New Zealand slang is relaxed, short and friendly: “sweet as,” “chur,” “yeah nah” and a lot of words that end in “-ie” or “-o.” Kiwi English shares plenty with Australian English, but it has favorites of its own, and it borrows everyday words from te reo Māori. This guide explains the ones you’ll hear most, with a full entry for each.

Everyday words

• Sweet as: great, no problem.
• Chur: thanks, cheers or awesome.
• Yeah nah: a polite no.
• Hard out: totally, or with full intensity.
• Heaps: a lot, very.
• Kia ora: the Māori greeting for hello, thanks and good health.

Around the house and at the beach

• Jandals: flip-flops.
• Togs: swimwear.
• Chilly bin: a cooler box.
• Bach: a holiday home, usually simple and near the water.
• Dairy: the corner shop.

Out and about

• Tiki tour: the scenic, roundabout route.
• Wop-wops: the middle of nowhere.
• Smoko: a work break for tea and a snack.
• Ute: a pickup with a tray at the back.

When things go wrong

• Munted: broken, wrecked or ruined.
• Pack a sad: to break down, or to sulk.

Kiwi or Aussie?

A lot of everyday slang is shared across the Tasman: heaps, arvo, smoko, ute and togs all work in both countries. Some of the most common objects get different names, though. New Zealanders wear jandals and fill a chilly bin from the dairy; Australians wear thongs and fill an esky. And New Zealand English uses far more te reo Māori in daily life, with words like kia ora (hello, thanks), kai (food) and whānau (family) used by Māori and Pākehā alike.

How Kiwis talk

A few habits stand out. Kiwis tack “as” onto adjectives for emphasis (sweet as, easy as, keen as). They use “eh” at the end of a sentence to invite agreement, more often, Wikipedia notes, than the stereotypical Canadian. And many New Zealanders finish statements with a rising tone that can make them sound like questions to outsiders.

For more, see our Australian slang guide, British slang, South African slang, or the full A–Z index.