Kiwis talk funny, we all know that. While their language is basically 'Murican they have confused the sound of their Es and Is and they tend to swallow their Ls. Seems a little goofy at first but I've come to find it rather endearing, especially when they're angry.* But it's not only the pronunciation that is different, there are some key variations in vocabulary as well that range from adorable to downright confusing to oddly logical. In no particular order:
sweet as: Apparently this phrase is so defining that advertisers see fit to paste huge garishly colored banners of it everywhere in an attempt to sell their equally garish products. Of course the question is, dear reader, sweet as what? Sweet as money? Sweet as honey? Sweet as a moneyed honey? No, it turns out this simply means "sweet". Less commonly but equally sweet as-ily this wording is used with any ol' adjective the speaker deems fit. "Keen as", "knackered as", "munted as".
flash: boss, dope, moist, rad, sick. Have heard this used to describe everything from a slick car to linseed-sunflower seed-almond-peanut butter. You could get really crazy and say "flash as".
how ya goin'?: adorable combo of "how's it going?" and "how ya doin'?"
y'alright?: When I first heard this in a store I thought I must look pale and the salesperson was asking me if I needed an ambulance. Turns out it's more like "can I help you?"
that's all right: you're welcome.
knackered: how you feel after staying up till 5:30 in the morning and then being awoken by the sun and greenhouse effect raising the temperature in your van to an unbearable level by 9.
munted: screwed up, effed.
capsicum: pepper! The green or red or yellow (or orange or purple) type. This is one of those words that sometimes reveals the identity crisis within the Kiwi psyche. If you ask anyone the name of the vegetable (culinarily speaking) in question they will insist on capsicum, if you go to the store to buy one it will be labeled capsicum as well. But if you go to New World's self-checkout aisle and want to actually pay for it you will search through the Cs and the Rs before you finally decide to check the Ps, where lo-and-behold you see "peppers, red".
courgette: what we in the States would call zucchini. Apparently we've sided with the Italians, the Kiwis with the French.
togs: swimwear. It took a while but I've decided I really like this word. Short and sweet, gender neutral, equally applied to your bikini or boardies.
jandals: flip-flops. I'm sorry but I just don't like this word.
carpark: this is where you take your car to play with the other cars and have a poo. Or so I thought. Actually it means "parking lot".
panel beater: body shop, like for your ride. The prevalence of these businesses may or may not give you some indication of the quality of Kiwi driving schools.
chilly bin: cooler. I prefer the Aussie term "esky", though I admit the Kiwi expression is totes adorbs.
torch: flashlight. The first time someone asked me if I had one I seriously had visions of Indiana Jones. What I would call torch the Kiwis call torch.
cuppa: a cup of...something. Usually hot, probably tea or coffee. As in, "time for a cuppa".
take the piss: I admit to being rather confused when I first heard this one, but it means, more-or-less, "make fun of" or "ridicule" or something along those lines. (Right?)
yeah nah: no. Like many of these expressions it really only sounds right in a Kiwi accent.
* sorry if I sound like a patronizing prick
