30 must-know SCOTTISH WORDS you need to know when visiting EDINBURGH

[@Kakibot]

Already gutted that I didn't mention the word DUG! Or BIG YIN! Aaah! What are some other ones that you've overheard in Edinburgh?

[@briannettlefold5484]

Pure dead brilliant, so it is!

[@martinrodzzz5329]

A word that weirdly crossed over the border to England, maybe a decade or two ago, was "minging", which is equivalent to "honking', and better than "reeking" really. Reek meaning "to smell bad" is traditionally more used in England. In Scotland it has always meant rather "to produce smoke" - hence the old Scottish benediction "Lang may yer lum reek" (lum = chimney); this is also the real reason for "Auld Reekie" as a nickname for Edinburgh.

[@simonmountney]

Hey all! Some noteworthy terms which we remembered only after we'd finished filming... "gonnae no" means "go and not", but more commonly is used as "oh stop it". "amnae" = "I'm not". We use "how" in place of "why". "cannae" = "can't". So it's technically accurate to say "Amnae coming out tonight" "Gonnae no. How?" "Cannae be arsed". If you have other suggestions please share them!

[@paulharvey9149]

Related to 'amnae' is 'urnae', which is basically its' plural as in, "We urnay that happy aboot going there."! "I'm doing away," is also a common response to the question, "How are you doing?" which of course is an alternative to How are You? and it means "I'm reasonably well - not been up to anything remarkable, but can't really complain." For the benefit of visitors it's probably worth explaining what Hibees and Jambos are - as they'd not want to use the wrong word in the wrong areas; and maybe where "Porty" is, too. I've always though 'radge' is more local to Leith and North Edinburgh, and 'Barrie' to Musselburgh and Porty, but I think most Edinburgh folk wid ken whut they mean onywey...!

[@martinrodzzz5329]

By extension, you might hear, when someone is told they "urnae..." they'll maintain "aye um URR". Some folk would say this usage qualifies you as a Ned. Or a Radge.

[@Aoi_Fans]

2:07 Pal 2:09 Hen 2:51 Chum 3:26 Blether 3:46 Juice 4:15 Buckie 5:25 Steamin' 5:27 Supper 6:10 Chippy Sauce 7:00 Piece 7:17 Braw 7:38 Barrie 8:17 Shan 8:38 Bawbag 9:18 Eejit 9:28 Ned 9:30 Bam 11:04 Rank 11:06 Reekie 11:22 Honking 11:27 Jobbie 11:59 Pure 12:13 Yonks 12:56 Easy Oasie 13:28 Yous 13:41 Geeze 14:34 Shoogle 14:36 Skoosh 15:23 Outwith

[@Isabel-of4wq]

I miss twee …

[@lynx8778]

Kat literally is preparing me to move to Scotland! thanks for all the work you do about this beautiful country, really, every video you upload brings me so much joy!

[@Kakibot]

What a sweet comment! Made my day!! .)

[@dianacasey6002]

It’s me again I loved when my mum called me hen, it was the most endearing word. It was like saying oh my we bairn I love you my wee hen.

[@Kakibot]

Perhaps that's a good way of thinking about it - personally I don't like when strangers call me the same little pet names my mum does! Always depends on context I guess .)

[@InfinityOf6]

I've always seen it spelt “gie's” as in “give us” (“us” with a zz sound means “me” - I sometimes see it spelt “iz” but it feels weird). Gie's a shot o yer Game Boy! Gie's some o yer cake!

[@kumasenlac5504]

The term 'pal' can be one of the most terrifying Scots words. It all depends on circumstance and intonation...

[@yesemitesam333]

I could be wrong but I always thought the word "Ned" was actually an acronym for "Non Educated Delinquent". I also love how folk in Edinburgh often end sentences on a rising intonation and with words such as "ken" or "like" or "eh"

[@jstringfellow1961]

In the South (Oklahoma) we use the word "juice" to mean literally some sort of fruit drink, not fizzy drink, which is "Pop" or "Soda" but then again, most people say "Coke" when it could be a Dr. Pepper or Pepsi.

[@Zamode68]

Cute video! (Added bonus with octopus as second star). Supper, I know that one from my Irish grandmother, it’s used here occasionally in the Northeast as well. I use it often. Yous is very New Yorker and Northeast New Jersey, lol. I do get a big kick out of scran and messages. Shoogle and Skoosh, those are great.

[@angusbrown8535]

"Scunner' is my favourite Scot's word .

[@h-Qalziel]

A few more: Squint - Askew (that picture's squint) Bahookie - Backside (right in the bahookie) Wheesht - Hush Dreich - Dreary and Drab (the weather's dreich) Glaikit - Foolish and Stupid (don't be glaikit) Haver - Babble (stop, you're havering) Peelie-Wally - Pale and Sickly Looking (you're looking a little peelie-wally) Sleekit - Sly or Cunning (the sleekit person) Chore - To Steal (they chored it) Gaff - Young Party Involving Alcohol (do you want to go to the gaff?) Bairn - Child (look at the bairns) Radge - Crazy (that's radge!) Haar - A Type of Fog (here comes the haar)

[@John_Krone]

The use of "Yous"... interesting that in some parts of northern States in America "Youse" is also used for plural of "you". Where in the southern States they say "y'all". Loved the video, thanks

[@helenedwards1468]

I had a friend who came from Portobello ( I am in Devon where no one drinks Buckfast!) and she used to talk about doing her messages, shopping and when she left to go home she would say, I am away haime. So lovely I use that myself. Many of the words you used are fairly general all over the country especially the ones for smells.

[@jstringfellow1961]

Again, wonderful. You had a great time filming that one, I can tell. We learn a lot when we listen, and we always appreciate your research, time, and energy. Thank you. Here in the US (South) we've been using "Pal" for generations. I have to assume many of the words we use came from the old country of our ancestors. Good to see these words are still in use.

[@TheEmpressgoth]

Bam and Ned threw me 😆 🤣 thank you 😊 have a great week.

[@JPWookie]

Appreciate your Channel and insights, have been very helpful as my wife and I plan our upcoming trip to Ireland and Scotland

[@Kakibot]

Thank you so much Jeff! Hope you have an amazing journey .)

[@tiinahamalainen4071]

Supper can also be biscuits and toast later in the day, tea is often dinner. High tea is a meal of fish and chips, bread and butter, cakes and biscuits.

[@michaelkirk1198]

Piece -Sandwich Messages -Shopping Baffies- Slippers Haud yet wheesht- be quiet Skelp yer Lug- smack your ear Dey pronounced Di- Grandfather Mither-Mother Faither- Father Awa tae the Skil- Away to the school

[@therealscottadamsTM]

First briefs, but you didn’t follow with pun intended 😂

[@rachelwingert7058]

Love “blether!”

[@brianamyes6871]

Brilliant to see this. Been here a couple of years after too long doon South. I still occasionally have no idea what a local is saying to me!! Over in Fife we also have a lot of these words (it's not just the Central Belt). Of course 'OUTWITH' goes with 'INWITH'. Surprised (though you had lots to get through) you didn't mention 'KEN', or 'BEN', and would have loved to see phrases like 'MESSAGES ON THE BUNKER' or how some phrases get switched (e.g. ROLL ON SAUSAGE rather than a Sausage roll) but these might be pure Fifeisms.

[@yoshie-]

In Japan, soft drinks are also called “juice” even there’s no fruit in the ingredients. I didn’t know that “juice” in terms of drinks must be made of fruits until when I learned that in the US attending college.😅

[@thevis5465]

Im Scottish and i didnt realise until some american online tríed to tell me i was wrong. Youre not wrong, words mean different things in different places and in Scotland and apparently Japan, we use it to mean more than just fruit juice.

[@Chrisb8s]

This was so fun. Love your pins. It would be fun to have a few pins with fun words Shoogle

[@Kakibot]

I'm seriously considering it! Hard to choose just a couple although Shoogle would indeed be on top of the list for me x)

[@peter_kelly]

"Schemies" which predates neds, essentially the same thing. Used to be quite specific to Edinburgh.

