1. Sweet as
This is what Kiwis say when we mean ‘no problem’, ‘awesome’ or ‘cool’. It is a standard response in text conversions and is used often in everyday life. “Hey, are you happy meeting up at the time I suggested?” “Yep, sweet as.” “Are you happy with fish and chips for dinner tonight?”, “Yeah, sweet as.” Though ‘sweet as’ is the most common form, almost any adjective can be placed in front of the ‘as’ to make a sentence “it’s quiet as in this hallway” or “it’s hot as at the beach today.” What the hallway is as quiet as, or what the beach is as hot as is never fully defined.
2. Chur/Choice
This is another Kiwi-ism that substitutes a completely different word for ‘cool’ or ‘awesome’ into the conversation. “Hey, I got you guys some food to eat” “Chur” “Oh choice bro!”
3. Bro or Cuz
This is what male friends often call one another. Although they will often not call their actual brothers bro, or their real cousins cuz. This is also the go-to label men use for each other in casual conversation. “Hey bro, how are things going?” “Good bro, how are you?” “Yeah, I’m really good too bro.”
4. Eh/Ay/Aye
This can be added to pretty much any sentence you can think of. This is basically what Kiwis do to turn all sentences into a question. Its pronounced “ay” but that doesn’t mean that’s how its spelt! No-one can agree a definitive spelling so everyone just writes it the way they prefer. “Its hot out there eh/ay/aye?” “Yeah bro, super warm eh/ay/aye?”
5. All good/No Worries
Both basically mean “okay”, “you’re welcome” or “everything is alright.” One or both is said in response to someone who thanks the person. Either can also be used in a situation where you are reassuring someone that they will be alright. “Oh no, I forgot my cricket ball bro!” “No worries mate, I’ve got mine in my bag.” “Sorry cuz, I forgot to buy you a pie!” “All good, I’ll buy my own later.”
6. Keen
When someone is enthusiastic about something this is normally the first response. “Do you wanna go to the beach later?” “Keen!”
7. Heaps
It means you have a lot of something. This is a word used by Kiwis that often confuses people from outside the country. “I have heaps of birthday cake leftover from my party last night” “I had heaps of that cake last night, it was delicious.”
8. Crack up
When something is funny, instead of saying “that’s funny” you can say “that’s crack up” instead. “That joke was crack up.”
9. Yeah-nah or Nah-yeah
Depending on what comes at the end this either means yes or no. “Yeah-nah” means I’m not sure, I get what you’re saying, but it’s a no. “Nah-yeah” means I’m not sure, I get what you’re saying and I think it’s a yes. “Would you like some of my chocolate bar?” “Oh, yeah-nah, not really” or “Oh, yeah-nah-yeah, I probably shouldn’t but I can’t resist Cadbury chocolate.”
10. Yarn
Telling a story. Sometimes people will say that its false because it sounds so crazy. “That old guy told a really long yarn last night!” “Yeah, you reckon it was all true or he made some of it up?”
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