The word on a standard yield sign in South Africa is “YIELD.”
South African yield signs use the familiar red-bordered, downward-pointing triangular format, but the English wording is “YIELD” rather than the “GIVE WAY” wording used on standard signs in the United Kingdom and several countries influenced by British practice. The sign requires a driver to give priority to traffic on the road being entered or crossed.
A yield instruction does not automatically require a complete stop when the road is clear. Drivers must slow appropriately and stop if necessary to give way safely. This differs from a stop sign, which requires a full stop regardless of whether another vehicle is visible.
South Africa’s traffic-sign system also includes signs in other languages and symbolic formats, but the standard English yield sign is a well-known national distinction. International drivers should read the wording and understand the priority rule rather than assume all triangular signs say the same thing.