[@clannish5809]

Fanny-baws :)

[@bigmeltie1]

Fizzy drinks used to be called 'ginger' whatetever flavour. Steamin origates from much earlier times when pubs closed on a Sunday butthis restriction did not apply to pleasure steamers especially Clyde steamers. A Sunday cruise to Arran or Tighnabruaich offered plenty time fo ger legless. The most ubiquitous word not mentioned is surely 'scunner'.

[@Stripeyperch]

Im perfectly fluent in Scottish dialogue having watched Rab C Nesbitt as a teenager.

[@dianacasey6002]

Skooch can also be used to ask someone to move and give you room on the couch for example.

[@healingandgrowth-infp4677]

Yes

[@linelafrance2937]

Chum in French Canada is boyfriend ❤

[@debbyconnor9498]

Fascinating. Chum can also be a noun or verb when it is talking about chum the water. That is the process of throwing chum into the water. Chum in this context is fish guts with lots of blood and is used to attract predators such as sharks.

[@jimclark1374]

I would say juice didn't come into Scottish until the 80s. I grew up using the word "ginger", as did my parents and grandparents.

[@aprilsmith1166]

And there's people who live on a stair, which can puzzle some tourists...

[@aprilsmith1166]

Can I suggest scran, meaning food?

[@ramonpfister2424]

You can hear yous in the U.S. as well. In Pittsburgh PA they say yunz and words can be slurred together such as "Jew guys go to da store?" did you guys go to the store.

[@periurban]

Salt ,n, sauce is an Edinburgh/east coat thing. You don't really get it in Glasgow/west coast. Chan? I never heard that one! Auld Reekie? lol That's not why it has that name! But that is why the word for "smoke" became conflated with the word for "stench". Can you imagine where the stench was coming from? It wasn't the smoke! lol Jeez is sometimes said as Jeez-o, both derived from taking the Lord's name in vain. Whereas "geis" is simply a contraction of "gie us" meaning "give me". In Scots the word "us" can mean "me". "Ah wis gauny chum er ower the shoogly bridge fur a piece an a swally ah juice, but Jeez-o she canny hauf blether, so it wis a braw maurnin onywise, so Ah jist went aff fur a Bucky an a wee bidey wae Jimmy. Aye, we git pure reekin' so we did. Ah hudny seen yon eedjit in manys a yonk, so we wis a easy ozy n then these neds turned up an huckled us right aff the scheme. Ah wis pure ragin so Ah wis, an ah telt them, Yoos yins ur cruisin fur a bruisin, Ah'll tell ye thon fur nuhin boy!"

[@pspence9569]

A piece is single 'piece' of bread, with a topping, folded in half (the topping goes inside the fold, don't be a drunk me that night). It's not actually a sandwich, we just use the terms interchangably. If anyone cares why it's called that... I think that 'chum' thing, is why Weegies think of Edinburghers as the 'public school' tossers of Scotland.

[@theresabrown4279]

One word which confused me when I first moved here is ‘Ken’, which means ‘know’. If someone replies with ‘Ken’ they are saying ‘I know’

[@scotlandtheinsane3359]

It's an old Scots term and probably originated from the Germanic 'kennen' meaning 'to know'..more East coast though, esp in Fife..

[@michaelkirk1198]

Ken whit I mean

[@healingandgrowth-infp4677]

It also means You know ? If they say something to you and End it with Ken? They are ending it with you know ? Ie looking for you to agree with what they have said

[@stevenclarksongs]

Slightly late to the party, but I have a pet peeve about slang word etymology where it's claimed that the word originates from an acronym or abbreviation. Most of the time, these are invented - for example "COP" is not derived from "Constables On Parade". So I am suspicious about NED being derived from Non Educated Delinquent, and Bam is almost certainly made up - there's a related word "bampot" which is related to the very similar words barm/barmpot/barmy used in different parts of England.

[@Kakibot]

I’ve learned about backronyms thanks to this comment section, which has been enlightening to me as an english-as-second-language person! Now I no longer trust anyone on language insights, especially my husband 😂

[@petermaling943]

Agreed. I think these two are both urban myths. There’s a pub on Leith Walk which has an illuminated NAE BAMS sign in the window.

[@rogue10spartan98]

It has to be vinegar in the brown sauce for me .. water added to brown sauce is not natural 😅

[@Isabel-of4wq]

Skelf … that wee splinter of sharp wood that sticks in your skin

[@thatchillingeffect]

"Yous" I heard (northern) irish people use too!

[@auldfouter8661]

Yous yins is a sort of Scottish Y'all.

[@thatchillingeffect]

@@auldfouter8661 and it's pronounced just like that?

[@auldfouter8661]

@@thatchillingeffect Yooz yins ,yin to rhyme with sin/bin/win

[@RajyMcgee]

Unsure if Scottish, but to 'skooch' means to move over, or 'skooch past' means squeese past.

[@aprilsmith1166]

I love your pun, perhaps unintended, with the double meaning of the word briefs. Remembering your early days in advertising you said one of your first briefs was about underpants/bawbags. Briefs is also a word for men's underpants...

[@Kakibot]

Oh my god x) Yep that was definitely not intentional but only shows how things have a way of working out on their own sometimes!

[@aprilsmith1166]

@@Kakibot 👍👏👏👏👏😃

[@shanchat]

Youse are pure barry but it's pure shan that ye left oot stoor (dust) and ken (know). My Aussie flatmate wondered for ages who ken was ya ken? See Trainspotting for further details.

[@gordonmurray3153]

Just 3minutes in and a couple of points maybe worth mentioning: Scots tend to only insult their friends. So being called 'my friend' or 'pal' may be an indication that you've been talking when you really ought to've been listening. On the other hand, if speaking to a foreigner perhaps with less conversational English however, then that norm does not usually apply, unless you're the very loud opinionated type, then it may be taken as a last warning before encountering an extreme emotional experience. Hen is a bit like the 'N-word' in the US, but here it's between the genders. "If ah'm a hen, you're a duck"..."If ah lay eggs, you lay muck" Women will tend to address each other as hen. In fact the word is derived from Scots Gaelic - meaning 'yourself'. How is it going hen? Howzit gaun hen? How are you yourself? By the way, (barrawey) in Scotland an actual hen is an adult 'chicken'; chick - baby hen, chicken - adolescent hen, hen - fully mature adult hen. As in puppy, pup, dog.

[@auldfouter8661]

I' ve only heard the word shan used in the phrase " shan gabbit" , which I think means when a persons chin protrudes beyond their upper jaw. Neds is an older term than the meaning attached here, going back to the 1960s at least. Crazy people have been bampots for yonks and again I think classing it as an acronym is wrong. Mingin means smelly , why it has been adopted down south to mean ugly I don't know.

[@johnrutherford3309]

Hiya! Great channel!.. just a wee comment on the word 'Hen'. The Scots word Hen is short for Hennie? The sticky stuff that bees make? The English call it honey.

[@Kakibot]

Huh! This is the first time someone has pointed this out to me!

[@johnrutherford3309]

@@Kakibot Hiya....well... as you probably know now ... most Scots aren't taught enough about their own history/culture. But...the facts are there to find... with a wee bit research. You present very well...All the very best for your channel!

[@RoyCousins]

Chum & Pal are both brands of dog food!

[@ScotSpirit]

hmm 🤔 chum am born and bred Scot and never used "chum" as for bucky very small amount of people drink it a certain type of person(neds)! a lot of the stuff you are talking about is East Coast totally different from the rest of Scotland just a thought I have never heard of some of the words you speak, bawbag is west coast anyway west is best !!

[@Isabel-of4wq]

Twee … too cutesy for words … roll your eyes cute like wee china dolls your grannie collected

[@Kakibot]

Interesting, I would never thought of Twee as a Scotland-specific word! The fashion style I grew up with (somewhat regrettably) is also called Twee nowadays, perhaps it's just another thing that Scotland has gifted the rest of the world 😉

[@RonTodd-gb1eo]

Chittering bite, scunner, drookit

[@pspence9569]

Outwith should not just be a Scottish word. It isn''t even Scots, it's just Scottish standard English. In the context it's just such a useful word, and explains itself. I don't even think we have a word in Scots for it. I'm sure it's 'oot wae' and not 'ootwae'. Might be wrong.

[@kuumoduli3582]

First!

