A Bit Of Fun With Australian & New Zealand Slang

  Posted by: Admin on 27th April 2022 00:45:03.

Are you planning to travel around Australia or New Zealand?  Here's a list of some commonly used slang words and phrases that you may very likely here whilst traveling in Australia and/or New Zealand. 
 

Australians - Aussie's are characterized by making words as short as possible. 

Arvo: In the afternoon, this afternoon tomorrow afternoon 

Barbie: Not the 'Barbie Doll' your probably thinking of but rather Aussies favorite pastime - A Barbeque - or even shorter 'B-B-Q'

Bogan: A redneck, an uncultured person - Not very flattering eh!

Bottle-O:   A bottle shop, or liquor store.  Frequented by many Aussies!

Bloke: A male person usually over the age of 18

Chockers: Nothing to do with chocolate, but rather something that is very full 

Dunny: A terrible word really, but it simply means 'Toilet'

Esky:  A product that acts as a cooler to insulate food, drink and ice.  They can come in many different sizes too!

Fair Dinkum:    Absolutely true, real and genuine.   

Grommet: A reference to a young surfer

Outhouse: Another slange word for Toilet

Mozzie: No not a mosque, but rather those pesky insects called a 'mosquito'

Pash:  A  long passionate kiss. A pash rash is red irritated skin as the result of a heavy make-out session with someone with a beard.

Ripper: Meaning something is really great

Roo: The kangaroo which is one of Australia's most recognized animals world-wide. A baby roo, still in the pouch, is known as a Joey

Root:  Having sexual intercourse. Foreigners can get in trouble with this one. There have been many stories about Americans coming to Australia telling people how they love to “root for their team.”  To 'barrack” for their team, would be a better word to use instead. 

Servo: A gas station. Australian gas stations are known as Petrol or Fuel station. If you ask for gas, don’t be surprised if someone farts, breaks wind.

She’ll be right:  Everything will be all right

Sickie: A sick day from work.   If you take a day off work when you are not actually sick it’s called chucking a sickie.

Slab: A 24-pack of beer that are usually cans

Sook: A person that likes to sulk. If someone calls you a sook, it is because they think you are

Whinging:  Someone who complains or is complaining about someone or some situation

Sheila: A female person usually over the age of 18

Stubbie Holder:  Koozie or cooler. A stubbie holder is a polystyrene insulated holder for a stubbie, which is a 375ml bottle or can of beer. 

Sweet as:  Good, no problems, sweet, awesome. Aussies will often put ‘as’ at the end of adjectives to give it emphasis. Other examples include lazy as, lovely as, fast as and common as.

Ta:  Very short for thank you

Togs:     A swimsuit or swimming shorts for men

Tradie: A tradesman. In Australia tradies have nicknames too, including brickie (bricklayer), truckie (truckdriver), sparky (electrician), garbo (garbage collector) and chippie (carpenter). 

True Blue: Real Aussie

Ute: Utility vehicle, pickup truck.   The word Ute is very prevalent in a lot of countries now due to utes becoming popular, especially in Asian Countries

New Zealand Phrases That You May Come Across
 

New Zealand slang is hard to understand.

 

New Zealander’s: Kiwi’s slang can be found just about anywhere in New Zealand, even in fancy restaurants and hotels.  Here’s a basic guide on New Zealand slang and how to use it!  Once you get the hang of it, it’s easy as bro.

Kia Ora: ‘Hello’ in Maori 

Choice:  Is one of those words that means anything from, Okay, cool, I agree, I understand, it was good and can mean many other things, but it is always positive.

Fush and chups: Fish and chips which is a favourite food in New Zealand

Hangi: This is a traditional Maori meal cooked over the course of the day in pits in the earth resulting in a very fresh, moist, and tasty style of food.

Pakeha: Coined initially by early Maori to describe European settlers, which has stuck to this day.

Chilly bin: An integral part of any summer holiday, sporting event or student gathering, used to keep your beer cool as well as a top seat to sit on.

Jandals: A phrase unique to New Zealand referring to what we Aussies like to call thongs… and no, I don’t mean the underwear – the footwear!

Bach (“batch”): A holiday home at the beach.  Usually small and a bit shabby but it’s likely no one will mind you traipsing some sand inside.

Tiki tour:  A roundabout way to get somewhere – taking the scenic route

Stubbies: Very short shorts.  Usually worn by males and not leaving much to the imagination – they were big the 80s but some still enjoy donning a pair and standing around the bbq with a beer in hand.

Yeah nah: Kiwi’s say this when they are a little indecisive on what the heck they are trying to say.

Bugger: Used when something goes wrong. It’s mostly heard on a farm. It’s basically a NZ curse word.

The wops: A place in the middle of nowhere or far from anything.

Sus: A situation or someone that look or acts suspicious.

 So there you go!   There's just a handful of Aussie and Kiwi slang words used that you may come across!!