Nigerian English is a version of English that has been shaped by millions of Nigerians and the many languages in the nation.
Although they are not grammatically correct, many of the English phrases used every day in Nigeria are not random mistakes. The beauty of Nigerian English is that it prioritises clarity, emotion, and shared understanding over rigid grammar rules.
In a country of over 250 ethnic groups and languages, a good number of them are literal translations from our local languages into English. 
Hence, what sounds strange to outsiders often makes perfect sense to fellow Nigerians.
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Common Nigerian English Expressions and What They Mean
Here are some of the most common Nigerian English expressions and what they actually mean:
1. Trafficate
Meaning: To indicate / use your car’s turn signal.
Typical usage: “The driver did not trafficate before he made the turn”
Correct usage: “The driver did not indicate before he made the turn”
2. Installmentally
Meaning: In installments / bit by bit.
Example: “I have made plans to make payments Installmentally.”
Correct usage: “I have made plans to make payments in installments.”
3. Dash
Meaning: To give (especially for free or as a gift).
Typical usage: “Did you dash me the money?”
Correct usage: “Did you give me the money as a gift?”
4. Traveling box
Meaning: Suitcase.
Typical usage: “Pack the clothes into the traveling box”
Correct usage: “Pack the clothes into the suitcase.”
5. Horning / “Horn at”
Meaning: Honk the horn
Typical usage: “Horn at the car in front!”
Correct usage: “Honk at the car in front!”
6. Flash me / I will flash you
Meaning / correct usage: Give me a missed call / I will give you a missed call.
7. “I’m coming”
This one confuses foreigners the most, because a typical Nigerian says it while leaving a place for a few minutes.
Meaning / correct usage: I’m leaving now / I’II be right back.
8. “Slept off”
Meaning: To fall asleep (usually unintentionally).
Typical usage: “I’m sorry, I slept off last night”
Correct usage: “I’m sorry, I fell asleep last night”
9. “It won’t size me”
Meaning / correct usage: It won’t fit me. (Usually of a dress or shoes.)
10. “Let me hear word”
Meaning / correct usage: Be quiet / give me a break (used when the listener is tired of hearing a speaker talk, complain or boast, and wants to listen to something else, or nothing.)
11. “Are you less busy?”
Meaning / correct usage: Are you free?
12. “It’s like you don’t have something doing”
Meaning / correct usage: You seem to have nothing to do.
13. “I just branched her place”
Meaning / correct usage : I just stopped by her place.
14. “Help me beg him”
Meaning / correct usage: Help me plead with him / Help me convince him.
15. “Talk less of”
Meaning: Let alone / Not to mention.
Example: “He can’t even cook rice, talk less of jollof!’
Correct usage: “He can’t even cook rice, let alone jollof!’
16. “I want to drop here”
Meaning/correct usage: I want to get down / alight here.
17. “Borrow me your pen”
Meaning/correct usage: Lend me your pen.
(This is a direct translation. In many Nigerian languages, the same word is used for both
“borrow” and “lend.”)
18. “I am hearing the smell”
Meaning/correct usage: I can smell it.
In several Nigerian languages, the same verb is used for both hearing and smelling, so this is a literal translation.
19. “I am seeing my period”
Meaning/correct usage: I am having my period / I am menstruating.
20. “I want to barb my hair”
Meaning: I want to cut my hair / I want to get a haircut.
(“Barb” comes from “barber.”)
21. Pepperish
Meaning: Spicy or peppery.
Typical usage: “I could barely eat the food. It was pepperish”
Correct usage: “I could barely eat the food. It was peppery”
These expressions didn’t appear by accident.
Many of them are the result of Nigerians thinking in their mother tongue and speaking in English.
The grammar and word choices often follow the logic of Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Pidgin, and other local languages rather than standard British or American English.
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Story written by Oluwagbohunmi Bajela, edited by Sola Sanusi.
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