Australian English phrasebook

Australian English is the main language of Australia. Increasing globalisation and a move away from bush (rural) living has seen Australian English adopt a lot of American terms while at the same time romanticising words commonly associated with the bush such as "mate", "g'day", and "drongo". Note: while urban Australians are happy to make fun of their less sophisticated countrymen for using these terms, they still view them as being uniquely Australian and an integral part of their culture.

This guide should be viewed as an informal and fun introduction to some Australian idiosyncrasies, rather than a guide on how to communicate. English speaking travellers are best advised just to speak clearly, as most Australians are used to a variety of accents. An attempt to use the Australian slang will likely be viewed as an attempt to mock, rather than as a genuine attempt to speak the local dialect. It's better to avoid scrapes and use the guide to interpret Steve Irwin's tv shows.

Pronunciation guide

Vowels

Consonants

Common diphthongs

Phrase list

Basics

Hello. 

Hello. ( )

Hello. (informal) 

G'day. ( )

How are you? 

How are ya? ( ?)

Fine, thank you. 

Not bad mate. ( )

What is your name? 

What's ya name mate? ( ?)

Nice to meet you. 

Nice ta meet ya. ( )

Please. 

C'mon mate. ( )

Thank you. 

Cheers mate. ( )

You're welcome. 

No worries / No dramas. ( )

Do you ? 

D'ya ? ( )

Yes. 

Yeah. ( )

No. 

Nah. ( )

Excuse me. (getting attention) 

Oi. ( )

I'm sorry. 

Sorry. ( )

That is okay (in response to sorry) 

You're right.

Goodbye 

Bye. ( )

Goodbye (informal) 

See ya later/cheers/hooroo. ( )

Help! 

I could use a hand! ( !)

Look out! 

Watch it! ( !)

Good morning. 

G'day. ( )

Good evening. 

Evenin'. ( )

Good night. 

'Night. ( )

Good night (to sleep) 

Nighty night. ( )

Are you looking for trouble? 

Oi mate! Do ya wanna fight ? ( ?)

Problems

How are you doing? 

How ya going?

Time

Duration

Yonks: commonly used to convey an exaggerated view of time, eg "I haven't seen you in yonks".

Months

Counting

1 - One

2 - A couple

3 - A few

Colors

Red Red

Yellow Yellow

Green Green

Blue Red

Etc...

Transportation

Bus and train

Bus,Train & Plane

How much is a ticket to _____? (bus, train) 

Mate How Much Ticket To Bloody___?; How much is a ticket to _____? (airplane) :

Mate How Much for A Ticket to Bloody ____?

One ticket to _____, please. (bus, train) 

One Ticket to ____ Mate, Cheers

One ticket to _____, please. (airplane) 

One Ticket To ______ Mate, O Cheers Mate

Where does this train/bus go? 

Where Does This Thing Stop

Where is the train/bus to _____? 

where Does This Bugger Going

Does this train/bus stop in/at _____? 

Does This train/Bus Stop ____?

When does the train/bus for _____ leave? 

Same

When will this train/bus arrive in _____? 

When Will This Bugger Arive In ______?

Directions

Taxi

Lodging

Money

Eating

Grab a feed

Bite to eat

Mung a pie

Authority

Cops, Coppers

Driving

Other

• The bush: collquialism, can be used to refer to outer suburbs by city dwellers or large, forrested areas of land with little to no development such as national parks.
• The outback: the deserts of inland Australia
• Drongo: an idiot or a fool
• Bloody hell!: Damn! Expression of anger.
• Full on: Comprehensive, heavy going, intimidating.
• Middy: A small glass (usually for beer) used in New South Wales.
• Schooner: A large glass (usually for beer) used in New South Wales.
• To take the piss: To make fun of someone or to trick them.
• To piss in someone's pocket: To be servile or overly complimentary to someone.
• Brickie: Bricklayer.
• Sparkie: Electrician.
• Chippie: Carpenter.
• Smoko: A break during the working day to smoke a cigarette.
• When an idea pops: OYE !
• To go berko: To go crazy.
• To be spewing: To vomit/ to be upset about something.
• Bloody oath!: I agree!
• I reckon...: I think.../(when said with affirmation) I agree!
• Too right!: I agree!
• Strewth!: Gosh! (short for the obsolete exclamation 'God's truth!'). Rarely used, even in the bush.
• Ute: A utility vehicle with a large tray on the back for equipment, often used on farms; known as a truck in American English.
• Bugger me!: Gosh! (to express disbelief or bewilderment).
• Bogan: An uneducated person; favoured expression outside of Sydney to describe Westies.
• Westie: An uneducated person (similar to the British 'chav'), a person from the western suburbs of Sydney or Melbourne
• Take away: Fast food also used instead of "to go" when ordering food.
• Boot:Trunk Of Car.
• Bugger: Stupid Thing.
• Ranga: Red Headed Person
• Bin: Trash Can
• Chrissy: Christmas.
• Prezzie: Present.

This page was last edited by Ian Sergeant. Based on work by Tim Sandell, Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel and others. - Content on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license