A Beginners Guide to Aussie Slang | Over 120 Slang words (2023)

FAQs

How do Aussies say hi? ›

“How ya goin'?” is the ultimate Aussie greeting. If you're not from Australia, this mash-up of “How are you?” and “Where are you going?” might leave you a little perplexed. If it helps, think of how the Brits say “y'alright?” - it requires no detailed response. In fact, a simple “hey!” will suffice.

dunny – a toilet, the appliance or the room – especially one in a separate outside building. This word has the distinction of being the only word for a toilet which is not a euphemism of some kind. It is from the old English dunnykin: a container for dung. However Australians use the term toilet more often than dunny.

Let's start with one of the most famous Australian slang phrases: 'No worries'. It's said to be the national motto of Australia.

Fella. Bloke. Dude. Guy.

It is considered impolite to ask a direct question about a person's salary or wealth. Inquiring about someone's weight or age is also highly inappropriate in many situations. Spitting in public is rude. If there is a line for something, always queue and wait for your turn.

Mate. “Mate” is a popular word for friend. And while it's used in other English-speaking countries around the world, it has a special connection to Australia. In the past, mate has been used to address men, but it can be gender-neutral.

5. Sheila = Girl. Yes, that is the Australian slang for girl.

The shoe known in Australia as a “thong” is one of the oldest styles of footwear in the world. Worn with small variations across Egypt, Rome, Greece, sub-Saharan Africa, India, China, Korea, Japan and some Latin American cultures, the shoe was designed to protect the sole while keeping the top of the foot cool.

I definitely grew up with Australian English wee, in both noun and verb form instead of pee. Both of these forms have a much more recent history, verb wee is first attested in 1934 and noun wee in 1968, and are considered British forms by the OED.

What do Australians call Mcdonalds? ›

McDonald's research found that 55 per cent of Australians called the company Macca's and they have submitted the word to the Macquarie Dictionary for consideration. It's an Australian habit to abbreviate names.

Americans have never taken to the slang word bloody, but Aussies use it a lot, and have for a long time. In the late 19th century, writes David Crystal in The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, it was known as "the great Australian adjective," and by the 1940s it was no longer considered a swear word.

What does it mean? General greeting, used instead of “hello”, both day and night.

C-note. The slang C-note refers to a $100 bill, and the letter C refers to the Roman numeral for 100 that was printed on early $100 banknotes.

In slang, a thousand dollars may also be referred to as a "grand" or "G", "K" (as in kilo), or less commonly a "stack", a "bozo", as well as a "band" .

The number 321 can be interpreted to mean “new beginnings.” This is a perfect time to start fresh, and your angels are there to support you every step of the way! If you keep seeing 321, it's a sign that your angels are trying to communicate with you.

Crikey: an exclamation of surprise is the best way to describe the uniquely Aussie term that is crikey. Crook: a word that has many meanings depending on the context. If you're feeling unwell, you could say you are crook. If someone is angry, you could say they've 'gone crook'.

In the 21st century's first decade, the use of woke encompassed the earlier meaning with an added sense of being "alert to social and/or racial discrimination and injustice".

The most popular slang term overall that I can think of is “hot”. “Stunner” is also used, mainly when speaking about a person rather than to one.

pash (plural pashes) (Australia, New Zealand) A passionate kiss.

What do Australians call babies? ›

Contributor's comments: The meaning of Bubs I grew up with is a baby, or quite often the youngest member of the family is called "bubs" from an older sibling.

Brekky: the first and most important meal of the day, Aussies call breakfast 'brekky'.

According to John Cullen and Praveen Parboteeah “The thumbs‐up gesture means everything is going well for North Americans and many Europeans, but is a rude gesture in Australia and West Africa” (Cullen and Parboteeah, 2005, p. 498).

Mister and Sir are age-neutral. Ma'am is short for Madam and, by definition, is age-neutral. Miss refers to a “young lady” or “a young unmarried woman or girl."

Lemony means annoyed, as in, I got lemony at the kid. This piece of Aussie slang dates back to the 1940s. Formerly common, it is now scarce, perhaps because it left a bitter taste in the mouth (yes, I went there).

It's short for billycan. It almost always means to 'make tea' but if you are sitting around an open fire (camping for example) and someone says “I'll boil the billy” this can just mean “boil some water” for coffee, tea or washing up water.

In Australia and New Zealand, "soft drink" or "fizzy drink" is typically used. In South African English, "cool drink" is any soft drink. U.S. soft drinks 7-Up or Sprite are called "lemonade" in the UK.

A: Ah, well, the main two players worldwide are “couch” and “sofa”. Sofa is more common in Britain, while couch is preferred in North America, Ireland, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. Q: Is there a difference?

