The Sheng Dictionary
Kenyan street language, decoded — word by word.
DESTINATION
WORDTOP MEANINGMEANINGS♥
CHALIChali means boyfriend23MBARUMbaru means police/DCI. It's derived from their preferred use of Subaru cars.12MBOGImy crew manze12NIAJEwhats upp????22RENGWARengwa means early morning and it's a play on another sheng word "ngware"22BUDAGuy / man / father11JABAJaba means miraa/khat11KARAOKarao means police11KUOMkuom means come11MBANG'AMbang'a means police11MBOKAMboka means work11MLAMIMlami means a white person (mzungu)21MRAZIMrazi means snitch11MUKURUMukuru or mokoro is sheng for mother. The word comes from the Kikuyu term mukuru which means an older person11NDENG'ANdeng'a is a sheng word for gun11NGWAREMeans early morning11SHANDWAShandwa means to get shot11TEITei means alcohol11TENJETenje means phone11THAOThao is sheng for 1,000 Kenyan shillings.11WAGWANWagwan means what's up/what's going on11WOZAwhats up, how are you?11ARIFArif means Friend.10BENZOBenzo is street for Mercedes-Benz10BIMABima is street for BMW10CHACHISHAChachisha means to hype something up or blow something out of proportion10CHAJIchaji means boy10CHEKICheki means see10CHINKUChinku is a sheng word meaning Chinese and is usually used to refer to a Chinese person or Chinese products.20CHIZIChizi when used as a verb means to go crazy and when used as a noun it means a crazy person10CHUOMChuom is a sheng word for a dark alley or a hidden space.10CHWANIChwani means fifty shillings10DIMANGADimanga is street for "Stone". It can be used to also refer to the metric used to measure cannabis in the black market.10DINGADinga means car10DINGODingo means thief or thug10FYATFyat means to go crazy10GANJIGanji is a sheng word for money.10GERIGeri means gang/crew10GODEGode means weed/marijuana10GWETHEGwethe refers to miraa/khat10INADIInadi means to be around, inside or in the area10ITHAItha is a sheng word for time. The word comes from the Kikuyu word itha which also means time.10ITOKAItoka means gun10KAPYENGAKapyenga means small20KIDUNGIKidungi means gun10KITEMEOKitemeo is slang for a loose female10MAKALIMakali refers to hard liquor/ distilled alcohol/ spirits10MARIAMUMariamu means a police van. The name is derived from "black maria" which were police paddy wagons used in the early 1900's10MAZIWAKuwa maziwa in sheng means being wealthy/ rich/ having money.20MBLEINAMbleina means an uncool/lame/wacky person10MEDIMedi means to meditate after getting high10MRENGAMrenga means car10MSUPAMsupa means a beautiful girl/lady10MZINGAMzinga in sheng refers to a 750ml bottle of alcohol. Not to be confused with mzinga in Swahili which refers to a beehive.10MZIZAMziza is a sheng word meaning parent/ father. It is derived from the Swahili word mzazi.10NARENare means fire10NDOMNdom means weed/marijuana10NGEUSNgeus means girl10NGORINgori means trouble/ problems. Kukuwa na ngori refers having troubles/ problems10NGUNANguna means girl10NIKANJEnikanje means give me. It's mainly used in the context of money, for example, where someone says "nikanje ganji yangu" which means give me my money.10NJEGENjege means police10NYORANyora means to urinate10OKUYUOkuyu is sheng word for someone from the Kikuyu tribe10OMOKAomoka means to get rich/make it out of the hood10PEDIPedi means peddler and is mainly used to refer to weed/marijuana sellers10PINJIMeans thief or pickpocket10RADARada also means what's going on/ what's happening20RWABERwabe means two hundred shillings10SANSESanse means police10SANYASanya means to steal10SENKESenke means motorbike/motorcycle10SHUKSHAShuksha refers to food eaten after smoking weed10SWARASwara in sheng means bad luck/ bad vibes. This is different from the swahili meaning of swara which refers to a gazelle/antelope10YOUTYout means youth/ young man10YUTYut means youth/ young man and is a variation of the sheng word Yout10_______+ add a word — awaiting departure