NewStats: 3,265,181 , 8,185,923 topics. Date: Friday, 13 June 2025 at 06:52 PM 2f315f

Many people speak English as their first language. It is one of the most commonly spoken languages in the world.
Nigerians are very good at a number of things and one of them is inventing their own version of English which has become popular overtime.
Some of the words and phrases we use often cannot be found in the dictionary. Some are words you picked up from others and they have become quite a norm.
It is not only the uneducated folks that are guilty of using these wrong words as the very educated Nigerians also use the English language inappropriately.
Below are words Nigerians use that don’t exist in the English dictionary.
1. Go-slow: When Nigerians say go-slow, they mean congested traffic, which is wrong. The meaning of go-slow in the English dictionary is, a form of industrial action in which work or progress is deliberately delayed or slowed down.
2. Disvirgin: This word is used on a daily basis by many Nigerians when they intend to say a woman has lost her virginity. There is no word like disvirgin. The correct word to use is deflower. Disvirgin simply does not exist.
3. Trafficate: Nigerians use the word to describe a situation where a driver indicates to other drivers that he/she wants to take a turn. It is used so often, that it has started to sound like proper English.
4. Flashing: Every Nigerian knows “flashing” to mean when someone calls your mobile phone and cuts off before you answer. The word ‘flash’ is so common among Nigerians and its used at least once daily by many. Flash has different meanings but none has anything to do with a phone call. The word doesn’t exist in that sense in English.
5. Installmentally: Don’t be tempted to use the word ‘installmentally’. Though it sounds correct, it isn’t. There is no such word in the English dictionary as it exists only in the Nigerian edition of English language. The correct thing to say is ‘in installments’.
6. Opportuned: What exists in English dictionaries is ‘opportune,’ without ‘d’ at the end. Opportune means ‘timely’ or ‘well-time, especially convenient or appropriate for a particular action or event. Opportuned is only common in Nigerian English.
7. Cunny: This is a word which Nigerians use to describe someone that is being deceitful or crafty. The right word is cunning not cunny.
8. Next tomorrow: Most Nigerians generally use “next tomorrow” but there is not such word as next tomorrow. Instead you should say, “a day after tomorrow."
9. Packer: Nigerians probably got the word from pack. The right word is dustpan. Since dustpan packs dirt, Nigerians like to call it packer.
10. Pepperish: It is common to hear Nigerians describe a meal that has too much pepper in it as pepperish. The proper word should be ‘peppery’. No native English speaker uses the word pepperish” to describe the burning sensation we feel from eating pepper.
Which of these words are you guilty of?
Not too late to learn something new,I learnt too.. you can add other mistakes below

Nice piece!

AND ALSO THE WORD "EPP"

what about "hearing the sound of my voice" as some televangelists use to say, is that not tautology?

Nice write up Op but you can do better.Arrange ur points properly and paragraph to make it appealing

Haba!

Lol that bitch just gave me a flash

I was opportuned to meet the lady selling packers and other plastic items beside the canteen where the soup is always pepperish. She told me i would be the one to disvirgin her if i left my cunny ways behind. On my way to her place there was go slow and her incessant flashing on my phone made me hit the van in front of me when the driver did not trafficate before turning. I promised to pay for the repair of the van installmentally and i shifted my appointment with the lady to next tomorrow.

borednhorny:
I was opportuned to meet the lady selling packers and other plastic items beside the canteen where the soup is always pepperish. She told me i would be the one to disvirgin her if i left my cunny ways behind. On my way to her place there was go slow and her incessant flashing on my phone made me hit the van in front of me when the driver did not trafficate before turning. I promised to pay for the repair of the van installmentally and i shifted my appointment with the lady to next tomorrow.

it's obvious u're Bored

Nice article. Thank you.
One doesn't realize how poor Nigerian English is until you have cause to communicate with foreigners especially English people.

IamaNigerianGuy:
Thanks. Nice article. One doesn't realize how poor Nigerian English is until you have cause to communicate with foreigners especially English people.

thank you very much

nice one op

Hahah flashing baaad finish.
Can one say beep instead?

