The world is full of surprises and these can sometimes render you speechless and you don’t know what to say. Our beloved and humorous Mzansi, never runs out of things to say. In a moment of disbelief when something out of the ordinary happens, you can say, “Hayi yi film”. It means “This can’t be real” or, “This is something out of a movie”.

The phrase is from isiXhosa. It can be used when one is in shock. For example: When you find out your phone was stolen, “Hayi yi film”.

The phrase originated in a now suspended Moja Love reality TV series, Uyajola 9/9. The clip of a woman from the show trended on social media and was used in memes and the phrase has now become part of our vocabulary.

Tell us: In what instance have you used, or would you use “Hayi yi film”?

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