[@Kakibot]

YOU DID IT!

[@healingandgrowth-infp4677]

Skoosh means juice like squash

[@dn3752]

Shan is from the cant of the Scottish traveling people it was used to describe something utterly distasteful or shameful

[@Isabel-of4wq]

Oxster … wish spell check dinnae correct me!

[@auldfouter8661]

oxter , as in oxter guff.

[@timonrose5054]

Super funny, Kakibot. But you hit this right on the nail! How about the word "Radge"!

[@aprilsmith1166]

And of course, doing your messages...

[@alankerrr]

Hey! You don't need to worry about being classist or anything for using the words ned and bam. The idea that they are acronyms was only a relatively recent thing (so they are what you call "backronyms"). They don't actually stand for anything. Ned is believed to be derived from the Teddy Boy subculture (or Teds) which were similarly gangs of young men. Bam is short for Bampot, which is just another Scottish word for an idiot or a crazy person. I think that one has the same origin as the northern English word "barmy", meaning crazy. Hope that helps!

[@Kakibot]

Aaah thank you SO much for such a great comment - that makes me feel... I guess a bit less conflicted whenever I need a good word for scary youths? 😅

[@jameshardwick2726]

I think 'ned' is even older. I read it in a Para Handy story (published about 1911) , where 'ned' meant idiot or someone easily fooled. Like 'wally'.

[@stevenclarksongs]

Ha. I wish I had read your comment first - just commented about Ned and Bam. Great comment.

[@martinrodzzz5329]

@@stevenclarksongs same!

[@InfinityOf6]

I heard that meanin for “ned” is a backronym, it's no what it meant when it wis first bein used

[@aprilsmith1166]

And the word greeting meaning crying, especially when it's a baby. A baby can also be shoogled, perhaps to stop it greeting...

[@RonTodd-gb1eo]

Buckfast was the cheapest way to get drunk other than getting somebody else to pay.

[@bigrumusic]

I'm visiting Scotland for the first time this coming July with my girlfriend, and I have been viewing lots of your videos for tips and this one helps to!

[@jonsmith8582]

We use a lot of these here in Newcastle ( not a million miles away ! )

[@Alternative420]

Thanks for uploading such wonderful and helpful content! I am planning to move to Scotland in the future and your videos will be a great help! I would like to ask if it is difficult to find a part time job or even a regular job in Scotland? I would like to be a photographer, but I'm not sure if there are any opportunities for that. If you could help me out a bit, that would be great! Love from Slovenia❤️

[@raymondporter2094]

17:16 Most of the words are very familiar to me - but my wife's family was Scottish and she was born in Bridge of Allan. A lot of the words are also similar to, or have equivalents in the North East of England and Yorkshire. "Yous" as in "Will yous be quiet while I talk on the phone?" is very commonly used in the North East. Geordies will call someone "Hinny" (as in: "What can I get you, Hinny?") and on Teesside and North Yorkshire instead of "Hen" you'd often hear "Pet". It is meant with affection and my father would use it regularly without any thought of being sexist. You wouldn't normally hear "Hinny" in a formal setting. Which made it all the more amusing when, in a a previous life in the Law Courts, a very jolly and popular court usher would call people "Hinny", including defendants attending court, witnesses, lawyers etc. "It's your case on next, Hinny". We have ginnels and snickets for alleys (the narrow footpaths between buildings). And the differing names you will encounter all over Englamd and maybe Scotland for individual small loaves of bread: bread buns, breadcakes, barms, baps, small stotties etc. My mother-in-law used to refer to the end slice in a loaf of bread (which we called the "crust") the Heel. She always called Inverness "Inversneckie" and she always made a Clootie Dumpling for Christmas or birthdays (with wrapped coins baked in - used to be an old sixpence but in later years 20p pieces for good luck). Father-in-law used, as a treat for his daughters, to make Tablet. Far too sweet for my taste!

[@michaelkirk1198]

Piece is used in Fife a lot, also in Fife a friend is called a Neebur or Neebs for short

[@BrokenBackMountains]

There are pubs in Lanarkshire that sell Buckie in a hauf n hauf.

