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Introduction to Kiwi Slang
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Kiwis claim they are the only people in the world without an accent. However you see it, here are some catch-phrases they are well known for. Remember, you don't need an interpreter. Just bare with them and follow this guide. The further south you go the better the expressions get.
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A Balls Up -- Mistake Aeroplane -- airplane Afternoon tea -- a short break from work in afternoon Agro -- aggressive/aggression Aotearoa -- Maori name for New Zealand Arse -- Ass Arvo -- Afternoon Aussie -- Australian Basin -- bathroom sink Bassinet -- baby cradle Bach -- small holiday house, usually at the beach Backblocks, Back of Beyond -- Inland Country Barbie -- Bar-B-Que Barney -- Argument Bathroom -- room containing a bath/shower, not a euphemism for toilet Battler, as in Aussie Battler -- someone who battles on copes Bench -- kitchen counter Berm -- grass strip at side of road Biscuit -- cookie Blimey, also Gorblimey -- exclaimation of surprise or approval Bloke -- man Blood Oath -- in agreement Blotto -- Drunk Bludge -- impose on someone; to take advantage of them A Blue -- Name for a red head Australian Bog -- toilet Bonk -- sexual intercourse Bonzer -- Excellent Bonnet -- car hood Boot -- car trunk Bot -- A Germ as in I've got the Bot -- The Flu Boxing day -- a public holiday on December 26th Box of Birds -- In good health Bum -- butt Bush -- forest or scrub wilderness Bush shirt -- kind of woollen outdoors shirt Candyfloss -- cotton candy Capping university -- graduation ceremony Caravan -- small towed mobile home Carton -- box Cheeky -- humorously impertinent Chemist -- pharmacy/drugstore Chilly bin -- portable insulated cooler box Chips -- french fries Chippy -- carpenter Chook -- slang for chicken Cinema -- movie theatre Circular -- mailbox flier Cobber -- Friend College -- high school, not university Commentator -- announcer Cordial -- generic sweet colored drink Cornflour -- cornstarch Cot -- child's crib Courgette -- zucchini Crackers -- crazy Crayfish -- edible lobster-like saltwater crustacean Creche -- daycare center Creek -- stream Crescent -- Wrench (NZ term) Crook -- sick Cuppa -- Cup of Tea Dag -- humorous person Dairy -- small shop that sells dairy products and other incidentals Dead Ringer -- Strikingly Similar Dear -- expensive Dinner suit -- tuxedo Dodgems -- bumper cars Docking -- castrating lambs Dole -- unemployment benefit Doughnut -- kind of cake filled with cream and jam, not an American donut Draughts -- checkers - the board game Duster -- blackboard eraser Dummy -- baby pacifier Dunny -- toilet Duvet -- comforter on bed Dux -- academically top student in final year high school class Earth -- electrical ground Entree -- appetizer, not main course Electorate -- local voting district Exercise book -- school workbook Fair Dinkum -- Honest! Fair Go! -- Be reasonable! Felt-tip pen -- marker pen Filled roll -- sub sandwich Film -- movie Fizzy drink -- soda pop, i.e., carbonated softdrink Flannel -- washcloth Flat -- apartment Flat out -- full speed Flat stick -- full speed Flatmate -- someone you share a flat with Flog -- steal Floor it -- accelerate fast Footpath -- sidewalk Form 1 - Form 7 -- grades at intermediate and secondary school Fortnight -- two weeks Freezing works -- meat processing factory Frock -- dress Gallops kind of horse racing Gidday hello Give it heaps try hard Glovebox car glove compartment Godzone New Zealand Good nick good condition Grotty run-down/worn-out/dirty Ground floor first floor Gumboots rubber boots Handbag purse Hangi Maori underground cooking pit Hard case wicked personality Headmaster/Headmistress school principal Health camp vacation camp for underprivileged children Health stamp postage stamp supporting health camps Heaps lots, as in "give it heaps" Hire rent Hockey field hockey, not ice hockey Hokey-pokey an ice-cream flavor Holiday vacation Hoon lout Hooray goodbye Hotdog corndog Hot water cupboard linen closet containing hot water heater Hot water cylinder household hot water heater Ice block popsicle Intermediate school