After living in New Zealand for 18 months, we’ve come to love the way the Kiwis speak! In general, they are genuine, generous, and kind. New Zealand is also a melting pot with a mixture of cultures! It’s fun to listen to the many different accents from all over the world. I think my favorite accent is the Maori accent…I will never get tired of listening to them speak! It’s a fun blend of British and relaxed slang. It’s the best! My kids have picked up the sayings really fast and some of them have even picked up the Kiwi accent on a few words….it’s the cutest! We love a lot of the New Zealand terms and sayings, but here are the 10 Kiwi sayings that everyone should say, according to me!
Good on you- instead of saying good for you, like you should be proud of yourself (Good on you for getting straight A’s!)
Cheers- an informal salutation meaning thanks or good bye or see ya (Cheers bro!)
Pardon- excuse me or what? (If you don’t understand something someone says, you can say “Pardon?”)
No worries- not a problem, you’re welcome (Thank you for giving this to me. No worries!)
Lovely- not necessarily beautiful on the outside but a really sweet person (She is such a lovely person.)
Rubbish- garbage (Put this paper in the rubbish bin. OR That movie was rubbish!)
Winge- whine or complain (Stop your wingeing and get to work!)
Sweet as- that’s cool, sweet, awesome (That movie was sweet as!) Really, they add “as” onto many things….cool as, bad as, tough as….
Heaps- a lot, tons (There were heaps of people at the concert.)
Keen- want, up for (Are you keen on going to the movies on Saturday?)
Try incorporating those sayings and terms into your everyday life and you’ll soon sound like a real Kiwi!
