How to Pronounce Droëwors (and Why It's Spelled Four Different Ways)
PublishedHow to pronounce droëwors: say DROO-uh-vors. Three syllables, stress on the first. The two dots over the ë split "droë" into two sounds, and the W in Afrikaans is said like an English V. The word means "dry sausage".
Every American who has tried to order this in a South African shop has the same expression: half confidence, half hostage. Here is the cheat sheet, from a man from Paarl who has heard it said every possible way and judged none of them out loud.
Droëwors, sound by sound
| Part | Say it like | The trick |
|---|---|---|
| DRO | "droo", as in drool | Long oo, not "dro" as in drop |
| Ë | "uh" | The dots mean: new syllable, say it separately |
| WORS | "vors", rhymes with horse with a V | Afrikaans W = English V. Roll the R if you can. |
Put it together: DROO-uh-vors. The Dictionary of South African English gives the IPA as /ˈdruəvɔrs/, which is the same thing for people who own a linguistics degree.
What do the two dots over the ë do?
They are a diaeresis, and in Afrikaans they mean the vowel starts a new syllable instead of blending with the one before it. Without them, "droe" might read as a single sound. With them, it is "droo-uh". If you are typing on a US keyboard and cannot find the ë, write droewors. Everyone will know what you mean.
Why does the W sound like a V?
Afrikaans came out of 17th-century Dutch, and in Dutch the W leans toward a V sound. So wors (sausage) is "vors", boerewors is "BOO-ruh-vors", and a South African saying "lekker wors" (great sausage) sounds like "lekker vors". Once you hear it you cannot unhear it.
What does droëwors mean in English?
Dry sausage. Droë is the form of droog (dry) used before a noun, and wors is sausage. The Dictionary of South African English defines it as air-dried sausage, salted and spiced, which is also the best one-line description of the food. What actually goes into it is in what is droëwors.
Droëwors, droewors, drywors, dry wors: which is right?
All of them, depending on who is selling it.
- Droëwors is the proper Afrikaans spelling and the dictionary headword.
- Droewors is the same word without the dots, because keyboards. The dictionary lists it as an accepted variant.
- Drywors and dry wors are half-English versions that South African shops abroad started using so customers could read the label. Same sausage.
- Droë wors as two words turns up in recipe titles.
If you search all four you will find the same product in different packaging. If you are buying in the US, the guide to where to buy droëwors lists who sells it under which name.
How do you pronounce biltong?
Americans say BILL-tong and everyone understands. In Afrikaans the I is shorter, closer to "BUL-tong". The word is bil (rump) plus tong (strip). The full etymology is in biltong meaning and origin.
The rest of the South African snack aisle, phonetically
| Word | Say it | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Boerewors | BOO-ruh-vors | Fresh coiled sausage for the grill |
| Stokkies | STOCK-ees | "Little sticks": thin, hard-dried biltong. See biltong sticks. |
| Braai | bry (rhymes with dry) | A barbecue, and a religion |
| Lekker | LEK-er | Good, tasty, great. The highest praise. |
| Chilli bites | As written | Thin, hard, spicy biltong strips. See chilli bites. |
How to order droëwors like you were born in the Cape
Walk in. Say "a bag of DROO-uh-vors, please". If you rolled the R, you get a nod. If you said "drow-wurz", you still get the droëwors, and probably a story about the person's uncle. Either way you leave with droëwors, which was the point.
Frequently asked questions
How do you pronounce droëwors?
DROO-uh-vors. Three syllables with the stress on the first. The ë is said as a separate "uh" and the W is said like a V.
What is droëwors in English?
Droëwors means dry sausage. It is South Africa's air-dried beef sausage, salted and spiced with coriander, and eaten as a snack.
Is droëwors the same as drywors?
Yes. Drywors and dry wors are anglicised spellings of droëwors used by shops outside South Africa. They are the same product.
How do you pronounce boerewors?
BOO-ruh-vors. Boer means farmer and wors means sausage, so boerewors is farmer's sausage.
Why does droëwors have two dots over the e?
The two dots are a diaeresis. In Afrikaans they show that the vowel is said as a separate syllable, so droë is said droo-uh rather than as one sound.
Droëwors is on the Billi Tong's launch list, however you say it. We are not open yet, so the only way in early is a Founding 50 spot: $100 for a first-batch founder box of biltong. Questions go to cal@btbiltong.com.
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