All photos by author.
Try these phrases on your Nigerian friends to gain quicker access into their world.
I’ll admit. Whenever a foreigner spews a few words of Yòrubá to me, regardless of delivery quality, I instantly warm up, throwing them a cheesy grin of approval. This gesture shows they’ve made an effort to learn my tribal tongue, one of 521 estimated Nigerian languages they could have chosen from.
If they open up with Pidgin English instead, I instantly perk up. Speaking Pidgin transforms them from visiting foreigner into one of hundreds of well integrated expatriates in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital. There’s a certain intimacy that this form of broken English emits; a down-to-earth, survivalist approach to everyday living and hustling in Africa’s most populous nation.
Pidgin English is extremely popular in most parts of Africa, particularly West Africa, and has been accepted as the de-facto language of blue collar trade and merchants. Pidgin remains the “great” equalizer – a way of communicating on a base level that cuts through bullshit.
Photo by author.
With roughly 250 tribes speaking 521 languages and dialects, English is the country’s official business language.
For citizens without easy access to higher education and white collar jobs, picking up a few words of English and mixing it with elements of their native tongues has been the default way of communicating across tribal cultures.
Variations of Pidgin English can be found all over the world, from the Caribbean to China, and each comes with its own library of everyday words.
As you travel across West Africa, the style of Pidgin spoken becomes more familiar, but still differs based on local language elements infused into it.
Even if you don’t find yourself traveling to Nigeria in the distant future, try one of these phrases on one of your Nigerian friends, and fully bask in their glowing response.
Quick Reference
Listen to how the Pidgin English phrases below sound –
How Bodi? / How You Dey? – How are you doing today?
How Far? – Hey, Hi
Wetin? – What?
Photo by author.
I no no – I don’t know
I no sabi – I don’t understand
I dey fine – I’m fine. I’m doing well.
Wetin dey happen? – What’s going on? What’s happening?
Wahala – Problem/Trouble. Example – Why you dey give me wahala? Which means why are you giving me so many problems?
Comot! – Get out of here!
Comot for road – Make way
Dem send you? – Have you been sent to torment me?
Gi mi – Give it to me.
K-leg – Questionable. Example – Your story get k-leg! Which means your story or gist sounds suspect or exaggerated.
I Wan Chop – I want to eat
Come chop – Come and eat
Abeg – Please, but usually not a repentant plea. Example – Abeg! No waste my time!; Which means Please! Don’t waste my time!
Vex – Upset. Example – Make you no vex me! ; Which means “Don’t upset me!”
I no gree – I don’t agree, I disagree
Abi? – Isn’t it?
Na so? – Is that so?
Wayo – Trickery. Example – That man be wayo; which means “that man is a fraud!”
Area boys -Street-smart young men that loiter around neighborhoods.
Butta my bread – Answered prayers. Example – “God don butta my bread” which means God has answered my prayers
Go slow – Traffic jam
I go land you slap – I will slap you!
Listen well well – Pay attention
Resources
For a complete library of Nigerian Pidgin English, check out the links below:
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33 Comments... join the discussion!
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Thank you o!
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Oh my God, I LOVE this. And the photos are, as usual, exceptionalz1 Sharing this everywhere!
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Haha. Thanks Julie!
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This is great. But, you should add an audio track/podcast for this post! Would be awesome to hear you say the phrases and hear a full conversation in Nigerian Pidgen English.
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Audrey – That’s a fantastic idea! Let me see if I can record some of the phrases…
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Love this!! Thanks so much for adding an audio track – it’s awesome to hear your voice and to hear the intonations and pace. I would have sounded like an idiot if I had said some of the phrases without hearing your example. Hope this is part of a series!
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Hey all, the post has been updated with an audio track of the phrases!
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Nice!
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Hey! That’s great! Is that you in the audio?
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Yes, that’s me
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Awesome! And that’s an amazing pic of the woman carrying pig’s feet on her head. Ghanaians also add “o” to the end of a lot of sentences
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Wow, so cool! Thanks so much, Lola.
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Love it!
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love this post so much lola, yes! great to read and hear your voice.
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Lola, this is SUPER COOL! Thanks for sharing!
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Lola, u do well o….(as in “good job”).
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Love this Lola! Also was so great to hear your voice! How about now now? Is it used much in Nigeria?
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“Lola you try no be small thing for person wey don tey for yonder, you still dey flow well well for pidgin”
Great job girl!!!
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Haha, thank you all o!
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Ekua – Yes! We definitely add “o” too at the end of sentences for extra emphasis. Example – Thank you o!
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Neha – Absolutely. We also use “now now” which means “immediately”. For example – Come here now now! Which means “come here immediately!”
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Love hearing your voice! That is one that I miss about getting to know people in the online world. The voice rounds out a person in a way nothing else can. Thanks for adding the audio!
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Christine – Thanks! Hearing how we sound certainly transforms us from glittery eyed avatars behind Twitter and email accounts to actually living beings
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wow, this is so interesting! There is a Nigerian man in my French class (in France) and while his first language is English, it’s not always easy to understand him. He speaks a very different kind of English. I can’t wait to surprise him with some of these phrases!
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This is my favorite! — Make you no vex me! ; Which means “Don’t upset me!”
It’s really interesting to see that there are similarities between pidgin english and african-american street language — the way words kind of get swallowed, combined, and slid over. Really does, as you say, cut through the bullshit. Thanks so much for this!
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@Jordan – Thanks! I’d be curious to hear your classmate’s reaction when you try a few of these on him
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@Simone – Glad you liked it
There’s a certain urgency to the way it sounds as well
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This is great! I’ve spent some time in Cameroon, and I could picture my friends there saying these phrases! Thanks for bringing it all back.
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Love it! Love it! Love it!
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Thanks Lola,
I just found this site. Am preparing to give a pidgin English lesson to a group of Expatriates in my company. This is really nice. I will let you know how it went.↵
