Essential English phrases to blend in like a local on your holiday

A woman stood in a square, holding a map looking around
Reading time: 5 minutes

Summer has arrived and you might be gearing up for a holiday soon. Knowing some of the local language is always helpful, but to genuinely speak like a native English speaker, you must grasp and use common phrases and idioms that locals employ in daily conversations. Native English speakers have a natural command of these phrases, whereas non-fluent speakers often need to study and practice them to achieve fluency.

In this blog post, we¡¯ll delve into essential English phrases that will help you sound more like a local and less like a tourist.

Phrases to help you speak English like a local
Play
Privacy and cookies

By watching, you agree ÃÛÌÒapp can share your viewership data for marketing and analytics for one year, revocable by deleting your cookies.

Common English idioms and phrases you should know

Depending on where you go, the language will be vastly different, but quite often, certain English phrases overlap, so you might hear some common phrases being used in more than one country.

"It's all gone pear-shaped" (UK)

This quirky phrase means that something has gone wrong or not as planned. For example, if your holiday plans fall apart due to bad weather, you could say, ¡°Our trip to the coast has gone all pear-shaped.¡± In other words, it¡¯s bad news for our vacation.

"No worries, mate!" (Australia/UK)

In Australia, you¡¯ll often hear the phrase ¡°No worries, mate!¡± used to convey that everything is fine or that there¡¯s no problem. It¡¯s a versatile expression of reassurance and friendliness. For instance, if you apologize for bumping into someone on a busy street, you might receive a cheerful ¡°No worries, mate!¡± in response.

"Fill your boots" (Canada)

This phrase is an invitation to help yourself to as much of something as you want. For example, if you¡¯re at a buffet and someone says, ¡°Fill your boots,¡± they¡¯re encouraging you to enjoy as much food as you like. It¡¯s a welcoming expression that showcases generosity and hospitality.

"Fair dinkum" (Australia)

This expression is used to affirm the truth or genuineness of something. It can be equated to saying ¡°really¡± or ¡°honestly¡± in other English dialects. For example, if someone tells you a surprising fact about the local wildlife, you might respond with ¡°Fair dinkum?¡± to confirm that it is indeed true.

"Chock-a-block" (UK)

This phrase means that something is full to capacity. For instance, if a pub or restaurant is very crowded, you might hear someone say, ¡°The pub is chock-a-block tonight.¡± It¡¯s an evocative way to describe a situation where space is limited or an area is very busy.

"Double-double" (Canada)

In Canada, especially when discussing coffee, a ¡°double-double¡± refers to a coffee with two creams and two sugars. For example, if you¡¯re at a cafe and want a coffee with two creams and two sugars, you would say, ¡°I¡¯ll have a double-double, please.¡± This phrase will make you sound like a fluent English speaker.

"I'm knackered" (UK)

Feeling extremely tired? Then you¡¯re ¡°knackered.¡± This phrase is commonly used in the UK to express exhaustion. After a long day of sightseeing, you might say, ¡°I¡¯m completely knackered!¡± If you only feel this tired once in a blue moon, you¡¯re lucky! This is a common way to express tiredness in everyday conversation in the UK.

"It's not my cup of tea" (UK)

If something isn¡¯t to your liking, you might say, ¡°It¡¯s not my cup of tea.¡± This phrase is a polite way of expressing disinterest or dislike. For example, you might say, ¡°Horror films are not my cup of tea.¡± Even if English is not your native language, using phrases like ¡°It¡¯s not my cup of tea¡± can help you sound more natural.

"A bit miffed" (UK)

If you find yourself slightly annoyed or irritated, you might use the phrase ¡°a bit miffed.¡± It¡¯s a mild way to express discontent. For example, if you¡¯ve been waiting a long time in a queue and someone cuts in front of you, you might say, ¡°I was a bit miffed when they pushed in.¡± If you think cutting in line will get you served faster, you¡¯re . Fluent English speakers often use ¡°a bit miffed¡± to express mild irritation politely.

"What's up?" (US)

A common greeting in the United States, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± is a casual way to ask someone how they are or what they are doing. It¡¯s extremely common and often used among friends and acquaintances. For instance, when meeting a friend, you might say, ¡°Hey, what¡¯s up?¡± to start a conversation.

Another casual greeting you might hear is ¡°How¡¯s life?¡± which is used to check in on someone¡¯s well-being.

"In a jiffy" (UK)

If you hear someone use this phrase, ¡°in a jiffy,¡± it means they will do it very quickly. It¡¯s a phrase used to indicate promptness or immediacy. For example, if you¡¯re waiting for your meal at a restaurant and the server says, ¡°It¡¯ll be ready in a jiffy,¡± you can expect it to arrive shortly.

"Hit the sack" (US)

If you¡¯re ready to go to bed or sleep, you can use the phrase ¡°hit the sack.¡± It¡¯s a casual way of saying that you are going to sleep. After a long day of activities, you might tell your friends, ¡°I¡¯m exhausted, I think I¡¯ll hit the sack.¡± When speaking English, using phrases like ¡°hit the sack¡± can make your conversations sound more natural.

