I thought moving to Australia was going to be a cake walk since we do share a common language called “English.” I couldn’t have been more more wrong thanks to their accents, which can be very difficult to understand, and their ridiculous lingo aka made up words. Keeping up with the Aussies can be hard and I constantly find myself having people explain their terminology or repeat themselves because I literally have no clue what they’re saying. I actually served a gentleman the other day and I literally could not understand one word he was saying, it was so embarrassing but what can you do?
How to Speak Australian
The first obstacle one encounters when talking to someone in Australia is deciphering if the person is a true Aussie, a Kiwi (from New Zealand), American, Canadian, or from the England/Ireland region. With these different nationalities comes a completely different accent and their own lingo to go along with it. Also there are heaps of Europeans from non-English speaking countries, Asians, and a lot of Brazilians in Sydney. You really never know what you’re going to get when you start speaking to someone down here, which makes it that much more interesting.
Some of the stereotypical phrases that we’re used to in the states are present down here, but not exactly the same. Shrimp on the barbie is not accurate because they call shrimps prawns, but the Aussies do love their barbies, as do I. They do say g’day, mate, cheers, no worries, no dramas, and wanker. This is only the beginning of the lingo and their language continues to boggle my mind daily…
Lingo
How to speak Australian can be summarized with a few key rules. First, they abbreviate EVERYTHING! After half the word is cut off it’s usually safe to assume that you add -ies to the end and you’re good to go. For example sunglasses are sunnies, breakfast is brekkie, and mosquitos are mozzies, which have been eating me alive. Another trend in the lingo is shortening words and adding an -o to the end like with avro, which is afternoon or seppo which is short for septic tank and a lovely nickname for us Americans, along with Yanks. One thing I don’t quite understand is their tendency to end sentences with the word but. The first time I experienced this I was like, “Yes continue on…”
Just in my cozzie...enjoying the view of Bondi Beach
One phrase that really caught me off guard is someone asking you if you “Fancy a root?” This and tons other variations on this phrase means “Do you want to have sex?” or something to deal with being absolutely messed up, like rooted when you’re really drunk. So ladies this is one you definitely want to take note of because I’m sure you will come across a similar situation down here. But don’t get the wrong impression about the Aussie guys, they really aren’t usually that forward and don’t come across as complete womanizers like many other nationalities.
Here are some helpful sayings / words to get you acquainted with the language Down Under….
Ankle-biter: Infant or baby
Bog in : Begin eating, to attack food with enthusiasm or be a Carnie 
Bottle Shop: Liquor store
Cabbie: Taxi Driver
Chemist: A pharmacy or someone who writes you prescriptions
Chips: French Fries
Cozzie: Swimming costume aka swimsuit
Dead Horse: Tomato sauce / Ketchup
Gronk: Complete idiot / moron
Good on ya: Well done or good for you
Hotel: A pub that can be with or without food or accommodation * You always have your local pub/hotel!
Lollies: Sweets or candies, not necessarily lollipops
Longnecks: 750ml bottle of beer…On Australia Day I was called out for “longneckin” my Passion Pop
Macca’s: McDonald’s
Off one’s face or on the piss: Drunk
Roadie: A beer you take with you…gotta love these! 
Skull or skol: To drink a beer without taking a breath aka our pound or chug
Slab: A case of beer/a 24 pack
Follow this link for a more detailed list of Aussie sayings and lingo.
I’ve also learned about the ridiculous world of Aussie Rhyming Slang, which is extremely confusing and hard to get the hang of!
My local Bottle Shop! Love this place..
The Australians do cuss a lot and are constantly insulting each other, but it’s all in good fun. They have a very dry sense of humor that I love and there is never a dull moment around them. They have no “sensor” regarding what they say and to whom. There is no BS down here and you’re going to hear how someone really feels and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Most Americans can’t quite handle the truth, but I love the brutal honesty of the Australian culture. People are not easily offended here or worried about being politically correct and it’s amazingly refreshing.
Pronunciation & Spelling of Words
The Aussies have a tendency to completely leave out letters in a word. For example Melbourne is pronounced simply as Melbin, because that makes sense? Both the letters “h” and “z” are pronounced differently. I just joined ANZ Bank, which is pronounced A N Z(ed). WTF? The word aluminum is also one that they have their own way with and manage to pronounce it al-u-min-e-um, which is adding an extra syllable. Also their spelling is much like the Queen’s English with all their ou’s like in colour. The word that really caught me by surprise was the word jail is actually spelled gaol.
Yup Tomato Sauce it is!
My Lingo Progress
The more time I spend with Australians the more their lingo is rubbing off on me. It really is inevitable for this to happen and I’m loving all the new words and ways to say things. I have really become a fan of sayings/words such as: I can’t be bothered, reckon, something bad is just sh*t, heaps, bottle shop, and the list really does go on. I’ve also picked up the cue after many people giving me a blank stare that ketchup is actually called tomato sauce, but must be pronounced with a hard o sound like in Tom. I’m sure the longer I’m down here the more sayings and lingo I will pick up and say without even realizing. It should be interesting to see how much these Aussies do rub off on this American girl living in their world!
Hope this was helpful to those of you wanting to hear a little about the lingo and language down here in Australia. I’m sure I’ll have more favorite words in the future and my Australian vocabulary will continue to grow!
On February 5, 2010 @ 4:02 pm Carrie Cantwell said
Let me give this Aussie talk a try- I have a heaping wanker. No?
On April 9, 2010 @ 1:12 am Mark H said
No, not quite. Instead of having “lots” of something you say “I have heaps of..”
A wanker is similar to what Americans call a “jerk”
We Australians are always very happy when an American pronuces Melbourne like we do!
I laughed when you said that an Australian asked you “Fancy a root?” that is classic.
Anothe phrase for getting drunk here is
“I was absolutely blind”
On August 15, 2010 @ 7:10 am Elle said
Im aussie and loved reading this, made me laugh thinking other cultures find our language odd. It hard to think yous find them saying strange, when thats just the way we talk everyday.
Also aussies are brutally hard to each other.. its how we show our affection… most the time.
On January 3, 2011 @ 6:10 pm mallisa said
what is this euorpe talk
On January 5, 2011 @ 5:15 pm Michael Loagie said
liked the work mate, i have a strong broad australian accnt and its wierd, i moved to the UK and all the lasses love mi accent, every time i say, G’day mate how ya’ doing somewhere in the room a girl gets giddy over it quite strange!
On January 24, 2011 @ 10:46 pm Hanna said
Like your article.
Agree with you. My bf is Aussie.
First time meet him, I dont understand a single word that came out from his mouth. I keep saying PArdon. But that is ok now as I enjoyed the Australian strine. Fun.