “x” (xonga instead of zawnga) etc.

Mizo cuss words

It’s true, in Mizo we don’t have any abusive words. Mizos with non-Mizo friends are always shocked to find out that there are no such insults in Mizo. Of course we can always translate a particular abusive word literally into Mizo, but the fact is, people in Mizoram just don’t call each other with those names. It sounds very awkward. Words like Bastard, Mofo, Bitch, F-words, your mother’s this and that etc etc are never used in Mizo. Instead there is just one popular cuss word, and that is “zawnga” (fem: zawngi)

Funny thing is, “zawnga” literally means “monkey”! However, call anybody with that word and it is interpreted as an extreme aggression. Do expect a good fight after that. Other words that are commonly used are “Hmel-a” (fem: Hmel-i) and “Ek-a” (fem: Ek-i). Basically, they mean just “Face” and “shit”. Don’t you just love the passive Mizo language?

Opie

A guy who can’t procreate is called an “Opie” (pronounced “O.P.”). Their reproductive organs are completely useless, probably due to prolonged masturbation at childhood. Example: “Chanmari ah khuan OPie a a awm a sin” (There’s an OPie living in Chanmari). Such people usually ask their partners to go for an artificial insemination, hence the term “OPie” is also used to refer to “in vitro fertilization”. “Fa kan nei thei si lova, kan va OPie ve tawp dawn emni le” (Since we can’t have a child, shall we go for an artificial method?).

Zimmy

When guys get drunk, they usually do three stupid things: Flirt, Fight and Phone. A “zimmy” is somebody who does the third action: calling up somebody on the phone whenever he is drinking and then talking for hours. Example: “Vawin chu ka thianpa a rawn zimmy leh tawh a” (Today my friend got drunk and called me up on the phone again). It is usually not possible to understand what the caller is mumbling about over the phone, but he will go on an on and on. Once, I was zimmied, and the caller incoherently blabbered, "aurrm… Hdkakkd… kiwyrrrr… ngharrturr… burr… skljuyt…" and I just went, "Uhuh, yeah… I know… right…" It was late in the night and I was tired, so I slept off while listening to him. Next morning I woke up and the phone was still on! I picked up the receiver and listened cautiously… My friend was still talking! “uyierrr… drwqqq… khsdf hjdlks… uyiuixxxr…" And I continued "Yes… exactly! I know… That’s cool…" He finally disconnected when I told him it’s time for lunch…