Southern Africa
Video Chat with People from Botswana
Botswana's wild places are its pride: the Okavango Delta explored by mokoro dugout canoe, the elephants along the Chobe River, the bright Makgadikgadi salt pans and the open Central Kalahari. People you meet may live in Gaborone, the capital near the South African border; in Francistown in the northeast; in Maun, gateway to the Delta; in Kasane; or in towns like Serowe and Palapye. Setswana is spoken by most people and English is the official language of business and government, so chats often switch between the two without effort. Kalanga is common in the northeast, and several other languages, including San languages, are spoken too.
Botswana uses Central Africa Time, UTC+2, all year, so 8 PM in Gaborone is early afternoon in New York and early evening in London. Athletics is a big topic since Letsile Tebogo won 200 m gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics, and football fans follow the Zebras. Then there's food: seswaa, slow-cooked pounded beef served with pap; magwinya, the fried dough sometimes called fat cakes; morogo greens; and phane, the mopane worms that are a seasonal treat. Motswako hip-hop, which mixes Setswana and English, is worth asking about.
Botswana at a glance
| Flag | 🇧🇼 |
|---|---|
| Official name | Republic of Botswana |
| Capital | Gaborone |
| Region | Africa · Southern Africa |
| Official languages | English and Tswana |
| Currency | Botswana pula (P, BWP) |
| Calling code | +267 |
| Time zone | Central Africa Time (Africa/Gaborone) |
How to say hello
A friendly local greeting makes a great first impression.
| Language | Phrase | Say it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setswana | Dumela, rra! | doo-MEH-lah, rrah | Hello, sir! (to a man) |
| Setswana | Dumela, mma! | doo-MEH-lah, mah | Hello, ma'am! (to a woman) |
| Setswana | O tsogile jang? | oh tsoh-KHEE-leh jahng | How are you? (literally "how did you wake up?") |
| Setswana | Ke a leboga! | keh ah leh-BOH-khah | Thank you! |
Tips for chatting with people from Botswana
- Add "rra" or "mma" after "Dumela"; it's the polite form, and people notice the effort.
- Reply to "O tsogile jang?" with "Ke tsogile sentle" (keh tsoh-KHEE-leh SEN-tleh), "I woke up well."
- Safari spots make great topics, but ask about everyday life in Gaborone or Francistown too; it's a more personal conversation.
- Setswana is also spoken in South Africa, so you may meet speakers on both sides of the border; ask how their Setswana differs.
Only meet people from Botswana
Omlet matches you Worldwide by default. To meet only people from Botswana, use the country filter, the only filter Omlet has:
- Open Omlet and press Country on the control panel.
- Search for Botswana and select it.
- Press Start. Press Next to meet someone else from Botswana, or switch back to Worldwide any time.
Your first day is free: you add a card through Stripe to start it, and nothing is charged that day. When the 24 hours end, the country filter costs $3 one time, charged to that card, unless you cancel before then in Settings (if you cancel, you can still pick a country until the day ends). It's not a subscription, and it stays unlocked on that device and browser. It doesn't carry over to other devices or browsers, and clearing your browser data removes it. There's one free day per device, home network and card. Payment goes through Stripe, so Omlet never sees your card number.
The filter works both ways, and matching can be slower when fewer people from Botswana are online. Chatting itself is free, and Worldwide matching never costs anything.
Your own country is detected automatically and shown to the people you meet as a flag.
Neighboring countries
Botswana borders 4 countries. Curious about the people next door? Meet them too: