Australian Slang for Tourists — 40 Phrases to Know Before You Visit
G’DAY
Convict Shirts — Australian Slang Series
SLANG FOR
TOURISTS
40 essential Australian phrases, ordered by how often you’ll actually need them. G’day, no worries, yeah nah, thongs are footwear.
Before You Arrive — What You Actually Need
Australian slang has a reputation for being impenetrable. This reputation is somewhat earned but mostly exaggerated. The core vocabulary that visitors need to navigate daily life is smaller than it appears, and the most important terms are the ones that prevent genuine misunderstandings rather than the ones that sound most exotic.
Thongs are shoes. A root is a sexual act. Bathers are swimwear. These three facts alone will prevent the most common tourist errors. The rest is enrichment.
The list below is ordered by practical frequency — the terms you will encounter most often are listed first. The terms at the end are rarer but higher-stakes if misunderstood.
The 40 Phrases — Ordered By Frequency
1
G’day
Hello. A contraction of good day, used as a general greeting at any time of day or night. The most internationally recognised Australian expression. Use it freely — it reads as friendly rather than affected when used by visitors. The response is also g’day.
“G’day mate.” / “G’day, how are ya?”
2
No worries
You’re welcome; it’s fine; don’t concern yourself. The standard response to a thank-you and the standard response to an apology. Also used as a general reassurance. One of the most frequently heard phrases in Australian English. Interchangeable in most contexts with she’ll be right.
“Thanks heaps.” — “No worries.”
3
Mate
Friend; the standard term of address for any person regardless of actual relationship. Used between strangers, acquaintances, and close friends with equal frequency. Not gendered — women use it too. If an Australian calls you mate, it means nothing more than that they’re talking to you. If they call you “mate” with a specific tone, pay attention.
“You right, mate?” / “Ta, mate.”
4
Yeah nah
No. Acknowledges the question, declines the proposition. Yeah = I heard you; nah = but no. Do not confuse with nah yeah, which means yes. The word order is everything.
“Coming out?” — “Yeah nah, early start.”
5
Nah yeah
Yes. The inverse of yeah nah. Signals agreement, sometimes with mild surprise. Again: word order is the entire content of these two phrases.
“Was it good?” — “Nah yeah, really good.”
6
Thongs
Flip-flops; rubber sandals. Not underwear. This is the most important vocabulary disambiguation for tourists. Asking where someone got their thongs while looking at their feet is a normal Australian conversation. The same question while looking elsewhere is not.
“Just wearing thongs to the beach.”
7
Arvo
Afternoon. Standard diminutive. This arvo means this afternoon. Sunday arvo is Sunday afternoon. Used universally.
“See you this arvo.”
8
Brekkie
Breakfast. Smashed avo on sourdough for brekkie is a sentence that requires no translation but does require about eighteen dollars.
“What’s for brekkie?”
9
The shout
Taking turns buying rounds of drinks. When someone says my shout, they are buying drinks for everyone present. You are expected to reciprocate when it is your turn. Leaving before your shout is a social transgression. Refusing to join the shout is permitted but noted.
“My shout — what are you having?”
10
Servo
A service station; a petrol station. Stop at the servo means stop at the petrol station. Servos in regional areas are also general stores and sometimes the only source of food for considerable distances.
“Pull into the servo — need fuel.”
11
Bathers / Togs / Cossie
Swimwear. Regional variation: bathers is Victoria and South Australia; togs is Queensland; cossie (from costume) is New South Wales. All mean the same thing. Using the wrong regional term identifies you as being from somewhere else, which is fine.
“Don’t forget your bathers.”
12
She’ll be right
It will be fine; don’t worry about it. An expression of optimism that may or may not be warranted. Reflects a cultural tendency toward relaxed attitudes to problems that have not yet become serious. Sometimes accurate. Sometimes not.
“Should we check the tyre pressure?” — “She’ll be right.”
13
Reckon
Think; believe; suppose. I reckon prefaces an opinion. You reckon? expresses mild scepticism or requests confirmation. One of the most frequently used words in Australian casual speech.
“I reckon it’ll rain.” / “You reckon?”
14
Heaps
Very; a lot; extremely. Heaps good means very good. Heaps of time means a lot of time. Functions as both intensifier and quantity word.
“Heaps good.” / “Ta heaps.” (thank you very much)
15
Ta
Thank you. Brief, casual, entirely standard. From British English but thoroughly Australian in frequency of use. Ta heaps is an intensified form.
“Ta.” / “Ta for that.”
16
Arvo sesh
An afternoon drinking session. Sesh (session) combined with arvo. Common on weekends. Begins earlier than visitors typically expect.
“Coming to the arvo sesh?”
17
Snag
A sausage. Essential vocabulary at any outdoor event. The democracy sausage — a snag in white bread sold outside polling stations on election day — is a genuine institution.
“Throw another snag on.”
18
Bottle-o
A bottle shop; a liquor store. From the diminutive pattern (bottle shop → bottle + o). Run to the bottle-o means purchase alcohol. Standard vocabulary.