junior-high school Jandals flip-flops, i.e., kind of rubber footwear Janola bleach Jelly jello Jellymeat canned pet food Jersey sweater Judderbar speed bump Jug kettle Jumper sweater Kai Food Kindy kindergarten Kip sleep Kiwi New Zealander or flightless bird native to New Zealand, never a contraction of kiwifruit Knackered exhausted Knickers underwear/panties Kumara sweet potato Ladybird ladybug Lavatory toilet Lay by lay away Lemon squash lemonade Lemonade clear, lemon-flavored softdrink, e.g., 7-Up or Sprite Lift elevator Local rag local newspaper Lolly sweet Long drop outdoor toilet built over a hole in the ground Loo toilet Lounge living room Lounge suite sofa Maori indigenous people of New Zealand Marrow overgrown zucchini Mate friend Metal road gravel road Milo hot chocolate drink Mince ground beef Morning tea a short break from work in the morning Mozzie Mosquito Motorway freeway Mountain oysters testicles from castrated lambs Mr. Whippy van that sells ice-cream cones Mum Mom Nana grandmother Nappy diaper Netball basketball-like sport played by women Nick steal No Flies on me I'm not gullible Note monetary bill Nought zero O.E. Overseas Experience - a prolonged period traveling/working/vacationing overseas Oz Australia Paddock field Pakeha person of European descent; also means long pork Pamphlet brochure Panelbeater automobile body shop Paper class at university Paua abalone Pawpaw papaya Pavlova kind of dessert Petrol gasoline Petrol station gas station Pictures movies Pikelet small pancake Pinch steal Pissed drunk Pissed off annoyed Pissing down raining hard Plaster bandaid Plonk cheap wine Plonked drunk Pom Englishman Post a letter mail a letter Pozzie A Place, position Pram baby carriage Primary school elementary school Primmer 1 - Primmer 4 grades at primary school Propelling pencil mechanical pencil Pub bar Pudding the dessert course of a meal Pull your finger out Hurry Up! Pupil student Purse woman's wallet Pushchair baby stroller Queue line of people Randy horny Rat-bag contemptible person Rellies relatives Rice bubbles rice krispies Ring call on the telephone Roadworks road repairs Rock melon cantalope Root Sexual Intercourse Ropeable Angry Roundabout circular traffic intersection Rubber eraser - the misunderstandings that can arise are famous Rubbish garbage Rubbish tin garbage can Rucksack backpack Sammies sandwiches Sandshoes canvas sneakers Scrogum trail mix Scungy run-down/worn-out/dirty Secondary school high school Section plot of land Serviette table napkin Shanks' pony walking Sheila woman Shicker Drunk Shift move house Shifter -- Wrench (OZ term) Shorts movie trailers Silverbeet Swiss chard Singlet sleeveless undershirt Sit an exam take an exam Skivvy kind of shirt Slikkapad thing that you freeze and put inside a chilly bin Smoko a short break from work, e.g., 5-15 minutes Snags Sausages Solicitor lawyer Spanner wrench Standard 1 - Standard 4 grades at primary school State house rental house owned by the government Stuffed exhausted Sussed understood Sulky South Island version of pram/pushchair Supper late evening meal/snack Sweet As Everythings OK Swimming togs swimming suit Swot study Ta thank you Takeaways take-out food Tata goodbye Taxi cab Tartan plaid Tea dinner Teatime dinner time Telly TV Terraces bleachers Tertiary education education above secondary school, e.g., university The States the U.S.A. Tiki Maori figurine Tin can, e.g., tinned food Tin Arse or Tinny Lucky Tinny Can of Beer Tinfoil aluminum foil Tip garbage dump Toe Rag A Jerk or Looser Togs see "swimming togs" Toilet room containing a toilet Toll call long distance phone call Tomato sauce ketchup/catsup Torch flashlight Towbar trailer hitch Tracksuit sweatshirt and sweatpants Tramping hiking Trots kind of horse racing Trousers pants Tucker food Turps, On the Drinking Twink white-out Varsity abbreviation for university Verge grass strip at side of road Walkshorts dressy shorts for men's business attire ... believe it or not! Wank masturbate Wanker jerk Watersider stevedore Wharfie stevedore Wool yarn Wops rural areas Yank-tank large american automobile Zed the last letter of the alphabet Ziff A Beard Australia |
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