Mate

Question

I know this section of the forum is dealing with grammar but because it gets the most visitors, I'm posting my question here:

Does American English have an equivalent for the British/Aussie informal term of address "Mate"?

E.g.:

How's it going, mate?
Feel like a beer, mate?

etc.

Thanks in advance.

Inchoateknowledge · Accepted Answer

Buddy, fella, pal, dog, fish... .

BarbaraPA · Answer

Americans tend not to have a similar word in general, although depending on how old you are and whether you are male or female, there are probably choices. We'd just say "How's it going?" or "Let's go get a beer."

BUT: "Dawg" seems to be popular right now in the younger crowd, male to male. Hey Dawg, how's it going? (Makes my hair stand on end, but it's not said to me.)

AND "Hey, guy, how's it going" is one choice.

You tend to use the word "Buddy" or "Pal" to somoene you do NOT know and will not be engaging in further conversation - "Hey buddy, want to move that truck? You're blocking me in." Or "Watch it, pal, you're getting on my nerves.

Edit: It seems we posted at the same time, but somehow I forgot about "dude." I WISH I could forget about dude, but it's everywhere. Don't use it with anyone over 30.

Pastsimple · Answer

Thanks for the answer.

I had the suspicion that you don't have a similar term.

And I guess you don't have a special term for Brits in general either. They do have "Yanks" for Americans... - by the way, how offensive that term REALLY is?

P.S. What if a Brit/Aussie uses "mate" to address an unaware American? :-) Can it have some possibly "dangerous" / funny etc. consequences?

Goodman · Answer

PastsimpleThanks for the answer.

I had the suspicion that you don't have a similar term.

And I guess you don't have a special term for Brits in general either. They do have "Yanks" for Americans... - by the way, how offensive that term REALLY is?

P.S. What if a Brit/Aussie uses "mate" to address an unaware American? :-) Can it have some possibly "dangerous" / funny etc. consequences?

For Aussies, “mate” is the equivalent to “buddy” or “pal” for Americans.

Keep in mind, how it’s used in the context is crucial in American English. In the wrong context, a “mate” could mean a servant or a lover.

BarbaraPA · Answer

Pastsimple"Yanks" for Americans... - by the way, how offensive that term REALLY is?

Not at all, at least not to me.

But, as has been stated elsewhere in here, within the U.S., if you are in the South, a Yankee is someone from the North (i.e., above the old Mason-Dixon Line that separated the states during our Civil War). On the other hand, if you are in the north already, a Yankee is someone from New England. "Yankee Magazine" is not about the Americans in general, or those above the Mason-Dixon Line, but those who live Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.

We've all seen so many movies that we know that "mate," when accompanied by an Aussie accent in particular, just means what it's supposed to mean.

Marius Hancu · Answer

Check the words at the top of this page:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=mate
some of them are slang synonyms of mate, but not all.

And be careful when using them.

Mate

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions