The Incomplete Dictionary of Kiwi Slang and Terminology - by Tre

I think that "Kiwi" should be recognized as its own language. Really, all their sentences sound like questions and their speaking is so rapid-fire that it can be difficult to tell what they're saying. And that's not even mentioning the slang.

New Zealanders, otherwise known as "Kiwis," have all sorts of different slang and local parlance, which is words and technology specific to a region. To an outsider, it can be challenging to tell what they're talking about when they say that they were "tramping out in the wup-wups." But, as I spend more time here, I'm starting to get a hang of it. 

First off, you might be very confused if you're looking at a restaurant's menu and you see that they put tomato sauce on their burger. There's no need to panic—it's just ketchup. 

French fries are called chips, and chips are called chippies (Kiwis love slapping a "y" on the end of a word). 

For the next time you run into a Kiwi, let me save you some confusion. I give you....The Incomplete Dictionary of Kiwi Slang and Terminology.

Chur: Thanks or thank you. They don't always say chur instead of thank you, but you hear it now and again.

Togs: Another word for swimsuits. The word tog doesn't have an implied gender; it can be used to mean both men's and women's swimsuits.

Jandals: Flip flops.

Yarn: A friendly chat or conversation.

Far out: Similar to "wow" or "awesome."

Yeah, nah: You can probably figure this one out pretty easily. Kiwis are extremely friendly and agreeable, so even when they are disagreeing with you they might throw in a "yeah."

Barbie: Short for a barbecue. You might ask for a couple of snags (sausages) off the barbie.

Chocka: Full. You might be chocka from all those snags. 

Tramping: Hiking

Out in the Wup-Wups: Also spelled wop-wops. Out in the middle of nowhere. 

Squiz: A quick look. E.g. "have a squiz at this!"

Hard out: You might say this if you really agreed with someone. As in: "Tomato Sauce is the best." "Hard out!" 

Cark it: To die. Like, "How's that old goldfish of yours doing?" "Oh, she carked it the other day."

A Dairy: A corner store or mercantile, which are quite common in New Zealand. 

Grotty: Unpleasant or dirty. "That rubbish bin is smelling pretty grotty."

Ay: Also spelled eh, it's one of the Kiwi's favorite words to throw on to the end of a sentence. It can mean anything from "what do you think about that?" to "could you say that again" to "don't you agree?" It's most often used like "right?" or "ya know." You might say "Pretty grotty, ay?

There you have it, all the random slang that we have encountered in New Zealand thus far. There's probably a whole lot more out there; who knows, we might have to make an update. Until next time.

-Tre Peterson