G'day (guh-day) / Hello. The words 'good' and 'day' jammed together to form Australia's most common greeting.
“Mate” is a popular word for friend. And while it's used in other English-speaking countries around the world, it has a special connection to Australia. In the past, mate has been used to address men, but it can be gender-neutral. In Australia, you'll also hear mate used in an ironic sense.
Yeah nah yeah = yes.
Sheila. Let's start with the most common, most well-known, and most quintessentially Australian slang term for girls: Sheila. While everywhere else in the English-speaking world, Sheila is a specific person's name, in Australia it can be used to refer to any woman or girl.
While some Australian speakers would pronounce “no” as a diphthong, starting on “oh” as in dog and ending on “oo” as in put, others begin with an unstressed “a” (the sound at the end of the word “sofa”), then move to the “oh” and then “oo”.
“Yeah, nah, it was pretty awful.” The key, of course, is context. The experienced listener knows to listen carefully to what comes next after Yeah, nah and decipher the meaning based on this. Yeah, nah – 'yes, no' - became popular in Australia in the 90s and has continued to grow in use, both in Australia and overseas.
Oi /ɔɪ/ is an interjection used in various varieties of the English language, particularly Australian English, British English, Indian English, Irish English, New Zealand English, and South African English, as well as non-English languages such as Chinese, Tagalog, Tamil, Hindi/Urdu, Japanese, and Portuguese to get the ...
There are a few things you will notice straightway when you talk to Australians (or Aussies for short). First, they tend to add the word “aye” to many sentences – but don't worry about that, it doesn't really mean anything. Secondly, they LOVE to use slang. Lots and lots of slang.
A common word that Aussies use to express surprise, exclamation or disappointment. Similar to saying, “oh my god!”, for example. The more you use it, the more familiar you'll become with it. Some common ones you'll hear could be, “strewth!
To “throw shade” means to insult or say something unkind about someone.
Yeah nah is a commonly used Australian phrase and colloquialism. The phrase yeah nah means 'no', but it allows the speaker or writer to ease into their response so as to not come across as too outspoken, or brash.
The terms pommy, pommie, and pom used in Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand usually denote a British person.
The Australian National Dictionary explains that the Australian usages of mate derive from the British word 'mate' meaning 'a habitual companion, an associate, fellow, comrade; a fellow-worker or partner', and that in British English it is now only in working-class use.
In Australia, the term mate is used a lot. There is a code of ethics in using it correctly, however. These are some guidelines to assist you: Men use mate, women NEVER do.
Cheeky: Used widely in Aboriginal Australia, the word cheeky isn't only used to refer to insolence but also behaviour that is dangerous. A dog prone to biting people, for example, would be described as “cheeky”.
Australian slang is not dying, it's making its way up in the world.