UK question

[edgarf76]

I have a question for guys and guys in the uk, what is the difference with the works bloke and mate? I googled it and it seems that mate is the same thing as dude in American English. Bloke seems to have a gender tied to it. Any Uk guys ands gals can to chime in?


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[WATP]

Yeah you are right, Bloke would generally refer to a male (most commonly an adult, don't think I've ever heard a kid be called a 'bloke' hehe). Example "John is a great bloke" (meaning he is a great guy basically).

As for 'mate' and 'dude' that you mentioned, it depends how they are used I guess, but both are just friendly ways to address someone. Example: "Hi mate, how are you doing?" or "Hi dude, how are you doing?". 'Dude' is maybe a bit more common in the US than the UK. However, you wouldn't really ever hear someone say "Hi Bloke, how are you doing", it doesn't really work. Hope that helps!

[TheGooner]

Bloke does not infer any sort of friendship ... eg. There was this bloke hanging around ...
Mate suggests that the person is a friend.

[Anthony-Coral]

I concur with what they said ^^^^

[baldidiot]

Agreed - what they said.

Just to add though, I think mate is more commonly used to refer to a male (or mixed group of friends in the plural form) by another male, but not always - some girls use it and some guys use it when referring to girls (or certain girls), but that's less common (in my experience at least).

[iGamingWriter]

Mate does get used as a reference to females as well, though generally in a pluralised setting - i.e. when referring to ones "mates" which can include females. You'd be unlikely to refer to a female friend as a "mate" in the singular, unless of course you'd been watching to much Attenborough and she was your sexual partner (though that would likely end with a night on the couch).

And I would also point out that 'mate' can be used in an aggressive format as well in a way that I don't think 'dude' can. For example - "mate, what the [INSERT COLOURFUL LANGUAGE HERE] are you looking at?"

[Renee]

It could just be me, but here mate can be used for a girl too.

I always refer to my girlfriends as my mates. In fact I call everyone mate whether they are a guy or a girl.

Bloke is used here a lot too. The female equivalent is sheela (check the second definition), although the female equivalent is kinda only really used when describing a bogan female here. It's also a woman's name, but if someone is called Sheela, they are usually from the less fortunate part of the suburbs.

[edgarf76]

Sheela I like that. I think I may use it


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[WATP]

Yeah Sheila is definitely a term from down under, not one we use in the UK although most people in the UK would know what it means and relate it to Australia! We actually had a car insurance company advertising on TV for ages called "Sheila's Wheels", not sure if that was just here in the UK or others saw it as well - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrKaQRIXPNw

Renee is right; in the UK also, we would call female friends "my mates" as well so it's not gender restricted or only said between specific genders.

[edgarf76]

That is gold!!!!


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