[@yrv130]

Great video Kakibot, as you allude to, a lot of words are more commonly used in certain parts of Scotland and words like barrie and chorie are more popular in the city of Edinburgh. As an aside, there are phonetic similarities with Swedish and Norwegian in the use of words like bra (braw) and nu (noo (now)) and kirk for a church.

[@TheMadmacs]

oh hen, yuv been swiggin the bucky? hod oan al phone ye a taxi.

[@brianarbenz1329]

How 'bout, "I cunnah make the engines work, Captain. I'll put more delithium crystals in!" (sorry, that's my U.S.-centered limigted view. Though I hope to learn _real_ Scottish words!

[@frasergavin418]

Hi kakibot,I'm from Dundee and never heard of to chum me but chum is pal .we use piece a lot also Cundy means drain cludgey means toilet, press means cupboard.

[@lifestoryguy]

Watch Scottish comedy shows like Chewin' the Fat to see many of these words used to the highest degree.

[@InfinityOf6]

Am a right smartypants but I like to dress up as a ned and visit classy joints, cos am really into prejudice :P

[@bigmeltie1]

"Ah'm no a hen that lays eggs!"

[@davidpierce3217]

How about "doobly doo"? I've only heard it from a certain Edinburgh youtuber I follow

[@Kakibot]

😅 I SWEAR there are other KZbinrs who do use it!! (Which makes it.. jargon I guess!)

[@gallaghim]

Very interesting. I love these little quirks in language, when I come across a nice word like some of these, I like to change them around and incorporate them into my writing. I've noted most of these down for future reference 😊.

[@JampStart]

I enjoyed watching this video. I learned a lot. Will be coming there and these words would really help. Thanks thanks! 😊

[@stuartmarshall2418]

Been watching your videos for years always enjoy them, have noticed you are starting to develop a slight Scottish accent when you say say certain words and phrases and not just the Scottish words your explaining but in your general conversation. 👍

[@auldfouter8661]

Spicket = tap ( as in fawcet) , strone = a stream of milk from a cow's teat , pick = to abort ( of a cow) , steek yer e'en = shut your eyes, shuin = shoes, neb = nose ( on your face) , pech = to pant ( as in short of breath) , clockin = the desire to sleep , or of a hen , the desire to sit on eggs. Meat is food in general and not necessarily flesh . When someone put too much sugar in my great-grandmother's tea she said in disgust it was " jist bee's meat ".

[@deereillymedia]

Im sorry, i hardly use any of these words but doesn't mean I'm less Scottish. Im a proud Scot and a proud brit, but i find this sort of stuff just cringable.

[@Kakibot]

This is actually a super helpful insight - I've left a whole bunch of words out in this list exactly for this reason - my Scottish friends just don't use them. My personal pet peeve is 'Haud yer wheesht' which feels like exclusively souvenir speak - but I am told it's used outside of Edinburgh relatively often?

[@auldfouter8661]

@@Kakibot I think this is a risible remark. Most Scots words are not cringy - they are more often from Middle English , Old Norse or Gaelic. iIwould be told " wheesht " as a child if I was talking out of turn. In Ayrshire as kids playing tag , if you were tired and didn't want to be made het, you could put your thumbs up and shout "keys" . My mother who grew up in Stirlingshire would say " barley " for a wee rest.

[@Kakibot]

@@auldfouter8661 I think the context to keep in mind for both David and I is that we are Edinburgh based and through our content we mostly communicate to and with foreign visitors (and people moving here from abroad), plus I also work in souvenir design - I'm sure the thought behind the comment wasn't "these don't exist and have no meaning" but more of a "my Edinburgh social bubble doesn't use these words therefore I see no point in pretending this is how we speak in Edinburgh for my foreign friends"

[@healingandgrowth-infp4677]

@@Kakibot I just say wheesh when someone is annoying me n is noisy. The whole term is outdated to me esp using the “t”at the end

[@yrv130]

No such thing as a proud Scot feeling cringy about Scots words, you reveal the truth when you also say that you're a proud Brit.

[@davidlittle7182]

You should have checked this list with a Scot first

[@Kakibot]

I’ve checked with many - this list is entirely based off things my Scottish social circle says.