Aussie Slang

There is a lot of slang that I have become used to since I have been in Australia. Also, there is some pronunciation that you may want to be aware of before you come so you don’t get blank or awkward looks. I have made a list of some of the most common and regularly used terms and phrases in Australia. Although some are interchangeable in the US, such as “toilet” for “bathroom/restroom,” I have only heard Americans use the term bathroom since I have been here...Australians say toilet. I have made a list of popular slang and terms and tried to provide a sentence for their meaning in context.

1. Toilet – bathroom/restroom (Excuse me, do you know where the nearest toilet is?) Signs often say “Toilets” in public places instead of “Restrooms.”
2. Heaps – lots of (I have heaps of assignments to finish before Friday.)
3. Holiday – vacation (Where did you travel to on holiday?)
4. Mark – a grade, such as on an assignment/test (A majority of the class received fairly high marks.)
5. Tutorial or “tute” – a class designated for discussion (You must attend your tutorial to get participation credit. OR You are late, this tute started an hour ago.)
6. Faculty – a school at the University (I am in the Faculty of Social Sciences.)
7. Queue – line (Where does the queue start? OR The queue to buy coffee was so long today!)
8. Voucher – coupon (I have a voucher for a free cup of coffee at Gloria Jean’s!)
9. Cheers – thank you (Cheers, mate)
10. Manchester – sheets/bedding (I have to go to the Manchester shop.)
11. Bangers – as in “bangers and mash.” A dish with sausages and mashed potatoes. (I ordered bangers and mash for dinner.)
12. Rubbish – trash (Make sure to collect all of your rubbish and put it in the bins.)
13. Mate – friend (Hi mate! OR Thanks, mate!)
14. OZ – Australia (A lot of tourists come to OZ on holiday.)
15. Flat/flatmate – A place where you live such as an apartment. A flatmate is a roommate. (My flatmates are very diverse and interesting people.)
16. Bottle shop – liquor store (The bottle shop is closed.)
17. Goon – boxes of cheap wine (Don’t drink too much goon!)
18. Brekkie – breakfast (I need to make some brekkie before I start my long day of classes and studying.)
19. Thongs – flip-flops (Make sure you don’t wear thongs in the rain!)
20. No worries – no problem/you’re welcome (“Thank you so much for your help!” “No worries.”) I have not heard an Australian say “you’re welcome” since I have been in Sydney, instead they say “no worries” in a very laid back way.
21. A bit – a short amount of time (I will meet you out front in a bit.)
22. Dodgy – sketchy/not the safest (Don’t walk down that dodgy street at night alone!)
23. Aussie, pronounced “Ozzie” – an Australian (Have you met many Aussies since you have been in Sydney?)
24. Give it a go – Give it a try (Give surfing a go!)
25. Quay, pronounced “key” – (Can you take me to Circular Quay?)
26. Melbourne, pronounced “Melbin” – (You should try to visit Melbourne while you are in Australia!)

Those are all of the terms I can think of at the moment! I hope this will serve as a useful guide when you are in Australia!