“Grab some wine from the bottle-o.”
19
Footy
Football — but which code depends entirely on where you are. In Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory: Australian Rules football (AFL). In New South Wales and Queensland: rugby league (NRL). In some contexts, rugby union. Ask which code before forming an opinion.
“Watching the footy tonight.”
20
Ute
A utility vehicle; a pickup truck. From utility. The ute is a significant vehicle in Australian culture, particularly in rural areas. The Holden ute achieved near-mythological status before Holden ceased Australian manufacturing in 2017.
“Throw it in the back of the ute.”
21
Tradie
A tradesperson — electrician, plumber, carpenter, builder. Tradies are a significant social and economic category in Australia. Getting a good tradie is considered a valuable social connection. My tradie is said with the same proprietary warmth as my doctor.
“Waiting on the tradie.”
22
Fair dinkum
Genuine; truly; really. Is that fair dinkum? means is that true? Fair dinkum as an exclamation expresses genuine surprise or confirmation. One of the most distinctively Australian expressions and one of the more internationally recognised ones.
“Fair dinkum?” (really?) / “Fair dinkum, it happened.”
23
Arvo cricket
Informal backyard or park cricket played on a summer afternoon. A genuine cultural institution. Rules are negotiated. One-hand-one-bounce is common. The bin or tree is a wicket. Everyone plays.
“Arvo cricket at ours after lunch.”
24
Stoked
Very excited; extremely pleased. From surf culture, now universal. Stoked about it means genuinely enthusiastic.
“Stoked you could make it.”
25
Chook
A chicken. Both the live animal and food. Roast chook is roast chicken. The chook raffle — a pub raffle with a frozen chicken as prize — is real and taken seriously.
“Pick up a chook on the way home.”
26
Smoko
A break from work; originally a smoke break, now any brief rest period regardless of whether smoking is involved. A protected cultural institution in Australian workplace culture.
“Back in ten — smoko.”
27
Hard yakka
Hard work; strenuous labour. Yakka (from Yagara Aboriginal language, meaning work) combined with the intensifier hard. That was hard yakka is a genuine acknowledgment of effort.
“Good result — hard yakka to get there.”
28
Devo
Devastated; very disappointed. A diminutive of devastated. Used for genuine distress and mild disappointment with equal frequency.
“Absolutely devo about the result.”
29
Drongo
A foolish or incompetent person. Between friends: affectionate. Between strangers: an assessment. Named after a racehorse who competed 37 times without a win.
“What a drongo.”
30
Bogan
A person considered unsophisticated. Complicated cultural valence — can be pejorative, affectionate, or self-applied with pride. Context is everything.
“Total bogan move.” / “Proud bogan.”
31
Woop woop
The middle of nowhere; an imaginary remote location. Not a real place, despite there being a real town called Woop Woop in South Australia.
“They live out in woop woop.”
32
Sunnies
Sunglasses. Standard diminutive. Non-negotiable vocabulary given Australian UV index levels.
“Forget your sunnies?”
33
Mozzies
Mosquitoes. Diminutive of mosquito. In tropical Australia, a significant practical concern rather than a vocabulary exercise.
“Mozzies are terrible tonight.”
34
Crook
Sick; unwell; also, dishonest or illegal. Feeling crook means feeling ill. That’s crook can mean that’s wrong or unfair. Context determines which sense is active.
“Feeling crook today.” / “That’s a bit crook.”
35
Crikey
An exclamation of surprise. Genuinely used, not merely a tourist performance, though it has achieved international recognition primarily through Steve Irwin. Mild in register.
“Crikey, that’s a big one.”
36
Arvo nap
An afternoon nap. Considered entirely reasonable on weekends. The arvo nap is a respected institution, particularly in summer.
“Going for an arvo nap.”
37
Rack off
Go away; leave. Mild to moderate in register. Not a serious insult but a genuine request for departure. Rack off, ya mug is a classic compound.
“Rack off.” / “Told him to rack off.”
38
Deadset
Absolutely; genuinely; an intensifier confirming the truth of a statement. Deadset legend is a high compliment. Deadset? as a question means are you serious?
“Deadset legend.” / “Deadset, that happened.”
39
Root
A sexual act (verb and noun). This is the highest-priority disambiguation on this list. Asking someone if they want to root for your team, or asking if they’re rooting for someone, or saying you rooted around in your bag, will produce unexpected reactions. Use support, rummage, or any synonym. Do not use root in any of these contexts.
Do not use casually. This note is the usage example.
40
She’ll be apples
Everything will be fine; it’ll work out. A variant of she’ll be right, using rhyming slang (apples and pears = stairs, but here the rhyme is freestanding as a general reassurance). Slightly more colourful than she’ll be right and slightly less common.
“She’ll be apples.”
On Tees
Australian Slang — On Tees
Fair dinkum. Yeah nah. Deadset. Organic cotton. First Friday every month.