"Heaps" And 9 Other Australian Slang Words You Should Know

22 January, 2021

Australian slang is almost a language of its own. Aussies (as they're also called) love to play with words, and to use shortened terms to explain things. Though some of them have roots in British English, Australian English has grown and changed into its own interesting type of language.

Many people recognize phrases like "shrimp on the barbie" (which isn't actually said in Australia), and "roo" (for kangaroo), but there are many more phrases that you'd hear during a trip or English course in Australia.

Cya this arvo

See you this afternoon.
Cya this arvo in class!

Daks

Trousers (UK), pants (US)
I got some new daks yesterday at the shop.

Dunnie

Toilet, bathroom
D'ya know where the dunnie is, mate?

Earbashing

Constant chatter/talking
Her earbashing while I tried to study was driving me crazy!

Fair dinkum

Genuine, real
Anna's a fair dinkum Aussie.

Heaps

A lot, lots
Thanks heaps for your help.

Hooroo

Goodbye
Hooroo mate, see ya tomorrow.

Rellies

Relatives
The rellies are in town this weekend and we're going to the beach.

Thong

Flip flops
I need a new pair of thongs, these are about to break.

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author: Cristobal Gomez (99 Posts)

Cristobal is the Global Marketing Manager of Kaplan International Languages; and he’s based in London HQ. Born in Málaga, Spain, Cris has always had a passion for languages; learning English as a second language himself. Cris has worked for in a wide variety of roles for different companies in the ELT space. Over the last four years, Cris has worked in administration, school operations, sales, managed a Juniors’ camp and is now busy running around with a clipboard in marketing. Cris is a musician, a basketballer and self-professed “gamer”.