In Newcastle and want to understand the local dialect/idiolect? Here's our guide to some geordie slang

 

If you’re new to the UK, one of the things that may surprise you is that there are so many accents and dialects. For a country the size of the UK, accents can seem so different from one town to another. I mean, sound TOTALLY different. Whilst there are many well-known dialects and accents in the UK, one of the most distinctive, yet difficult is the Geordie dialect. So here is a guide to geordie slang.

 

Many people dispute where Geordies come from, but most people would say a Geordie is someone from Newcastle upon Tyne and the surrounding areas. You may find that people from all over the North East of England sound like Geordies. Whilst it is a distinctive accent, it can sound like anything other than English. 

To help you on your way, we’ve put together a guide to some of the more common Geordie slang words.

Bairn

 

Bairn means ‘child’, you might hear an older Geordie refer to you a ‘bairn’. Don’t worry, they mean it in a nice way!

Broon

 

Whilst this does technically mean the colour brown, Geordies will probably mean Newcastle Brown Ale, the city’s famous beer.

Canny

 

Canny means ‘good’ or ‘great’. You’ll hear people describing something as being ‘canny’ or that someone’s ‘canny’.

Howay Man!

 

Howay or Howay Man is a proclamation of encouragement or exasperation. This can be positive or negative, just to make things a bit trickier. You may have heard the term ‘Howay the lads!’ if you ever go to see Newcastle United play at St James’ Park.

Hoy

 

Hoy is geordie slang meaning to ‘throw’ or ‘chuck’ something, you could also hear someone saying that they’re going ‘on the hoy’ which means that they’re going out drinking.

Marra

 

Marra means ‘Mate’ or ‘Friend’ If someone calls you a ‘Marra’, it probably means that they like you, so well done!

Mortal

 

If you’ve already been on a night out in Newcastle, you’ve probably been mortal already. Mortal means ‘drunk’ in Geordieland. Expect to hear it a lot.

Nippy

 

Nippy means ‘Cold’ as in the cold is ‘nipping’ at your toes. It doesn’t quite mean that it’s freezing, but that it’s a bit cold.

Toon

 

Toon simply means ‘town’, you’ll often hear people refer to Newcastle to ‘the Toon’. You’ll be calling Newcastle The Toon before you know it!

Why Aye Man!

 

Is a general term of agreement or encouragement. Geordies might say this instead of answering ‘yes’ to a question. 

For more check out the Chronicle’s list of geordie slang here. For student accommodation in Newcastle, look here.

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