Glaswegian Slang

Understanding the Scottish

One of the first things your friends or family back home - or really anyone who finds out you study in Glasgow, Scotland - will say to you is: so how is the accent? 

And honestly, it's not bad! It depends where your friends are from, even within Glasgow. I have friends who I can understand perfectly and others where I have to ask "sorry what?" constantly. If you are a foreigner coming to study in Glasgow, just get used to only understanding 80% of what people say. And if you are in a loud bar with your University mates, you will understand even less.

I actually thought I had gotten pretty good with understanding the Glasgow accent, but after an entire summer of not being here, the first few days were a shock. 

Here is a list I created to help you understand Glasgow (and Scotland generally) better if you are a foreigner like me:

• Things here have different names. Just because. Don't ever ask for a zucchini. Nobody will have a clue what you are talking about. Here, it's called a courgette.

• Chips are fries and crisps are chips. This may not be so unfamiliar because of the famous 'fish and chips', but I thought that was just a catchy name. 

• "Aw I just had a cheeky Nando's" - Nandos is a restaurant that is extremely popular here. I mean your friends will know the menu backwards and forwards. Why is it 'cheeky' that they had Nandos? I don't know. Because it's unhealthy? But then why don't they say that after they had McDonalds?

• "Yous" - this is something that took me an embarrassingly long time to understand. It is just the Glasgow way of saying "you guys". 

• "Gotta wait for SAAS to come in" - SAAS is the student awards agency for Scotland that funds students tuitions and gives them student loans - something you need to know if you don't already. You will find that many of your friends are funded by SAAS.

• "wee" - Just because your friend takes about his wee sister, doesn't mean it's his little sister. Scottish use wee everywhere! Just see below!

• "can't be arsed" - the Glasgow way of saying I cannot be bothered. 

• "Scunnered" - the Glasgow way of saying annoyed

• "pished" - the Glasgow way of saying drunk 

• "It's pissing down" - the Glasgow way of saying its heavily raining; which you will hear constantly for obvious reasons 

I update this list whenever I learn a new word, so check back in a week or so, and I guarantee this list will have expanded! Feel free to comment any other Glaswegian Slang I might have missed!