Every culture has its way of saying things and New Zealand is no different. Many of their idioms or word choices come directly from British English. Some of it is original to New Zealand. Some of it is puzzling.
Our favorite is “sweet as.” They do not ever finish this thought. They just say with clear delight, “sweet as…!” I would define this as meaning “awesome” or “cool.”
How about being greeted with “How are you going?” This appears to be some mish mash of two of our sayings: “How are you doing?” and “How is it going?” I understand that Canadians also say this so perhaps this is British English. Whatever it is, it makes my head hurt.
When something needs to be or has been solved or figured out, they say “let’s get that sorted” or “now that we have that sorted.” This word is used a lot. It seems to be used as a replacement for “solved,” fixed,” and “taken care of” among others. This, too, is British English.
To say hello, they use the Maori greeting “Kia Ora,” which means “have life” or “be healthy.” It is pronounced as the two sliding into one word “Kyee-ora.”
Sometimes, where we might say “thank you,” they say “lovely.” For example, they ask, what is your address? After I give the information, their answer is “Lovely.” I am never clear if the information I have given is lovely or if they are affirming my loveliness for giving them the information.
“Hi” is “Hiya” here. It is often pronounced with a bit of a trill, song-like.
A Yank Among the Kiwis 