"Raining cats and dogs" (UK)

Brits love talking about the weather, so it's no surprise this idiom is weather-related. The idiom is a colorful way to describe heavy rain. Using this idiom not only conveys the severity of the rain but also adds a touch of humor to your conversation. If you visit during its rainy seasons (which is more often than you think), you'll have plenty of opportunities to use this phrase.

Conclusion

Incorporating these common English phrases into your conversations will not only help you blend in better but also make your interactions more engaging and authentic. Remember, language learning is an ongoing process, so don¡¯t be afraid to make mistakes. Expanding your spoken English vocabulary will also help you feel more confident in your interactions.

The more you practice, the more confident you¡¯ll become. The more you practice, the more you will sound like a fluent English speaker. If you can, consulting a native speaker can help you understand such idioms and use them correctly. Native speakers often talk quickly and use complex vocabulary, so don¡¯t hesitate to ask them to speak slower or provide examples to improve your understanding.

Read our blog post 'English words and slang terms you should know'

?

More blogs from ÃÛÌÒapp

  • A child and parent laying on a carpet staring at eachother and smiling

    Mindfulness activities for kids to reduce stress

    By Amy Malloy

    How can we help children (and ourselves) deal with turbulent situations?

    As humans, we are programmed to position ourselves according to the constants around us: people, structures and boundaries. When those constants shift, it can be unsettling for adults and children.

    Sometimes we find ourselves in unprecedented situations, and we each have our own approach to managing things. If you feel confused and without direction because of a turbulent situation, please know that that is okay.

    We¡¯ll look today at why that is, to help us understand ourselves a little more and why these simple mindfulness activities can help us navigate it.

    What causes social stress?

    There may be many reasons for feeling stressed in life, but during turbulent times in society, it is often due to not feeling safe.

    Something in our environment is alerting our survival instinct. This makes our brains produce stress hormones, which get us ready to fight the threat, run from it, or freeze until it¡¯s gone away.

    The threat might be to our physical or even social survival ¨C and the two are linked. Things can feel even scarier when we also feel isolated from our social group, which keeps us protected from that threat.

    Human beings are social by nature. We live and work in communities, we connect through love and empathy and we protect each other. There¡¯s truth to the saying?¡°there¡¯s safety in numbers¡±.

    But it¡¯s not just about safety. We also define ourselves by comparing ourselves to others and working out what we are not.

    Research has found that we identify deeply with our role in society and the ¡®pack¡¯ to which we belong. This holds deep ties with our sense of safety, contentment and self-esteem. If the boundaries by which we define and position ourselves have shifted or continue to shift, we will feel unsafe, threatened and therefore stressed.

    Are children affected by social stress in the same way?

    If we then apply this to children, the constants to whom they look for security are the adults in their life. If the adults are behaving differently, the children will feel a shift and feel unsafe and stressed too. If they don¡¯t have their friends alongside them for social positioning, this too can lead to them feeling confused and uncertain.

    Here are some key ways we can help:

    Communicating and listening

    Children may often lack the language to express what they are feeling, or even to recognize it themselves. Therefore, we must offer ways to help them make sense of the world around them, to help them feel safe and to help express their concerns.

    Communication provides the necessary social interaction and models for them on how to handle the new situation. It firms up their boundaries, and provides a safe space where they feel listened to and acknowledged and this, in turn, helps diffuse their stress.

    The activity below is a lovely way to invite children to express any worry they might be feeling, mindfully and with support ¨C and give them something to do with their feelings. It also has the benefit of helping them breathe fully and slowly, which will calm down their nervous system.

    Breath activity: Worry bubbles

    1. Sit together and invite your child to put their palms together.
    2. Invite them to take a big breath in. As they breathe in, they can draw their palms further and further apart, spreading their fingers as they imagine blowing up a big bubble between their hands.
    3. Invite them to whisper a worry into the bubble.
    4. Invite them to blow the breath out nice and slowly. As they breathe out, they can imagine blowing the bubble (and the worry) away with a big sigh.
    5. Twinkle the fingers back down to the lap, and start again, either with the same worry or a new one

    Helping them find a safety anchor inside themselves

    By helping children focus on breathing, we can teach them that even if things feel wobbly around them, their breath is always there. The act of focusing on the breath also helps settle the fight or flight branch of their nervous system into a calmer, more balanced state.

    Breath Activity: Counting breaths

    1. Invite your child to sit with you.
    2. Invite them to place their hands on their tummy and breathe in slowly so they push into their hands, counting slowly up to four.
    3. As they breathe out, invite them to count up to six, as they slowly empty the belly and their hands lower back down.
    4. Continue until they feel calmer. You can do this every morning or evening to help sustain balance. With younger children, they might like a teddy on their tummy to push up and down!

    These two activities can be lovely daily practices to try and provide some safety and structure to your child or students¡¯ mental health right now. They are also enjoyable activities to try for yourself ¨C you may like to increase the in and out count of the breath a little bit for an adult breath.