I’m Canadian, living in Sydney, and everyone says this phrase that I haven’t heard anywhere else.

A Canadian living in Sydney named the only phrase he hears in the city that he has never encountered anywhere else.

Josiah Hayne said saying “you’re okay mate” in response to “sorry” irritated him because he didn’t know if it was positive or negative.

If said quickly in an Australian accent, it can also sound like “you’re-right-man”, which further confuses tourists and expats.

Josiah explained that he regularly hears this phrase on the street, usually after he apologizes to someone, which, as a Canadian, he does many times a day.

“I’m walking down the street in Australia and this cool guy in a suit is walking right towards me, and he kind of stopped, and I stopped, and I was like, ‘Oh, sorry, man,'” he explained.

“He didn’t say, ‘It’s okay, bro.’ He didn’t say “it’s okay.” He didn’t say, “Oh, sorry.” The guy told me, “You’re okay.”

He said that, using the Australian way of speaking, it sounded as if he was telling him that he was right – as if he had answered the question correctly.

If someone apologized to him in the same way, he would respond with, “You’re doing well,” or “You’re cute,” or “Don’t worry about it, my man.”

He said the line felt “less warm,” although he admitted it had “more swagger.”

“There’s something nice about it,” he said.

Many Australians were quick to comment on his video and explain how it should be taken.

“On a deeper level, it means you don’t have to worry about apologizing. As if there is no need for anyone to forgive the actions of another since we don’t even care. So yeah, you’re fine,” one woman said.

“It’s kind of a question and a statement at the same time. Like, “Are you okay?” and “everything is good together,” suggested another.

Others didn’t realize it was an Australian thing.

“100 percent forget that this is not a ubiquitous thing and talk about it all the time in Hong Kong. I never thought that someone wouldn’t understand what I mean,” said the traveler.

Some Australians have warned the Canadian to beware of less friendly phrases: “Are you for real, mate?” which may sound similar to the untrained ear.

“It has a completely different vibe,” one warned.

“Yeah, we’re going to fight this,” said another.

“If it’s ‘rightmade’ then that’s fine, but if we say ‘are you right, mate?’ then everything will definitely not be all right with this assistant,” explained a third.