'Paprika' is a spice made from what we call in the UK, peppers. In the US they are called 'bell peppers.' In Australia, New Zealand and India what we call a 'pepper' is known as a 'capsicum.' But that is referring to the fruit, not the spice. So in some countries, it is an everyday word (it would not be understood in the UK) but not to refer to 'paprika.'

Okay, interesting! :-) So it is different, everywhere you go. I see now that I must have picked the term up during my stay in New Zealand. A roommate of mine (whose mother tongue is a kind of pidgin english, he's from Kamerun, laughed at me when i called the vegetable/fruit capsicum. He calls it Paprika. So i wondered. Thank you all for the answers.

In the USA we typically refer to each type of "pepper" by its name. Papariki, to my knowledge, is limited to dried and ground spice. We have an abundance of peppers here. They are different in appearance and level of heat. Bell peppers are the big roundish looking ones with no heat. Jalapeño are the hot green ones. Thai chilis, fresno, hatch, serano, habanero and scotch bonnet are some others with medium to scorching hot levels of heat. Needless to say we love our peppers!

So three former British colonies all call these large peppers, "capsicum" and yet Phil says it's not a UK term. Wow. Explain that. I confirm all. Those large fresh red, green & yellow "peppers" are called capsicum in New Zealand.

We call it "capsicum" here in Australia, but I realise it's a particular usage here and other countries call it by other names. Perhaps we do so because we won't confuse it with the "other" pepper (small black berries, usually dried and ground). To us, paprika refers to the powdered form of the vegetable and I've only called the fresh vegetable "paprika" while in central Europe.