Australian slang has a very distinct sort of style. Many of it’s roots are heavily influenced by British and American slang. As time has progressed however, Australian slang has grown into it’s own creation and has created it’s own style. For example, a very popular way to create a slang word there is to take a word, shorten it, and then add a sort of an ending onto it. A word that portrays this well is ambo, which is short for ambulance. In this word they cut off everything except the ‘amb’ then they finished it off with an ‘o’. This is also common with names, some examples being taking a name with ‘ar’ in it and replacing it with ‘azza’ like Sharon is Shazza or Darren is Dazza.
The Australians aren’t afraid to really mess with some words, so when going there pay close attention. With some practice, you can pick it up quickly.
I you need some extra help, or just want to hear some of these words said out loud, I posted some videos to help called How to Speak Australian, Aussie Slang Words, and Australian Slang.
- ambo- ambulance
- ankle bitter- small child
- arvo- afternoon
- avos- avocados
- barbie- grill/barbecue
- bathers- swimwear
- bikkie- biscuit
- bizzo- business
- bludger- lazy person
- bogan- a rude uncivilized person
- bonnet- hood of a car
- bonzer- great/amazing
- boot- trunk of a car
- bottle shop- liquor store
- brekkie- breakfast
- buggered
- cark it- die
- chokkie- chocolate
- cockie- farmer
- cobba- mate or friend
- crook- badly made
- daks- pants(US)/trousers(UK)
- dag- goofy or awkward person (term of endearment)
- dill- an idiot
- dinnies- dinner
- dunny- bathroom/toliet
- durry- cigarette
- dux- top of the class
- earbashing- constant chatter
- esky- portable icebox or cooler
- fair dinkum- genuine/real
- galah- a fool
- game- brave
- grizzle- to complain
- gronk- dumb
- grouse- outstanding/tremendous
- grotty- dirty
- hooroo- goodbye
- journo- journalist
- lippy- lipstick
- lollies- sweet/candies
- Maccas- McDonalds
- mozzie- misquito
- ocker- unsophisticated person
- Oz- Australia
- pash- kiss
- pines- pine apples
- porky- lie
- prezzy- present/gift
- rapt- please/delighted
- ratbag- naughty children
- rellies- relatives
- ripper- amazing
- roo- kangaroo
- ropeable- very angry
- rotten- drunk
- sangas- sandwhiches
- sheila- female
- shonky- poor quality/counterfit
- snag- sausage
- sook- someone who complains a lot
- spiffy- nice looking (i.e spiffy shoes)
- sticky beak- take a look
- strewth- a word of exclamation (i.e gosh)
- stubby- bottle of beer
- sunnies- sun glasses
- thongs- flip flops
- tinny- can of beer
- tracky dacks(trackies)- track suit
- trollied- drunk
- true blue- real or a real Australian
- tucker- food
- vedgies- vegetables
- wally- idiot
- whinge- to whine incessantly
- woop woop- nowhere (i.e way out in woop woop)
- yabber- talk
- yakka- work
The Slang Site 