Then when July finally rolls around, this is when Australians celebrate Christmas in the traditional sense since it's colder. Although we know it as Christmas in July, Australians call this second celebration Yuletide or Yulefest.

Do Australians say G day? ›

It surely sounds strange to those who are familiar with American or British English, but it is a very common expression in Australia. G'day is a shortened form of 'Good Day' and it is the equivalent of 'Hello.

bugga- bad luck, oops. buggered - tired (see also "stuffed") buggerlugs - affectionately used - to annoy . busted - broken or caught in the act of doing something wrong.

Except you won't find Burger King in Australia because it's the only place in the world where Burger Kings are called Hungry Jack's. When Burger King got to Australia in 1971, it discovered there was already a local restaurant there called Burger King.

As is the case in the United States and Canada, association football is most commonly referred to in Australia as soccer. Historically, the sport has been referred to as association football, English association football British association rules and British football.

Sanger is an alteration of the word sandwich. Sango appeared as a term for sandwich in the 1940s, but by the 1960s, sanger took over to describe this staple of Australian cuisine.

The phrase is probably a shortened form of "shut up your mouth" or "shut your mouth up". Its use is generally considered rude and impolite, and may also be considered a form of profanity by some.

The term "mate" is essentially gender neutral in Australia.

This applies almost in all cases except perhaps if you're a male and bump into a woman who is 'generationally' older than you.

“Swearing is not just frequent in Australia,” says Krafzik. “It's also frequent in other countries. It's that swearing seems to be found in more contexts and more situations across more social classes downunder.”

Aussie - Wikipedia

for goodbye is Hooroo and sometimes they even Cheerio like British people.

'Ta' means 'thank you'. "A: Can you please pass me the sauce? B: Sure, here you go. A: Ta."

Why do Aussies say yeah nah? ›

The seemingly contradictory term is a boardroom regular - a setting in which we usually hope to elicit opinions and give little offence. Yeah, nah provides an informal, easy way to agree, disagree, deflect attention off ourselves and move between topics with a little more tact than we would have twenty years ago.

There are a few things you will notice straightway when you talk to Australians (or Aussies for short). First, they tend to add the word “aye” to many sentences – but don't worry about that, it doesn't really mean anything. Secondly, they LOVE to use slang. Lots and lots of slang.

G'day is one of the most commonly used Australian slang words, and is both a greeting and a farewell. It is generally used to greet someone, similar to “hello”, and can be used when you first meet someone or when you want to acknowledge someone you know. G'day is also sometimes used as a way of saying goodbye.

"Eh?" used to solicit agreement or confirmation is also heard regularly amongst speakers in Australia, Trinidad and Tobago and the United Kingdom (where it is sometimes spelled "ay" on the assumption that "eh" would rhyme with "heh" or "meh").

While some Australian speakers would pronounce “no” as a diphthong, starting on “oh” as in dog and ending on “oo” as in put, others begin with an unstressed “a” (the sound at the end of the word “sofa”), then move to the “oh” and then “oo”.

Swearing: Swearing is more common in Australia than in many other cultures. Television programmes are less censored and mainstream society is largely desensitised to words that foreigners may find vulgar. It is normal to hear an Australian swear at some point during a conversation.

No furries

Certainly, no worries (along with its offspring) featured in our slang survey of 2300 Australians, and on the ABC Facebook pages (where listeners posted their favourite slang expressions). In fact, it's one of Australia's international success stories.

Before discussing their language, it's important to know what people from Australia and New Zealand call themselves and their countries. People from Australia call their homeland “Oz;” a phonetic abbreviation of the country's name, which also harkens to the magical land from L.

It surely sounds strange to those who are familiar with American or British English, but it is a very common expression in Australia. G'day is a shortened form of 'Good Day' and it is the equivalent of 'Hello.

How do you greet a girl in Australia? ›

When greeting each other, close friends may hug, back-slap or kiss one another on the cheek, while others may simply offer a nod. Women generally tend to be more physically affectionate during greetings. The most common verbal greeting is a simple “Hey”, “Hello”, or “Hi”.

1. “No worries” If you say 'thank you' to an Australian or you show your appreciation for something they've done for you, this is often the reply you'll hear.

Catch you later is an Australian slang form of saying 'goodbye'. A: Anyway, it's time for me to go home. Catch you later.

Oi /ɔɪ/ is an interjection used in various varieties of the English language, particularly Australian English, British English, Indian English, Irish English, New Zealand English, and South African English, as well as non-English languages such as Chinese, Tagalog, Tamil, Hindi/Urdu, Japanese, and Portuguese to get the ...