Australians don't have one specific phrase for "I don't know," but they use casual slang like "Dunno" (most common), "Beats me," or simply a shrug with "Nah, not sure," often with a distinctive "naur" sound for "no". They also use phrases like "She’ll be right" (meaning it'll be okay) or just trail off, but "Dunno" is the closest equivalent to "I don't know" in general Aussie speak, says Aussie English and Charles Sturt University.
👉 'Dunno' in Australia means 'I don't know' 👉 We love shortening words! 👉 If you don't know the answer to something you can say 'dunno' which is short for 'I don't know'
What does "naur" mean and how do you use it? "Naur" is "no" spelled in an Australian accent. More accurately, it's "no" spelled in what an Australian accent sounds like to Americans. "When you tell an Australian that there's an 'r' in the way we pronounce 'no' they're like 'Mmm…
"Oy oy oy" in Australia is most famously part of the patriotic chant "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi!" used at sporting events to show national pride, but "Oi" also functions as a general Australian informal interjection, like "hey" or "excuse me," to get someone's attention. The chant itself comes from the British "Oggy Oggy Oggy" cheer for Cornish pasties and became popular in Australia after the 2000 Olympics.
Here are 5 common Aussie slang words/phrases: G'day (hello), Mate (friend), Arvo (afternoon), No worries (no problem/you're welcome), and Barbie (barbecue), with many Aussies shortening words (like Brekkie for breakfast, Servo for gas station) and using colourful terms for everyday things.
Another classic case of Australians shortening everything. Meaning 'thank you', ta is usually used for the times when you are in a rush or want to send a quick text to show your appreciation for something.
Common Australian slang for a girl includes "Sheila" (older, sometimes dated or slightly derogatory), "chick," or just using general terms like "mate," "gal," or "lass," with context and tone being important, but "girl" is still widely used; some slang, like "moll," can refer to a girlfriend or a promiscuous woman, while "bogan" describes an unsophisticated person.
"Oi oi oi baka" is a viral TikTok trend where someone (usually a high school student) gets up on a chair, desk, or table and shouts "Oi oi oi baka!" at school or in public. It may be inspired by a character named Bakugou from an anime called My Hero Academia. In Japanese, the phrase means, "Hey, hey, hey, idiot!"
No, Australia is not 90% white; while a large majority identify with European ancestry (around 76-80% in recent years), a significant and growing portion identifies as Asian, African, Middle Eastern, or Indigenous, making it a highly multicultural nation with diverse ethnic backgrounds, not overwhelmingly white. Recent census data shows European ancestry (English, Irish, etc.) makes up a large chunk, but Asian ancestries are also substantial, with over 17% Asian population and around 3.8% identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, per the 2021 census data from Wikipedia.
Sheesh. Expresses surprise, disbelief, or admiration. Gen Z's definition of sheesh is hyping someone up. Gen Alpha's meaning is disbelief ("wow") or surprise.
you hear that r SoundOn over and river. But Australian accents are non rhotic, so that means that we only pronounce an r. when the word is followed by a vowel. So if I say over the river, you can hear it's just over the river, but as soon as the next word has a vowel at the front, then an R sound is pronounced.
Woop Woop is used to refer to a place in the middle of nowhere. People use it to signify that a location is far away, unfamiliar to them, and difficult to get to.
"Straya" is a colloquial, affectionate, and humorous slang term for Australia, representing a shortened, phonetic pronunciation of the country's name, often used in a casual context to show national identity and a laid-back attitude. It embodies the Australian tendency to shorten words and can be heard in phrases like "G'day, Straya!".
Australians use a couple of other colloquial words for a hen's egg. The Australian English word googie or goog is an informal term that dates from the 1880s. It derives from British dialect goggy, a child's word for an egg. A closer parallel to the jocular bum nut, however, is the word cackleberry.
Australians commonly call the bathroom the loo, the toilet, or simply the bathroom, but slang terms like the "dunny" (especially for outdoor/older toilets) or "bog" are also used, while formal terms include "Gents" or "Ladies," with "restroom" being less common.
Pommy or pom
Newspapers in Australia were using the term by 1912, with it appearing first in Western Australia, and was said to be short for pomegranate, with the terms "jimmy" and "jimmigrant" also in use. The term Ten-pound Pom refers to British (subsidized) migrants to Australia and New Zealand after World War II.
"Ozzy Ozzy Ozzy, Oi Oi Oi" (often written as "Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi") is a patriotic Australian sports chant, a rallying cry of national pride, originating from older British cheers like "Oggy Oggy Oggy," with "Aussie" being slang for Australian, and "Oi" functioning as an emphatic interjection, similar to "Hey!" or "Go!". It's used at sporting events, sometimes considered a bit cheesy or "cringey" by some Australians, but generally seen as an inclusive way to support national teams.
(slang, usually in the plural) A woman's breast.
A notable exponent of the term is Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle from George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion; "I ain't done nothing wrong by speaking to the gentleman". Ain't is a non-standard feature commonly found in mainstream Australian English and in New Zealand, ain't is a feature of Māori-influenced English.
Another versatile phrase that often perplexes people, “yeah nah”, is used in conversation either when someone agrees with your negative stance on something, or conversely, they follow your train of thought but don't really agree with what you're saying. Example: "I can't wait to try the oysters in Tasmania!"
A "bogan" in Australia (and New Zealand) is slang for an uncouth, unsophisticated, or unrefined person, often from a working-class background, characterized by specific tastes, fashion (like mullets, flannelette shirts), speech, and behavior, though the term can be derogatory, humorous, or even self-adopted, depending on context and intent, referring to a laid-back, anti-establishment attitude rather than just poverty.
Face Like a Dropped Pie
Meaning: A disappointed or sullen expression. “He had a face like a dropped pie when he realised his team wasn't gonna win.”