In honor of the first anniversary of my return from New Zealand, I decided it would be appropriate to post about one of the most endearing aspects of New Zealand culture that I still miss from time to time: kiwi slang. After spending 4 1/2 months in Wellington and traveling throughout the North and South islands, I feel like I gained a pretty good understanding of life as a New Zealander and the common phrases that are used in day-to-day conversations. So, without further ado, here is a list of the most regularly-used kiwi sayings that we definitely don’t have in the U.S.
Kia Ora– Hello! the most common greeting to hear in New Zealand
Keen– interested in; want to
“Do you want to go see the new Taika Waititi movie?”
“yeah, I’d be keen!”
As– Used as a modifier to mean very
“That fish was huge as!”
or
“Sweet as, bro”
Eh?– huh? can also mean “isn’t it?”; this word is very frequently tacked onto the end of sentences for no apparent reason
*mumbles*
“eh?”
or
“that’s quite weird, eh?”
Heaps– a lot; can be anywhere from 5 to 5,000 of something and any number in between
Cheers– thanks
Ta– also thanks!
No worries– you’re welcome, no problem; you’ll hear “no worries” in response to a “ta”, “cheers”, or “thanks” far more often than any other phrase
Flick– send
“keen to go out this weekend?”
“ah yeah chur bro, flick me a text and we’ll plan something!”
Bro– mate, pal, friend
Chur– indicates approval, agreement, or appreciation; a generally pleased word meaning “cool”, “sweet”, “thanks”!
Lollies– candy
Bogan– the Kiwi version of a redneck
Petrol– gasoline
Yeah nah– a more polite way of saying no
Squiz– a quick look; check out
“hey bro, do you reckon you could have a look at my paper? I don’t want to lose any marks and this prof is strict as!”
“sure, I’ll have a squiz at it”
Bonus: New Zealand shoes
jandals– flip flops, sandals
gumboots– also known as wellies or wellingtons, these are classic rubber rain boots
New Zealanders have plenty of other unique phrases, but these are the ones that you will be guaranteed to hear on a regular basis if you have the opportunity to visit or live there. And with this NZ-US translation guide you’ll be speaking Kiwi English with the best of them in no time!
If anyone reading this post has any interesting or important Kiwi slang that I missed, I’d love to hear it–make sure to comment or shoot me an email and I can add it to the list; cheers!