Here is a common question: ‘Why do New Zealanders and Australians sound so similar when they are separated by a sea that takes three hours to fly over?’ The answer is straightforward. The first English-speaking settlers of New Zealand were Australian seal-hunters from the penal colony of Port Jackson (Sydney). Later settlers were mainly British. The New Zealand accent grew from an Australian foundation spiced, with inputs from the different regional accents of the British Isles – English, Scots, Welsh and Irish.
There is a tendency in New Zealand English to shorten the long ‘e’ sound found in beg, said and leg, into a short ‘ee’ sound of the type found in seek, leak or peak. So when a New Zealander tells you to do something ‘ageen’, you know they want you to do it ‘again’.
A true clincher to decide whether you are listening to an Australian or New Zealander lies in the pronunciation of the letter “i” in the famous fish and chips test. If your companion likes eating “feesh and cheeps,” he or she is Australian. If, on the other hand, they prefer “fush and chups,” you are undoubtedly hearing a New Zealander.
| Term /Expression: | Meaning: |
|---|---|
| A feed | A meal |
| All good | This basically means ‘everything’s fine’ or ‘no problem’, |
| Angus | Someone with an anger problem |
| As | Commonly use “as” as an amplifier to the preceding adjective. For example, “cheap as” = "really cheap" |
| Aye | It has many different uses so you will need to listen carefully to know meaning in each particular situation. |
| Bro | Use it in place of ‘man’ or ‘mate’ or ‘dude’. It can be used towards anyone. |
| Buggered | Very tired |
| Can’t be bothered | Used when someone is too lazy or just simply doesn’t feel like doing something. |
| Chilly bin | A cooler bin, used for keeping drinks cold. |
| Chocka Block | Crowded/busy |
| Choice | Simply means “good” or “cool” and is used similarly to “sweet as”. |
| Chur | Generally used in place of “cheers” or “thank you”, but in some situations can also mean “OK” or “No problem”. |
| Cuppa | A hot drink, usually short for “cup of coffee” or “cup of tea” |
| Cuz | While technically short for “cousin” this is mostly used as a term of friendship or to casually address someone |
| Dairy | A convenience store, corner store, or mini supermarket. |
| Faa | Considered as shortened version of “far out”, express both excitement and disappointment. |
| Fizzy drink | Soda |
| Gap it | Can simply mean “to leave” or can also mean to “run away”. |
| Gizza | Short for “Give us a”, which actually means “Give me a” |
| Hardout | Has many translations, it can amplify an adjective, shows something is awesome or amazing |
| Heaps | Means ‘a lot’ or ‘very’. |
| Honest to who? | Loosely translates to “Really?” Often the response will be “Honest to G”, which means Honest to God. |
| Hot chips | French fries |
| Hungus | Someone who eats too much |
| Jandals | Flip flops. e.g. Havaianas |
| Jumper | A jersey or sweatshirt |
| Kai | Maori word for food |
| Kiwi | Can refer to either a New Zealander, or the country’s national bird. |
| Macca’s | McDonald’s |
| Mean | An adjective to describe something as really amazing or awesome. |
| Mince | Ground beef |
| Mint | Loosely translates to “cool”, or “awesome”. |
| Not even | Loosely translates to “No way” or “That’s not true”, but can be used in various different contexts. |
| Ow | This can be combined with “Not even” and is used somewhat like an exclamation mark. |
| Reckon | It is a synonym for the word “think”, for example instead of saying “I think so” you could say “I reckon”. |
| Scull | To drink a usually alcoholic drink in one go without stopping. |
| Shot | Has various meaning like, expressing thanks, expressing joy, or to give encouragement. |
| Shout | This is the Kiwi form of the verb ‘to treat’, such as treating someone to a meal or a drink. |
| Suss | Has 2 different meanings, 1- To take care of a task. 2- To describe something suspicious. |
| Sweet as | Means ‘no problem’, or sometimes can just mean a simple “OK”. |
| The wops | Really far away, the middle of nowhere. e.g. She lives out in the wops. |
| To the days | This is pinned to the end of a word or phrase, and means ‘extremely’ or ‘very’. |
| Togs | Swimsuit |
| What a sad guy | This is said when someone does something super uncool. |
| Yeah nah bro | Basically means “Umm” or can just be used to fill space, can be used to start a convo if nothing else to say |
Tailor-made travel.
Sign up to our newsletter to unlock travel Specials, Inspiration, and Expert Guides right to your inbox.
