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Translate English to Nigerian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nigerian Word |
Continuous Meaning |
ENGLISH NIGERIAN |
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B. |
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ba |
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isn't it |
baba |
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an amiable person {usually a man} |
baba |
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any old man older than speaker, term of respect also papa. widespread term for 'father' corresponding to mama for older woman |
baba |
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this is another word for father |
baba; mama |
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an elderly man or woman |
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babangida |
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{type of} ulcerated disease |
babanriga |
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a kind of long, loose dress for men, especially among the Hausas; {e.g. I really like your babanriga} |
babe |
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a term of endearment between women; Girlfriend |
baboon |
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derogatory term, foolish person; the animal baboon |
baby girl/boy |
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girl/boy friend |
bacha |
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temporary shed or building in Africa or Asia? |
back |
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to carry a baby on the back In America they don't back their babies as we do here |
back |
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to turn one's back on I just backed him and pretended not to see him |
back hand |
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bribe |
back hand |
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to slap someone with the back of your hand |
back, at my |
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behind He was standing at my back |
backyard |
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see ikebe |
bad belle |
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jealousy or envy |
bad belle |
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to hold a grudge/ to envy someone |
bad bush |
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place where people who die abnormal deaths are buried or thrown away |
bad gan |
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too bad in a good way |
bad mouth |
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Speak maliciously about someone. |
bad-belle |
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malice, Player hater, |
baddo |
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someone who is highly respected or seen as very good at what they do; Someone who commands a lot of respect, power, influence or authority { for example, See as everybodi jus dey hail yu, yu bi baddo o.!; Dat guy na baddo.} |
bado |
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a bad person. Could also mean being good in what you do. depends on the context |
badoo |
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someone who is extremly bad esp. Socially |
badoski |
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same as the word "Baddo". Check "baddo". Means to be a bad/tough guy |
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baf |
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bathe |
baff |
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bath; the process of cleaning ones self. Could be a shower or bath |
baff up |
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dress up, especially in flashy clothes. |
baffs |
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clothes |
bag |
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originally a fifty-kilo jute bag but now commonly used for hundred Naira a bag of money = 100 pounds = 200 naira {I doubt if this is the bag originally referred to! I have thought {but not checked} it was a bag of cowries as an old standard size} |
bag |
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to get, especially position, degree or award Adamu has bagged the governorship, He has bagged an M.A. Archaic English sporting terminology. Also in Indian English. |
baggish |
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rubbish |
bah |
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money |
bakasi |
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see ikebe |
bakassi |
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booty |
bala |
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have sexual intercourse |
balance |
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change {for purchase} Give me my balance |
balance |
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standing or sitting complacently, apparently unconcerned about anything {used of a person, possibly also of an animal} see her just balancing there feeling cool about herself |
balance |
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to give change I will balance you fifty Naira I must give you fifty Naira change |
bam |
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something that is good |
Bambara nut |
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Bambara groundnut, Vigna subterranea |
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bamboo |
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midrib of palm frond. Also applied to bamboo proper, though this may be called 'Indian bamboo' to distinguish it. |
bandy |
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to bandy about I have no time to bandy with them |
bang |
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to have sex |
banga |
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fireworks |
banga soup |
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a kind of local stew made from boiled palm fruits. |
banger |
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popularly knows as knockouts. They are fire crackers blown up during christmas and new year period. |
bani |
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a young girl; {street slang for girlfriend} |
banny |
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a girl; a person's gilfriend. |
banta |
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fierce fight between two people or groups. |
baobab |
baobab tree |
Adansonia digitata. |
baraje |
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this can be used to describe something that is spoiled, wrong or bad. [Yoruba Origins] |
barb |
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cutting or shaving ones hair. usually refers specifically to cutting with clippers, as opposed to trimming with scissors {I dey go barb my hair} |
barb |
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to cut s.o.'s hair She is barbing him Back-formation from barber |
barbing salon |
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barber's shop |
barbing salon |
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hairdressing salon Viable small businesses... are mostly in such trades as hair dressing and barbing salons, tailoring shops as well as 'pure water' packaging businesses. |
barny |
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a girl |
bash |
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party or to hit something. |
basket mouth |
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a talkative |
batcher |
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a wooden plank house. |
bath |
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any type of whole-body washing, most often with a bucket Have you taken your bath? |
bath |
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to wash the whole body by any method Do you want to bath? |
bathroom slippers |
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rubber flip-flops. they are sometimes worn while bathing in general bathrooms {e.g. boarding school} which have no bath tubs {I can't find my bathroom slippers} |
batterie |
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First, "batterie", which sounds like "battery", is sometimes used as an alternative word for the theatrical dance called theballet. This NOT physically hitting somebody as "assault and battery" |
bature |
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white man shouted at foreigners in northern Nigeria. Also sometimes applied jocularly to albinos. {Hausa} |
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baz |
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to smoke; Usually a cigarette or marijuana. |
be for |
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to have, to possess this moto is for you this is your car |
be with |
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to have, to possess it is with him he has it. |
beans |
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cowpeas Vigna unguiculata |
beat |
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to strike, hit {but not necessarily violently}, to fall {rain} If you do that again I am going to beat you. I'm going to beat you {but could be just a token blow} Take care or rain will beat you. also used for rain, even when it is falling softly |
beau |
