Culture & etiquetteBy Clever Tourists · Published
New Zealand English mixes two things a visitor needs to know: Kiwi slang, and te reo Māori words that are part of everyday speech. You'll hear kia ora from airline staff and sweet as from the person at the campground desk, sometimes in the same minute. This guide groups both by situation, with American equivalents for the slang and a say-it-like guide for the Māori words and place names. We spent nearly four weeks in New Zealand in February and March 2023, all of it on the South Island; slang is checked against Collins, Cambridge and Wiktionary, and every Māori word against Te Aka Māori Dictionary.
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"Kia ora" is the greeting you'll hear most, from everyone, Māori or not. It means hello, and it's also used for thanks and best wishes. Using it back is welcome; you don't need to be Māori or fluent.
The more formal Māori greetings (tēnā koe, haere mai) are in the te reo section below.
| What you'll hear | What it means | US equivalent | When you'll hear it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kia ora | Hello; also thanks, cheers | Hi; thanks | Everywhere: shops, airlines, radio, emails |
| Mōrena | Good morning | Morning! | Radio, offices, campgrounds |
| Cheers | Thanks, or bye | Thanks, bye | Leaving a shop, a bus, a café |
| Ka kite | See you (short for ka kite anō, see you again) | See you later | Casual goodbyes, radio sign-offs |
Two words do most of the work. "Sweet as" means great, all good, or no problem; the "as" just hangs at the end, with no comparison coming. "Chur" is a casual thanks or "awesome", and some people also use it as a goodbye.
Both are informal. In a shop or a hostel they are perfectly normal; you'd drop them in a formal meeting.
| What you'll hear | What it means | US equivalent | When you'll hear it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweet as | Great; all good; no problem | Sounds good, no problem | Confirming a booking, agreeing to a plan |
| Chur | Thanks; awesome; sometimes bye | Thanks, man | Casual thanks, especially younger Kiwis |
| No worries | You're welcome; no problem | No problem | After every thank you |
| Ka pai | Good, well done | Good job | Praise at work, school, on the radio |
| Heaps | Lots; very | Tons; really | "Thanks heaps" |
| Stoked | Very pleased | Stoked, thrilled | Good news, a good surf |
New Zealand shares Australia's café vocabulary: a flat white is espresso with steamed milk and little froth, and a long black is close to an Americano. Fries are "hot chips", and ketchup is tomato sauce.
A cooler is a chilly bin, and you'll want one on any road trip. "My shout" means I'm paying, the same as in Australia.
| What you'll hear | What it means | US equivalent | When you'll hear it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chilly bin | Insulated cooler | Cooler | Road trips, beaches, campgrounds |
| Flat white | Espresso with steamed milk, little froth | Close to a small latte | Every café |
| Long black | Espresso over hot water | Americano | Every café |
| Hot chips | Fries | Fries | Fish and chip shops, pub menus |
| Tomato sauce | Ketchup | Ketchup | With pies and hot chips |
| Pav | Pavlova: meringue dessert with cream and fruit | Pavlova | Christmas and summer barbecues |
| My shout | I'm paying | It's on me | Coffee, drinks, lunch |
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A dairy is a corner shop, not a farm. It sells milk, bread, snacks, ice cream and newspapers, and it's often the only shop open in a small town in the evening. A slightly bigger version is a superette. Card payment at the counter is EFTPOS.
| What you'll hear | What it means | US equivalent | When you'll hear it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dairy | Corner shop | Convenience store, bodega | Every suburb and small town |
| Superette | Small supermarket | Small grocery store | Small towns, holiday spots |
| EFTPOS | Card payment at the counter | Card terminal | Checkout signs |
| Bottle store | Liquor store | Liquor store | Buying beer or wine |
| Op shop | Charity secondhand shop | Thrift store | Main streets in most towns |
Tramping means hiking, often over several days on tracks with huts along the way. A bach (say "batch") is a small, simple holiday home, often by the beach, and plenty of them are rented out to visitors.
On the road, "give way" means yield, and many rural bridges are one lane with give-way signs at one end. Our New Zealand driving guide explains how they work.
| What you'll hear | What it means | US equivalent | When you'll hear it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tramping | Hiking, often overnight on hut tracks | Backpacking | Trailheads, DOC visitor centers |
| Bach | Small holiday home | Vacation cabin | Holiday rentals, beach towns |
| Tiki tour | A scenic or roundabout trip | The scenic route | "We took the tiki tour" |
| Give way | Yield | Yield | Road signs, one-lane bridges |
| Car park | Parking lot | Parking lot | Trailheads, towns |
| Kiwi | A New Zealander (also the bird) | New Zealander | Everywhere; the fruit is kiwifruit |
Flip-flops are jandals in New Zealand. Australians call them thongs, but in New Zealand ask for jandals. A swimsuit is togs.
As in Australia, an entrée on a menu is the starter, not the main course.
| What you'll hear | What it means | US equivalent | When you'll hear it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jandals | Flip-flops | Flip-flops | Beaches, everyday summer wear |
| Togs | Swimsuit | Swimsuit | Beaches, pools, lakes |
| Jumper | Sweater | Sweater | Cool evenings, the South Island |
| Gumboots | Rubber boots | Rain boots | Farms, wet tracks |
| Entrée | Starter | Appetizer | Restaurant menus |
Te reo Māori (the Māori language) is an official language of New Zealand, and its words are part of normal English: on signs, in the news, on airline announcements and in emails. You don't need to speak it, but recognizing these words helps, and using kia ora is always fine.
