“Mate” is a popular word for friend. And while it's used in other English-speaking countries around the world, it has a special connection to Australia. In the past, mate has been used to address men, but it can be gender-neutral. In Australia, you'll also hear mate used in an ironic sense.
The Australian National Dictionary explains that the Australian usages of mate derive from the British word 'mate' meaning 'a habitual companion, an associate, fellow, comrade; a fellow-worker or partner', and that in British English it is now only in working-class use.
Common in many parts of the UK and Australia, 'mate' is a friendly way to address a person informally.
The word “mate” is very common in Australian and British English and can help you sound a lot more natural when speaking Englsih in these places.
The word “digger” – still used to identify Australian soldiers – first became interchangeable with mate on the Western Front. Digger, interestingly, is another word that harkens back to the goldfields and the egalitarian ideals of the Eureka Stockade rebellion of 1854.
It surely sounds strange to those who are familiar with American or British English, but it is a very common expression in Australia. G'day is a shortened form of 'Good Day' and it is the equivalent of 'Hello. ' Mate means friend or buddy and it can be used to address your friend or a total stranger.
Cozzie – swimming costume • Cranky – in a bad mood, angry • Crook – sick, or badly made • Cut lunch – sandwiches • Dag – a funny person • Daks – trousers • Dinkum, fair dinkum – true, real, genuine • Dipstick – a loser, idiot • Down Under – Australia and New Zealand • Dunny – outside toilet • Earbashing – nagging • ...
Almost everyone in Australia uses the word, and so does almost everyone in the UK! and travelled to Australia, ( in 1788,) where there is now 24 million so the odds are you would hear it more in the UK, but Aussies do say it a lot.
But in his new book Mateship: A Very Australian History, Dr Dyrenfurth traces the term back to the very first white Australians - the convicts. "The convicts brought with them from Britain the term mate, and they used it amongst themselves," he said.
The most common verbal greeting is a simple “Hey”, “Hello”, or “Hi”. Some people may use Australian slang and say “G'day” or “G'day mate”. However, this is less common in cities. Many Australians greet by saying “Hey, how are you?”.
The term "mate" is essentially gender neutral in Australia. This applies almost in all cases except perhaps if you're a male and bump into a woman who is 'generationally' older than you. In that case, just 'Sorry' or 'Excuse me' is fine.
Contributor's comments: "But" at the end of a sentence is used in Sydney where it is the same as putting "but" at the beginning of a sentence. Thus "But I didn't do it!" is the same as saying "I didn't do it, but!"
Too easy means something along the lines of that is easy to do and no problem (also known as no wakkas!). Example: After ordering a coffee, the waiter tells you that it is “too easy”. This means it is dead or it has broken. It is most often used to refer to inanimate objects such as lawn mowers or vehicles.
Aussies are friendlier than the British – sometimes even too friendly. Some say it's the weather, others say it's the carefree attitude – the Aussie motto is “she'll be right” which means “don't stress, it's all good”.
Australian English can be described as a new dialect that developed as a result of contact between people who spoke different, mutually intelligible, varieties of English. The very early form of Australian English would have been first spoken by the children of the colonists born into the early colony in Sydney.
By far the most common British slang word for friend is "mate". This is used by just about everyone in all parts of Britain. It's so common that it is really the only primary slang term for friend used anywhere in Britain—though you do have other regional terms like "mucker".
noun 1. a person who is poor: They can't afford to go - they're real povos. --adjective 2. poor, or befitting a poor person: povo clothes.
Australian slang is not dying, it's making its way up in the world.
Sheila = Girl
Yes, that is the Australian slang for girl.
hottie (plural hotties) (slang, Australia, New Zealand, now rare) Synonym of hotshot. (slang, originally Australia) A physically or sexually attractive person.
Munted (mun-ted) / Drunk.
Beaut!/Beauty!: beaut, beauty or 'you beauty' is a very Australian way to say that something is great. Bloke: another word for a man. Bludger: an Australian term for a lazy person. Bogan: the Australian equivalent of a redneck.
Mateship derives from mate, meaning friend, commonly used in Australia as an amicable form of address.