Kiwi Slang

Here is a list of some of the Kiwi slang I am learning:

The most striking and most commonly heard phrase here in New Zealand is “sweet as”, or simply any incomplete comparison (fast as, cheap as, kiwi as, fresh as, ____ as). Sweet as basically means, “all good,” or “right on,” – like “sweet as sugar”, only the “sugar” is silent. Striking, because (kiwi accent or not) it sounds remarkably like sweet ass, but I have been assured by many people that there is, in fact, no correlation. I have also been told that all adjectives are acceptable to use in an incomplete comparison, but nouns, however, are not. So for all those out there saying, “we are going to party as” or “shoes as,” that does not work.

“Good on ya” is another commonly used phrase, meaning well done, or good for you.

Dodgy – the New Zealand equivalent for sketchy. We went to a dodgy house party on Wednesday (don’t worry mom, we didn’t stay very long).

Heaps – means a lot. I got heaps of free pens at tent city this week.

Togs and Jandals – swim suit and flip-flops. I got a free pair of jandals (literally a contraction of Japanese sandals) at tent city for filling out a survey for a Christian student group at tent city.

Freshers – Kiwi term for freshman. Heaps of freshers at the O-Week events.