The guide below uses English sounds to get you close. The macron on a vowel (ā, ē, ī, ō, ū) means it is held longer, and it can change the meaning: tapu means sacred, while tāpu is a bathtub.
| Te reo Māori | Say it like | Meaning | When you'll hear it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tēnā koe | teh-naa ko-eh | Hello, or thank you (to one person) | More formal greetings, speeches |
| Tēnā koutou | teh-naa koh-toh | Hello, or thank you (to three or more people) | Addressing a group, tour guides |
| Haere mai | high-reh my | Welcome; come here | Airport, museum and visitor center signs |
| Nau mai | no my | Welcome | Often "nau mai, haere mai" on signs |
| Haere rā | high-reh raa | Goodbye (to someone leaving) | Farewells, speeches |
| Ka kite anō | ka kee-teh a-naw | See you again | Goodbyes; often shortened to ka kite |
| Ngā mihi | ngaa mee-hee | Acknowledgements, regards | End of emails and letters |
| Aroha nui | a-ro-ha noo-ee | Much love | Signing off messages to friends |
| Whānau | faa-no | Extended family | Family passes, "whānau-friendly" |
| Kai | kye (rhymes with eye) | Food, a meal | Menus, "kai time" |
| Aotearoa | a-o-teh-a-ro-a | Māori name for New Zealand | News, official names, everyday speech |
| Pākehā | paa-keh-haa | New Zealander of European descent | News, conversation |
| Iwi | ee-wee | Tribe, people | News, place information boards |
| Marae | ma-rye | Courtyard in front of a meeting house; also the whole complex | Cultural tours and visits |
| Wharenui | fa-reh-noo-ee | Meeting house | Marae visits |
| Wharekai | fa-reh-kye | Dining hall | Marae, some cafés |
| Wharepaku | fa-reh-pa-koo | Toilet | Bilingual toilet signs in some public buildings |
| Tapu | ta-poo | Sacred, restricted | Signs at sacred sites, cultural tours |
| Mana | ma-na | Prestige, authority, status | News, sport, conversation |
| Koha | ko-ha | Gift, donation | "Entry by koha": pay what you choose |
| Hāngī | haa-ngee | Earth oven, and the meal cooked in it | Cultural evenings, especially Rotorua |
| Pōwhiri | paw-fee-ree | Formal welcome ceremony | Marae visits, official events |
| Hongi | ho-ngee | Pressing noses in greeting | End of a pōwhiri |
Most visitors stumble on place names, and locals notice the effort. Four rules get you most of the way: "wh" usually sounds like f; "ng" is the sound in singer, even at the start of a word; every syllable ends in a vowel; and every vowel is sounded.
The vowels are close to Spanish or Italian ones: a as in car, e as in egg, i as in ski, o as in or, u as in flute. The r is a light tap, close to the d in "judder." Break names into syllables (consonant plus vowel) and say each one.
| Te reo Māori | Say it like | Meaning | When you'll hear it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rotorua | ro-to-roo-a | roto (lake) and rua (two) | North Island geothermal town |
| Kaikōura | kye-kaw-oo-ra | kai (food) and kōura (crayfish) | South Island coast, whale watching |
| Taupō | toe-paw | Lake and town | Central North Island |
| Whangārei | fa-ngaa-ray | Northland's main city | Drives north of Auckland |
| Pukaki | poo-ka-kee | Lake on the road to Aoraki/Mount Cook | South Island road trips |
| Wai- | wye | Water | Starts dozens of names: Waitomo, Waiheke, Waitangi |
| Roto- | ro-to | Lake | Rotorua, Rotoiti |
| Awa | a-wa | River | In river and town names |
| Maunga | moh-nga | Mountain | Mountain names and signs |
Follow your hosts on a marae. On an organized visit you'll usually be welcomed with a pōwhiri; listen to the guide and do what the group does. Shoes come off before you enter the wharenui (meeting house), and food stays out of it; it is eaten in the dining hall. If your group is asked for a koha, it is handed over as part of the ceremony, not tipped at the door.
Don't start a hongi yourself. The hongi (pressing noses) comes at the end of a pōwhiri, and you join in when the hosts offer it. Some marae now use a handshake instead. Outside a formal welcome, a handshake is the normal greeting.
Tipping is not expected anywhere, in restaurants, cafés, taxis or hotels. Round up if service was genuinely good; nobody will be waiting for it. Our New Zealand tipping guide has more.
Try the Māori words and names; don't joke about them. Mispronouncing Whangārei is normal for a visitor. Deliberately mangling names for laughs is not, and Kiwis do notice the difference.
Chur is casual Kiwi slang for thanks or "awesome", and some people also use it to say bye. It's informal, so it fits a café or hostel, not a formal meeting.
It means great, all good or no problem. The "as" isn't followed by anything; "sweet as" is the whole phrase.
Yes. Kia ora means hello, thanks and best wishes, it's used by New Zealanders of every background, and saying it back is welcome.
A dairy is a corner shop selling milk, bread, snacks and ice cream, the New Zealand version of a convenience store.
Usually like an English f, so Whangārei starts with "fa" and whānau sounds like "faa-no".
Flip-flops. New Zealanders say jandals where Australians say thongs.
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