Belfast slang words are in a league of their own. Let’s take a look at 20, with a bonus at the end, and see how many you know or understand.
If you’re planning a trip to Belfast, or you’ve been before and felt like you couldn’t understand a word anyone was saying, our hope is that this list of Belfast slang words and expressions will help you out.
Some are just ridiculous, while some actually make sense when you think of the original word or phrase and how it’s said in a Belfast accent.
The Belfast accent can be challenging enough on its own, so let’s take a look at 20 Belfast slang words that only people from the city understand.
20. Scundered – “I’m absolutely scundered for yee.”
Scundered is one of the Belfast slang words that is used on the daily by people all over the city. It simply means embarrassed.
19. Geg – “Awk, she’s a wee geg”
Geg is a Belfast word like no other, and it means funny. A lot of the time, people who aren’t from Belfast think we’re saying gay. We’re not; we’re saying geg.
18. Boggin – “That’s so boggin.”
If something is boggin, it means it’s absolutely disgusting.
17. Melter/Melted – “He’s a pure melter”/ “my head is melted.”
If someone calls you a melter, it’s not a good thing, as it means someone thinks you’re annoying. If you are melted, it means you’re annoyed.
16. Ats us nai – a particularly Belfast expression
Ats us nai is “That’s us now” in a strong Belfast accent. It’s a slang term that is used for many reasons.
This could be that you’ve finished something, you’re ready to do something, or someone has successfully opened your drink for you without a bottle opener. The list could go on.
15. Leapin – another word for disgusting
Much like boggin’, you would use the word ‘leapin’ when something is particularly disgusting.
14. Parful – “That is absolutely parful.”
Parful is the Belfast degradation of the word ‘powerful’; we just adapted the spelling to the way we say it. You use this word when something is absolutely delightful, like a really satisfying pint. You can also use it to describe someone you think is good-looking.
This is why people often ask people from Belfast to say ‘power shower’ because it comes out like ‘par shar’.
13. Peeler – not for potatoes
A peeler in Belfast is a police officer. Not related to potatoes.
12. Split – “I have to split here.”
In Belfast, if someone says they have to split, it means they have to leave. Maybe it comes from the expression ‘make like a banana and split’?
11. Dander – “It’s not far; we’ll just dander.”
Taking a dander is going for a walk in Belfast. You might also say, “Look at the dander on this one” about someone with a particularly out-there walk.
10. Spoof – “He’s pure spoofin.”
If you say someone is spoofin’ or you call someone a spoof, it means you think they are lying or a liar.
9. Yousins – “Here yousins”
In Belfast, you’ll use the term yousins if you’re talking to a big group. For example, if you can’t find your mate, you might say, “I thought he was with yousins”.
8. Slabberin – “Will you stop your slabberin!”
If someone is slabberin’, they’re not being very nice at all. For example, if someone were to call you ugly, you’d say “Stop your slabberin”.
7. Keep er lit – “Yeoooooo, keep er lit!”
If you shout, “Keep er lit!”, you mean keep going, keep doing what you’re doing. For example, if someone is running a race or downing a pint, you might shout it as means of encouragement!
6. Smick/Smicked out – “He’s so smicked out.”
A smick is the Belfast version of a chav. If you say someone is smicked out, it probably means that they have a really strong Belfast accent and the tracksuit to match. Smick would historically be used to describe a male, while ‘milly’ means the same thing for a girl.
5. Hallion – “Did you just eat that off the ground, ya hallion?”
A hallion is a word to describe someone who’s a bit gross or who does something a bit mad.
4. Swall – “Headin for a wee swall”
If you’re heading for a swall, you’re heading to the pub, your mate’s house, the park, or wherever it may be for a drink.
3. Banjaxed – “My phone is pure banjaxed.”
An oldie but such a goodie; if something is banjaxed, it means it’s broken. While this one was definitely around when we were kids, we’re not so sure you’d hear it as much now.
2. Mucker – “Right, mucker! Waz han?”
This sentence translates to, “Hello, friend! How are you?”. Your mucker is your mate.
For one last bonus entry, we have “Aye your ma”, the age-old Belfast come back for absolutely anything.
1. Scrounger – “He owes me a tenner, the scrounger.”
A scrounger will never buy anything for themselves and will always ask to borrow money. Plus, they’ll never give it back.
So, there you have it. 20 Belfast slang words that only really make sense to the locals. How many did you know, and which ones did we miss?
