“Sweet as! Trampin’ in the wops are ya? Need a bach when yer done?”  

For the first time during our five years of travels, the country we chose has English as its predominant language. Easy, right? Little did we know how much we would have to learn. Take that phrase at the top. When we first got to New Zealand, it would have baffled us as much as a sentence in another language. After a crash course in living with Kiwi slang (in this case, Kiwi means the people, not the national bird or the fruit, and it is decidedly NOT derogatory), we can tell you what it means: “Cool! Awesome! Going for a nice long hike, way out in the countryside? Do you need a small house to stay in when you get back?”

“Sweet as” is a particularly common expression that we came to love—and it’s not to be misheard as a compliment of one’s derriere. It likely started as an abbreviated version of a longer expression, like “sweet as candy” or whatever your preferred treat might be. But now you hear it everywhere, with the end of the simile dropped, meaning just “cool” or “awesome” or “great,” and I doubt anyone would say it sounds like it’s missing something at the end.

Another of my favorites is “8-wired.” And it’s not my favorite because it’s the name of a delicious craft beer, I swear. Or because it’s on the only t-shirt I brought home from from New Zealand. To 8-wire something is to solve problems using the materials available to you in the moment, like we might say “jury-rig” (a horrible expression that sounds more criminal than making the best of a challenge) or “MacGyver” (based on a TV show from the 1980s). In New Zealand, farmers have long used wire with a gauge or thickness of “8” to mend fences and fix just about anything, so it has become a symbol of the island nation’s resourcefulness and ingenuity. We have plenty of resourceful people in the States, but we need a more ingenious phrase than something adopted from a TV character. Or maybe that’s just appropriate.

It’s not just slang that makes Kiwi English unique – it’s also the seamless integration of native Maori words with English. For example, Aotearoa is the Maori name for New Zealand, meaning the land of the long white cloud. You’ll often see or hear it used interchangeably or along with New Zealand, or “Aotearoa/New Zealand.” Likewise, Te Araroa is the Maori word for “the long pathway” and it is now the name of a long trail like the Appalachian Trail, running the length of both islands. Add expressions that are common in British English (like “boot” for the trunk of a car) and some that are uniquely New Zealand (like “lolly” for any kind of candy) and you have a musical variety of English that reflects New Zealanders’ dry humor, love of shortening long words, and overall cultural stew.

There are also lots of road signs in New Zealand that you just won’t find in the U.S.—or anywhere else that I’ve been. Some of these can be confusing if you don’t know any of the Maori language. I once wondered why so many schools were named the Kura School, for example, but it turns out Kura is not the name of one school, but the Maori word for any school. Other signs reflect the natural peculiarities of the country, like having lots of eels, sheep, and penguins. And some signs, well, they just made me laugh. So for your entertainment and edification, here are two slide shows of some of my favorite signs, along with a glossary of the terms that we heard most and were new to us.

Cheers, mates!

Slide Show #1: click on arrows to advance

Kiwi Slang: A Selected Glossary

Bach – holiday home

Boot – car trunk

Bush – New Zealand’s native forest

Chemist – pharmacy, drugstore

Chocolate fish – a common treat: chocolate-covered marshmallow in the shape of a fish

Dairy – corner convenience store

Flat white – the equivalent of a latte, but stronger and with more milk

Feijoa – a popular backyard tree and its edible fruit

Footie – a game of rugby 

Hokey pokey – honeycomb often found in ice cream and chocolate bars

Jandals – sandals, flip-flops

Lolly – any kind of candy

Op shops – thrift stores

Pakeha – non-Maori person

Pressie – a present or gift

Slice – a piece of a sweet, dense cake in various flavors (ginger was our favorite)

Sweet-as! – Cool! Awesome!

Toastie – Toasted sandwich

Track – Hiking trail

Tramping – Hiking

Wops or Wop-wops – Remote or rural area, the boonies

​Yeah, nah – A soft way of saying no. Often used with “You’re all good” to mean “I acknowledge your question and, no, you don’t need to do anything else.” 

You’re all good – It’s okay, thanks

Zed – the letter “Z”

Slide Show #2: click on arrows to advance