LIM College

by Nicole Porras

Australia, is a country known for shortening almost all of their words and for using phrases that pretty much only make sense to Aussie’s. I am almost halfway done with my trip, and I have already encountered so many phrases and words that I was not use to prior to coming to Australia.

Below I have listed a couple of Aussie phrases that I have already encountered while studying abroad and how they translate to us Americans. 

How ya' goin? = How are you? 

G’day = Hello 

Mates = Friends

Good on ya' = Good job or good for you

Fortnight = 14 days, or 2 weeks

Capsicum = Peppers

Coriander = Cilantro

Avo = Avocado 

Arvo = Afternoon

Woop-woop = middle of no where

Thongs = Flip-Flops

The boot = The trunk of the car

I’m pissed = I’m drunk

Brekkie = Breakfast

Tea = sometimes used to refer to dinner time 

Chips = French Fries

Rubbish bin = Garbage Can

Biscuits = Cookies

Crisps = Chips

Measly = Granola

Keen = Excited

Cheers = Thank you

No worries = You're welcome

Heaps = Tons or a lot

Do ya' reckon? = Do you think?

I’m sure there are so many more that I can’t think of at the moment, but some good advice if you are planning to study abroad in Australia would be to go on YouTube, and on the internet and start familiarizing yourself with the Aussie lingo. That’s what I did prior to coming here, and it really helped prepare me for all the new terms and words. I hope to go back to America using some of the awesome new words and phrases I’ve learned since I’ve been here. I love Aussie English!