New Zealand Slang For Friend (Helpful Content!)

The most common New Zealand slang terms for friend are simple ones like “bro” and “mate”. These are by far the most commonly used and universally understood, being simple and vital parts of everyday speech in Kiwi slang. Other than that, they will often use common phrases like “pal,” “buddy,” or variations of bro like “cuzzy bro”.

“Friend” is such a common part of everyday speech that most of us don’t even realize how often we use our relevant slang phrases.

In New Zealand, slang terms that mean friend are used constantly as ways to address just about anyone, whether it’s your best friend or a complete stranger in the street.

This is very common in the English-speaking world.

Let’s find out more.

What do New Zealanders call friends?

Kiwis in New Zealand are most likely to refer to their friends as “mate” or “bro”.

Both of these terms are largely considered to be gender-neutral, so it doesn’t matter whether you’re referring to a male or female friend.

It’s hard to say which is the most common, but “bro” is perhaps considered to be the more quintessentially New Zealand slang.

You’ll hear New Zealanders use this term constantly, peppered throughout conversations and something many just can’t help but use constantly.

It’s by no means unique to New Zealand, of course, but many would argue New Zealanders use it more than any other nation.

A common variation of “bro”, which usually has the sense of “best friend” in New Zealand, is “cuzzy bro”.

So, the word for “friend” is the same, you simply add an extra word to increase the emphasis.

“Mate” is another very common slang expression in New Zealand used for friends.

Everyone, of every age and demographic, uses this term in New Zealand to some extent.

This one is of course more heavily associated with Australia, but it is almost as habitual in New Zealand.

Of course, there is a lot of shared culture between these two nations, if perhaps less than people tend to think.

“Mate” is considered by many to be a more inclusive term than “bro,” so if you’re stuck on which one to use, mate would probably be the better choice.

Other than that, more or less any common English-speaking slang or informal term for friend is used in New Zealand to some degree; “buddy,” “bud,” “pal,” and any other such terms will be used and understood in New Zealand.

Let’s look into where all these terms come from.

Why do New Zealanders say “bro”?

The word itself is naturally an abbreviation of the word “brother”.

This is what creates some of the tension around its inclusivity.

Most people don’t by any means exclusively use this one for their male friends but for anyone.

Of course, at the same time, it’s one that most are still careful with. You could, for example, refer to any stranger as “mate” in the right context.

However, when it comes to “bro,” people will be more careful as strangers may not appreciate the gendered term.

In terms of when this term came to be used in New Zealand, that’s virtually impossible to say.

This colloquial abbreviation of “brother” has been in use in some form in English since the 1660s at the very least.

New Zealand was discovered earlier than tthis in 1642, but was not settled for some time.

In any case, we have virtually no way of knowing why this term took hold so strongly in New Zealand.

We can simply see that it has.

Why do New Zealanders say “cuzzy bro”?

As mentioned, “cuzzy bro” is a term used for someone who is an extremely close, or even best, friend.

It’s mostly used by Maori New Zealanders, so this is the likely origin of the word “cuzzy”.

It’s not entirely clear, although it may have simply been a Maori word for close friends and family.

On the other hand, it may relate to the older sense of “cuz” in English, which was an abbreviation of “cousin”.

This came into use at least as far back as the 17^th Century and perhaps much earlier, but again, it’s very difficult to say for sure when, or if at all, it was adopted in New Zealand to become “cuzzy”.

Why do New Zealanders say “mate”?

The prevalence of “mate” in New Zealand slang is undoubtedly related to the same prevalence in Australia, it’s “neighbouring” country.

This term became so common in Australia simply because it was originally a British slang term used among the common people, and this is most of who was sent to Australia—as convicts.

Though New Zealand wasn’t a penal colony, there was enough shared culture that even three centuries after the countries were first settled, the British imprint on the language is still to be seen.

So, for the most part, New Zealanders just refer to their friends as “mate” or “bro”.

These simple phrases are perfectly adequate for most people and are such a habitual part of their speech that most people do not even think about it.

There might be one or two ways you put extra emphasis on these words, but for the most part they are just fine on their own.

But New Zealanders ultimately speak English and so will also use just about any of the English speaking world’s slang terms for friend.

More in New Zealand Slang

• New Zealand Slang For Angry (Helpful Content!)
• New Zealand Slang For Friend (Helpful Content!)
• New Zealand Slang For Girl (Helpful Content!)
• New Zealand Slang For Money (Helpful Content!)