Trafficate - Indicate


O'boy packer no correct too, WTF

borednhorny:
I was opportuned to meet the lady selling packers and other plastic items beside the canteen where the soup is always pepperish. She told me i would be the one to disvirgin her if i left my cunny ways behind. On my way to her place there was go slow and her incessant flashing on my phone made me hit the van in front of me when the driver did not trafficate before turning. I promised to pay for the repair of the van installmentally and i shifted my appointment with the lady to next tomorrow.

See rhymes, abeg sell am to EFe

Luizkid:
it's obvious u're Bored

see my moniker

fuckerstard:

See rhymes, abeg sell am to EFe

based on logistics

Based on logistics? Yes these words do not exist but we create them.
It's left for the whites to add them to existing English dictions

ngoremeka:

Many people speak English as their first language. It is one of the most commonly spoken languages in the world.
Nigerians are very good at a number of things and one of them is inventing their own version of English which has become popular overtime.
Some of the words and phrases we use often cannot be found in the dictionary. Some are words you picked up from others and they have become quite a norm.
It is not only the uneducated folks that are guilty of using these wrong words as the very educated Nigerians also use the English language inappropriately.
Below are words Nigerians use that don’t exist in the English dictionary.
1. Go-slow: When Nigerians say go-slow, they mean congested traffic, which is wrong. The meaning of go-slow in the English dictionary is, a form of industrial action in which work or progress is deliberately delayed or slowed down.
2. Disvirgin: This word is used on a daily basis by many Nigerians when they intend to say a woman has lost her virginity. There is no word like disvirgin. The correct word to use is deflower. Disvirgin simply does not exist.
3. Trafficate: Nigerians use the word to describe a situation where a driver indicates to other drivers that he/she wants to take a turn. It is used so often, that it has started to sound like proper English.
4. Flashing: Every Nigerian knows “flashing” to mean when someone calls your mobile phone and cuts off before you answer. The word ‘flash’ is so common among Nigerians and its used at least once daily by many. Flash has different meanings but none has anything to do with a phone call. The word doesn’t exist in that sense in English.
5. Installmentally: Don’t be tempted to use the word ‘installmentally’. Though it sounds correct, it isn’t. There is no such word in the English dictionary as it exists only in the Nigerian edition of English language. The correct thing to say is ‘in installments’.
6. Opportuned: What exists in English dictionaries is ‘opportune,’ without ‘d’ at the end. Opportune means ‘timely’ or ‘well-time, especially convenient or appropriate for a particular action or event. Opportuned is only common in Nigerian English.
7. Cunny: This is a word which Nigerians use to describe someone that is being deceitful or crafty. The right word is cunning not cunny.
8. Next tomorrow: Most Nigerians generally use “next tomorrow” but there is not such word as next tomorrow. Instead you should say, “a day after tomorrow."
9. Packer: Nigerians probably got the word from pack. The right word is dustpan. Since dustpan packs dirt, Nigerians like to call it packer.
10. Pepperish: It is common to hear Nigerians describe a meal that has too much pepper in it as pepperish. The proper word should be ‘peppery’. No native English speaker uses the word pepperish” to describe the burning sensation we feel from eating pepper.
Which of these words are you guilty of?
Not too late to learn something new,I learnt too.. you can add other mistakes below

Nice one....., but i feel it will be better if you can tell us the right words to use in each context since you are educating us...
for example the right word to use for no 10(pepperish) is peppery e.g The food is peppery

more words that only exist in naija vocab
vulcanizer...well it does exist but not da way we use it

brb...

Go-Slow: A form of industrial action in which work or progress is deliberately delayed or slowed down.

e.g. "A spokesperson denied all knowledge of a reported go-slow by mechanics"

Pepperish is a word.

Dis Op just the vex me. Haba mana kai. If we propose inclusion into dictionary nko, e bad ne?

And When They Say I Used To When The Still Do That Thing They Meant.

If I speak English correctly,hope I'll be able to displace the queen, mtcheeeeew.....

Op you have done a good job. With all these words we can create the Nigerian edition of the oxford dictionary. Have heard flashing like 2 million times yesterday

Oya
Come and be going
Joor
Jare

Inlaw e.g m0ther inlaw, instead of in law.

I once told a white chick. I saw your flash....After the embarrasmet I learnt to say. Missed a call.

soloist

lol @ soloist

Hmmmmmmmmmmm

"Hot" or "Spicy" over "peppery"