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Definition of naartjie

naartjie

/ˈnɑːr.tʃi/
naar · tjie
Plural:naartjies
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naartjie Lexical Profile

naartjie Game Scores & Validity

• noun

1

South African A small, sweet citrus fruit similar to a tangerine or mandarin, characterized by its loose, easily peeled skin and segmented interior.

Example

"She bought a bag of sweet naartjies from the local market to snack on during the road trip."

Synonyms
View all synonyms for naartjie

Word Nuance & Usage

Used almost exclusively in South African English as the standard everyday word for what other English dialects call a tangerine, mandarin, or clementine.

• Rhymes for naartjie

• Nearby Words

mythos
n'djamena
naan
naartjie
nab
nachi
nacho

Word Origin & Etymology

From Afrikaans 'naartjie', which derives from the Tamil word 'nārattai' (citrus) via Malay 'nartje' or 'nartji', brought to the Cape by early Malay slaves and political exiles.

Usage Trend

Historical frequency of usage in published text.

180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer

Cite this Entry

Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Naartjie. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Nov 5, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/naartjie
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