Zef (Afrikaans: [ˈzɛf]) is a South African counter-culture movement.
The word is an Afrikaans slang word which roughly translates as "common", with connotations of "uncool", "disgusting", "gross" and/or "trashy" in Afrikaans. It differs from the Australian/New Zealand term bogan and the British term chav in that it is mostly a positive term for oneself, rather than a derogatory term for someone else. It is also not typical of the poorest classes of the society, but rather a mostly white, lower-middle class subculture.Yolandi Visser of Die Antwoord is quoted as saying, "It's associated with people who "soop" their cars up and rock gold and shit. Zef is, you're poor but you're fancy. You're poor but you're sexy, you've got style."
The concept of "zef" originated in the 1960s and 1970s as a derogatory term to refer to working class whites, including residents of caravan parks. It is a shortening of the name of the Ford Zephyr motorcar that was popular worldwide from the 1950s to the 1970s. In South Africa, these cars were often customized with enhanced engines, tires and wheels. They were often owned by working-class people, especially from the then-upcoming East and West Rand areas of Johannesburg (due to gold mining activity and the rising price of gold after it was de-coupled from a fixed price of USD 35 per fine ounce). The average Zephyr driver, while relatively comfortable financially in the 70s, was still generally from a more working-class than elite or highly educated background, so owners of these cars were given the derogatory description of being "zef" (Zephyr owner) by middle-class and more well-to-do South Africans. Frikkie Lombard, editor of the Woordeboek van die Afrikaanse Taal, has explained zef as "something which is usually considered to be common, but nowadays has credibility."