Popular kiwi words
Kiwi: New Zealanders, also a native bird
Chilly bin: Cooler/esky
Wop wop’s: The middle of nowhere/the sticks
Togs: Swimsuit
Jandals: Flip flops/thongs
Buggered/knackered: Really tired
Jumper: Sweater/pull over
Bach/crib: Holiday home
Bro: Brother, friend
Chur: Thanks
Hokey-pokey: Ice cream flavour (definitely try this while in New Zealand)
Stubbie: Bottle of beer
Stubbies: Shorts (short shorts)
Tramping: Hiking
Mate: Friend or enemy (depending on the speakers tone)
Popular Kiwi phrases
All good: That’s ok, never mind
Sweet as: Great, good, fine
Choice as: That’s great, awesome, sure
Yeah nah: This has a large variety of meanings, the most common one’s being: an acknowledgment that you have spoken, but disagree with what you said; a space filler within a sentence
Most common use example:
“Nick thought the show was rubbish, didn’t you Nick?”
“Yea, nah”
Bring a plate: Bring a shared dish of food to a party/gathering (if you get asked to ‘bring a plate’ do not just bring an empty plate, you will be judged harshly)
She’ll be right: It will be fine, everything is ok, don’t worry about it
No worries: You’re welcome, no problem
You right?: Are you ok? Is everything ok?
Common Maori phrases you will hear
Kia Ora (key-or-a): Hello
Haere Mai (high-reh-my) – welcome.
Haere Ra (high-reh-rah) – goodbye
Whanau (far-no): Family
Ka kite ano: See you later (commonly used by news anchors)
Mana: Respect
Kai: Food
Ka pai: Good work