Language is such a fascinating thing, isn't it?
It's always interesting to me how people can speak the same language yet use different words and phrases to convey similar ideas. Just think about the many dialects of English found in the US. America's version of English varies by region, by culture, even by family. For instance, what my East Philadelphia-born-and-raised husband calls a "rowhome," I call a "townhouse." And that "shopping cart" at the grocery store? My mom calls that a "buggy."
No surprise, New Zealanders have their own variation on the English language. It's an alphabet soup of British English, American English, and Australian English, with a little Pacific Islander thrown in. And just like the culture here, the Kiwi way of speaking tends to be quite informal, laidback and rather fun.
My NZ friends use a lot of slang words (and curse words, so I feel right at home ;). I've had whole conversations about "singlets," and "boob tubes," "jumpers" and "stubbies" that left me stumped as to what we were actually talking about. (Turns out, clothing.)
But as a family, we're starting to grasp the Kiwi slang and use a bit of it ourselves. (Especially the Adorable Two. They come home from school sounding like they've gone through a Google translate program. :) So I thought it'd be fun to share some of the Kiwi words and phrases we've adopted in recent months.
(For a full rundown of Kiwi slang, check out this great video of 110 NZ phrases in 5 minutes. You'll get a sense of how even a normal conversation here can be a little tricky for a foreigner to follow. Turn the captions on for full effect!)
Tramping
This means hiking. You go for a "tramp in the bush" (hike in the woods) or spend your day tramping.
Jandals
The American flip-flop and the Australian thong goes by another name here: the jandal. This is one word we use nearly every day as we all wear jandals all the time now.
Gumboots
Rain boots or Wellies. I still remember a conversation I had with the Adorable Girl's teacher last year, soon after we started school. The kids were "tramping" to a local park for a field trip and needed to wear "mufti" and "gumboots" the next day. The look on my face pretty clearly read "no compute," so she explained that I needed to send rubber boots and regular clothes for a hike to the park. Got it :)
Mufti
A chance for kids to wear whatever they want to school. Nearly all of New Zealand's students wear uniforms to school, but once or twice a month, kids can pay a dollar to wear regular clothes. Mufti Day.
Yeah, nah
Confusing, but this means "no" or "no, thank you." It's been easier for me to embrace this phrase over its opposite, "Nah, yeah" Which somehow means "yes."
Sweet as
Awesome, great, cool. "Sweet as" is the go-to affirmation here. You can actually throw "as" on the end of any adjective for a bit of emphasis. Thus, things are "cheap as," "hot as," "cold as," etc.
Heaps
Lots and lots. You might get "heaps of chips" at a restaurant, "heaps of deals" at a store. There's "heaps" of ways to use this word :)
Chocka Block
Shane and the kids tend to use this phrase more than I do. It translates as something being really full or packed. So, Shane might complain about the bus being "chocka block" on his commute. And then I probably laugh at him trying to go full Kiwi. ;)
Togs
Bathing suit. This was another one that left me dumbfounded in front of the Adorable Girl's teacher. Kiwi kids actually taking swimming lessons during the school day, which is awesome -- or, rather, "sweet as." But the kids must bring a towel and their togs each day during the session. Makes perfect sense now but left me reaching for Google the first time I heard it.
Bach
Pronounced like "batch," it means vacation home, cabin, place to get away. I'd love to have one of these now that I know what it is. :)
Eh?
This is a great little word with a few purposes. If you have trouble hearing someone, you'd say "eh?" instead of "pardon" or "come again." And you can throw it on the end of any sentence as a sort of, "don't you think?" For instance, "She's choice, eh?" Or "the bus is chocka block today, eh?"
Fine
As an American, I use fine all the time, but in a totally different way than my Kiwi friends. For me, it's like an, "eh, wasn't bad, wasn't good," kind of adjective. But New Zealanders use it in a super-positive way and tend to use it to describe weather/activities. So "the day was fine" in American-speak translates to "the day was FINE" -- and somehow has an entirely different meaning.
Choice
This is another positive adjective, similar to fine. If something's choice, you know it's good.
Stink
The opposite of choice. If something goes wrong or disappoints, it gets a "stink!"
Lollies
Candy! The Adorables rarely use the word candy anymore. It's all lollies all the time.
Rubbers
You might think you know what this means (haha) -- but, in NZ, this word refers to erasers. So my kids often tell me they need new rubbers for school. It sometimes takes me a minute to figure out what they're talking about.
Op Shops
Consignment stores, secondhand stores. There's a great secondhand marketplace in Auckland, and I frequent these stores for home decor, gifts, toys, books. They're fab. Just this week I scored a portable radio with a tape deck for Shane's bday. Retro as!
Car Park
The driveway, parking lot. At the grocery store, you wheel your "trundler" through the "car park." "Trundler" is the Kiwi variation on shopping cart -- and a word I find completely ridiculous. :)
Mate
Friend, pal, good person. "Good on ya, mate!" is a phrase I hear and use a lot now. It basically translates as "well done," "good job."
She'll be right
I love this phrase. It means, roughly, "don't worry, everything will be OK. It will all work out in the end." Along with the phrase "No worries," which Kiwis say ALL the time in place of "you're welcome," "she'll be right" sums up the general laid-back attitude of most New Zealanders I know and love. These are my people!!
