Aussie Slang Examples That People Elsewhere in the World Don't Understand
Some of you drongos just wouldn't understand.
Australian slang has a way of sounding completely normal to locals and totally baffling to everyone else. A simple conversation can turn into a string of words that leave outsiders guessing, especially when the speaker is tossing around terms like mate without thinking twice.
That gap gets even funnier when Australians travel or chat with people from other countries and realize their everyday phrases do not land the same way. This roundup pulls together some of the most common Aussie slang examples that make perfect sense at home, but can sound like another language elsewhere.
Some of these are harmless, some are hilarious, and a few are so specific they practically need a translation guide. Read on.
I've never heard anyone say this.
SourceI'll laugh at anyone who utters words like 'crisps' in front of me. They're chips, mate.
SourceThat one is already causing trouble.
Thongs melting in summer here is more common than you'd think.
The summer we just had was awful.
Source
All factually correct.
Although everyone is "mate" to me.
Source
"A goon sack behind Maccas" is the most Australian thing I've read in a while. I love this country.
Source
It only gets more Australian from here.
Nah mate, that's the legit truth.
Source
What are you on about? Aussie slang is normal, mate.
Source
Alcohol. It's alcohol, mate.
Also... anyone keen for a Maccas run? Hit me up. Haha.
Source
Some of these translations are brutally straightforward.
It’s giving the same vibe as the friend who brought their own food to your expensive restaurant, then refused to split the bill.
Seriously, how else do you pronounce it?
Source
What he said. We can talk perfectly, ya drongo.
Source
This is a real sentence that gets uttered in various parts of this country.
Source
How to charm a woman in Australia.
Source
That line is doing a lot of work.
Think that's weird? In New Zealand, the Kiwis call Woolies 'Countdown,' and I have no idea why.
Source
3:40 PM
Source
That's root-shaming, and I won't stand for that. Haha.
Source
Did someone say 'choccy biccy'? Where?
Source
By now, the slang is basically its own language.
Suuuure.
Source
I'm afraid so, bud.
Source
Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong under the shade of a coolabah tree.
Source
Thanks, Ketut.
Source
Aussie slang never really slows down, and that is half the fun.
Want more boundary drama, read about a roommate confronting her girlfriend after she raided the secret snack stash.
