The names we give our friends shows them the fondness we feel for them. I have called my friends all the sweetest names under the sun from ‘babe’ to ‘my love’ to ‘fam’. It’s gotten to a point where I cannot ever call my partner those names because in my heart they will always be reserved for my closest friends.

One term that is universal in friendships has to be ‘Bra/ Bro/ Bru’. To make it clear the Bra we are talking about isn’t an item of underwear. The newspaper “The Guardian” describes Bra as an informal term for “my friend” or “mate”, originating from “brother”.

You can use Bra in these instances:

“Bra, did you see your ex-girlfriend,” Sbu teased his friend.

“Bru, you missed out on a fun night,” AmberLynn told her cousin.

Also, Xhosa people, as a sign of respect to older men, would add the title ‘Bra’ first followed by the person’s name, as we never call older people by their name.

For example:

“Bra Zakes, where are you going?”

In this context the Bra before his name is a shortened version of Brother/Butie to show respect to him.

Tell us: What name (term of endearment) do you call friends who are the closest to you?

Find out what the word Lekker means here