AE 993 - Aussie Slang: Berko

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This is the Aussie Slang series where I teach you slang that is commonly used Down Under

In today's episode...

I am going to teach you the Aussie slang word "berko".

Do you know anyone who's "berko"?

I bet you do!

Learn what it means and how you can use it in your daily conversations.

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Transcript of AE 993 - Aussie Slang: Berko

G'day, you mob! Pete here from Aussie English, the number one place for anyone and everyone here wanting to learn Australian English. Welcome to this episode, guys. This is another one of the Aussie slang series where I teach you, you guessed it, an Aussie slang term or expression that we use Down Under. In the Land of Oz, in Australia. Don't forget, I release two of these episodes every single week. If you would like the video, the MP3, the transcript to the second episode, be sure to join the Premium Podcast, which you can access above, or just go to www.aussieenglish.com.au to check it out there. You'll also obviously get nine hundred other episodes from the podcast. Other videos, interviews, Goss episodes, the transcripts, everything like that. So it's great if you're learning Australian English.

Anyway, let's get into today's episode. So today I'm teaching you how to use the phrase or the word "berko". "Berko". I wonder if you've heard this one before. Hmm. "Berko". Do you know anyone who's berko? Have you ever come across someone in the street who is a little bit berko? Maybe you've heard the word before.

Berserk in English. If someone goes berserk, they go crazy. So I think here we've taken that word berserk and we've- we've turned it into this Aussie slang term "berko" to mean angry, or upset, or crazy, in an unreasonable way. Right. So 'berko' means upset, angry, crazy. She's a little bit berko. He's a little bit berko. Why are you so berko? Just chill out. Calm down. You're a little bit berko.

So an example might be that you are married like I am. And one night you just decide to go out with your mates. You don't tell your wife. She's stuck home- at home with the kids taking care of them. And you're having, you know, the time of your life, living it up with your mates. When you get home, she's probably going to be a little bit 'berko'. She's probably going to go berserk. She's probably going to be upset. She's probably going to be angry. And I guess really, it wouldn't be unreasonable, ok. So, alright, maybe we change that story.

Maybe it was your mates birthday party and you had told her about it, but she'd forgotten. So you went out to the birthday party as you've told her about, had fun, come home. And then she went berko. She was berko. You what- you would say 'That's unreasonable because I told you about this. You knew about this in the past.' And she might say, 'Oh, yeah, you're right. Sorry, I sort of cracked it. I got angry when I shouldn't have. That was unreasonable.'.

Another one might be that you go to the store, you want to buy, you know, a drink or a chocolate bar. You grab it off the shelf, you go up to the counter, right to the checkout chick or guy. If he's there working, and you get it buzzed through and you see that the price is like twenty bucks. You go berko. But then you realise you picked off one of the most expensive drinks or treats in the store, and it is a reasonable price for that thing. So it wasn't really fair that you went berko. Right? You were a little bit berko because of that. You got a little bit upset. You went berserk. You got angry.

So there you go, guys. That is the term, the Aussie English expression 'berko'. As always, my challenge to you is to go down into the comments below and use this expression, this term that we use in Australian English, in your own words. Create a scenario where you go berko, or someone else is really berko because of something unreasonable. Best way to learn these things is to use it straight away, ok?

Make sure that you like this video, too. If you liked it, share it with someone else who's learning Australian English and subscribe to the channel. Hit the bell notifications so that you see other videos like this. And for everything else Aussie English, go to www.aussieenglish.com.au I'm Pete. This is Aussie English. Thanks for joining me. See you next time!