Culture

The World Is Mocking How Australians Pronounce The Word “No” And Oh Naur, They’re Right

"Imagine you propose to someone and their response is 'naur'."

by Michelle Rennex  2 July 2021
Naur no australian accent mocked

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If you’ve been anywhere online in the last month, you’ve definitely seen the word “naur” being thrown around by just about everyone.

And I’m sad to report that just like how Australians have dragged Americans for not knowing what kettles are and for their abnormally large bathroom stall gaps, the tables have turned. This is because Americans, along with what seems like the rest of the world, have discovered that Australians pronounce “no” as “naur” and now we are getting (playfully) dragged to hell and back.

But to be honest, we shouldn’t be too surprised. After all, when American teens discovered the classic Aussie show H20: Just Add Water in 2019, they roasted our accents hard on TikTok.

“OHHH NAURRR CLEOORRRR” remakes had taken over the app for months before the H20 Challenge slowly faded into the abyss — that is, until now, as “naur” makes an incredibly stronger return.

In fact, what started off as people mocking the ridiculousness of the Australian accent has now become a staple in their everyday life, with naur being thrown around anywhere it will fit.

So, What Is Naur And Where Did It Come From?

Naur is literally just the phonetic spelling of the word “no” in an Australian accent, which has become a playful way to mock the nasal, drawn-out sounds of an Aussie speaking.

As mentioned above, the word naur was already in everyone’s minds from the lingering H20 Challenge trend on TikTok. But when people began to realise that “naur” is actually the genuine way Australians pronounce “no”, it sent the world into a spin.

I guess people outside of Australia had just assumed the thick Aussie accent the actors on H20: Just Add Water used were exaggerated, but after hearing some normal Australians say the word, people couldn’t help but absorb it into their own everyday language.

What also really helped “naur” become so commonplace online was K-Pop stars Bang Chan and Changbin — both of the popular South Korean boy band, Stray Kids — discussing the Aussie accent on video in March. Bang Chan, who grew up in Australia, has a very heavy Australian accent.

“I know that Aussie accent, like whenever Hyung says ‘no’ you always say it like ‘naur’,” said Changbin, before the two went back and forth saying the word “no” in their different accents.

As with the power of K-Pop stans, “naur” quickly circulated through the K-Pop Twitter community before it was later adopted by the wider internet, too.

Regardless of the exact origins of the current Naur Plague™️ taking over the world, the Aussie version of “no” has been lovingly adopted by Twitter and TikTok as people sprinkle “naur” into everything they do.

I mean, hey it’s not all bad. At least Australians can go viral by pretending to put on their best Aussie accent to trick the rest of the world.

Plus we’re all getting a much-needed break from Americans shouting “CLEOORRRR”. At least… for now.