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I saw a youtube video of a guy standing at a street corner doing exercises for his social anxiety in London. Saying something like "How are you doing? You're alright, mate?" to a passing by stranger.

What would be an American equivalent to "mate" be?

I'd guess "man". But I was reading something just a minute ago mentioning that "man" would be used between friends not strangers and that threw me off because I used it with strangers all the time.

tchrist
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hombre
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2 Answers2

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As an American who's a bit of an Anglophile, I think "Alright, mate?" would be about equivalent to our "How's it going?". It sounds like the person in the video is just practicing saying casual hellos to strangers to help with his social anxiety. Probably saying anything like "hello", "how's it going", "good morning", "good afternoon", even "how do you do" or "howdy" would fit the bill. "Alright, man?" could even work, but would only really be used with actual men, and not women. That might be true for "mate" in England in this context, too, though "mate" is also used for female friends in other contexts. "Man" can be used with strangers in America, not just friends, but you kind of have to be careful how you say it. "Hey, man" might sound offensive to a stranger, depending on your inflection.

Weather Vane
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    it seems UK/Australian's "mate" is pretty neutral in nature. That's why with "man" I was not sure it's the right equivalent since it can have a negative connotation based on an intonation I guess. Similar to "buddy", "buddy" is probably worse in this regard. "Dude" seems to be very informal and a below age 30 thing. – hombre Dec 26 '21 at 23:14
  • I think you're right about all of that. "Mate" over there basically just means "friend". But people would find it strange if you said, "Alright, friend?" to strangers here, ha. –  Dec 26 '21 at 23:20
  • Would "pal" or "buddy" work in an American context, or are they strictly used for actual friends? – Showsni Dec 27 '21 at 04:00
  • My opinion as an Australian English speaker is that buddy and dude would both be reasonable equivalents to mate. – nnnnnn Dec 27 '21 at 05:17
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    @nnnnn As a British English speaker I would agree that "buddy" or "dude" would be the equivalent of "mate". In British English "mate" is only, normally, used when addressing men. Is that also the case in Australian English? – BoldBen Dec 27 '21 at 12:23
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    "Pal" and "buddy" could be used with strangers in the US, but with the same caveat as "man". You'd be more likely to hear those used towards a stranger (without meaning offense) in a place like New York, while people from other parts of the country might find it overly familiar and therefore rude. –  Dec 28 '21 at 02:59
  • @BoldBen - Some Australians will address anyone as "mate", but in my experience it is more commonly applied only to men or boys. – nnnnnn Dec 28 '21 at 04:26
  • @nnnnn An increasing number of women address men as "mate" which is great. However we have a bit of a problem finding an equivalent term for addressing women, the usual practical equivalents are things like "love" and "darling" but these are objected to most strongly by many women. I'd like some suggestions personally. – BoldBen Dec 29 '21 at 19:53
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Dude, man, guy, friend, buddy, pal etc - I think all work... they do all seem 'masculine' though

There is a class element to it too I guess

‘Mate’ has the suggestion that you’re socially equal.

You would use it less in a business/corporate setting, your boss, the police etc

naml0s
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