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boo or beautiful |
beautiful and handsome |
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school have been taught that "beautiful" is the adjective of choice to describe good-looking women and that "handsome" describes a good-looking man. That's largely true. A woman is described as "handsome" is she is "fine-looking" in a dignified way, a reference is being made not to her face, but to her physical proportions. Beautiful, handsome, lovely, pretty refer to a pleasing appearance. A person or thing that is beautiful has perfection of form, color, etc., or noble and spiritual qualities: a beautiful landscape, a beautiful woman. Handsome often implies stateliness or pleasing proportion and symmetry: a handsome man.That which is lovely is beautiful but in a warm and endearing way: a lovely smile. Pretty implies a moderate but noticeable beauty, especially in that which is small or of minor importance: a pretty child. |
bebescout |
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too forward |
bebeto |
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too forward |
bedsheet |
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sheets I will put bedsheet for you I'll put sheets on your bed. |
been-to |
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a person who has returned to Nigeria after a long stay overseas {e.g. the way he speaks, everybody knows that he is a been-to} |
been-to |
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s.o. who has 'been-to' Europe or America this been-to is now a big man. perhaps now becoming archaic |
beer-beer |
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{also see bia bia} Beard |
Beetle |
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Volkswagen car I get Beetle. Volkswagens were made in Nigeria and imported from Brazil long after they disappeared in Europe |
before nko |
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it was expected |
beg |
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to plead, beg, but used in more trivial contexts than in Standard English. Also in the sentence tag, I beg. Do not do this thing-o, I beg! |
beg beg |
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One who always begs |
Belgian |
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good quality second-hand item also Belgium; practice of importing second-hand cars and now other goods from Belgium |
belle |
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this means stomach |
belle full |
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full, from eating to your heart's content. Not able to eat more. |
bend down |
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a form of second hand attire |
bend down boutique |
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fairly used clothes for sale. Its usually spread on mat for passers by to buy. see orkrika |
bend down select |
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2nd hand clothing sold by the roadside |
beniseed |
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sesame, sesamum indicum there are two species of beniseed, white and black. black beniseed is sesamum radiatum {Benue seed} |
benji |
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money |
bent-back |
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hunchback |
berekete |
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abundant, plentiful, in excess |
berry don black |
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a way to express that there's enough money... |
berry never black |
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a way to express that you're not wealthy enough yet. |
beta |
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better |
betta |
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good times; improvement |
bia bia |
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beards. |
bicos |
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because |
bicos why |
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the reason is? |
bifor bifor |
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long time ago |
bifor nko |
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What did you expect? |
bifor-bifor |
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Long time ago. |
big dowry wife |
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wife married under the big bride-price system; This is a system typical of the Niger Delta, where on payment of a large brideprice the husband's family has rights over his wife's children. |
big eye |
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greedy |
big man |
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a rich man |
biko |
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An igbo word meaning please |
biko |
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please |
bin |
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pidgin word which is used in different ways to indicate that a verb is in the past tense. |
bingo |
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this is a generic name for a dog. |
biro |
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from the well known producer of ball point pens; Bic: biro |
bisko |
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Biscuit |
bitterleaf |
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mucilaginous leaf, used to make draw soup. We enjoy bitterleaf soup Vernonia amygdalina |
bizzy body |
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someone DAT gossips a lot. Someone that get into others business |
black |
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dark-skinned; That boy is very black. N.B. The colour distinctions are very clear in relative context. For example, to say That black boy came to visit you will be clear to the speaker who is choosing one from a set of visitors, but may refer to a distinction invisible to outsiders. opposite fair |
black blacky |
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a dark person |
black Guarea |
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trade name for Guarea thompsonii |
blackout |
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power-cut |
blast scatter |
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fire, attack or shoot with full force and no hesitation |
blindman |
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blind man; Blindman can often be seen begging outside the mosque used as a category like 'policeman' |
blocos |
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this word refers to the male genitalia, specifically the scrotum balls. |
blokkus |
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scrotum |
blom blom |
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blom blom is a balloon |
blom blow |
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Balloon |
blood tonic |
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patent medicine of unknown composition, purporting to 'strengthen' blood and fight off disease. |
blow |
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sex |
blow |
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speak, talk |
bluetooth |
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to send something invisibly. |
bluff |
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to swagger, show off; That boy is just bluffing. { of young men} |
bo |
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my friend; Love {Pidgin} |
boa constrictor |
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large python |
bobbie |
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breasts {particularly sexually arousing ones} |
bobby |
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breast, boobs |
bobie |
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big breast for a woman, striking breast |
bobo |
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trendy guy |
bobozee |
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Cassava chips |
bobs |
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rather formal for Bros; Brother; Guy; Bobo; Ol boi or other exclamation. |
bodi dey inside clothe |
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I'm surviving |
boil beans |
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Not giving a damn, not showing care {used in southern nigeria, esp edo state and delta} |
boju boju |
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Hide and seek game |
boku |
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plenty |
boku |
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plenty, surplus |
boli |
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roasted plantain. it's a popular snack eaten with groundnut or hot oil. |
bolo |
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fool; silent person. |
bololo |
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hairless; bald. |
bom boi |
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a baby boi |
bomboy |
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a male child. Also a male adult who behaves like a child or who is not man enough. |
Bomboy |
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form of address to plump and healthy {male} child Also used to refer to a child, e.g. How is Bomboy? |
bon boy |
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this is the name give to a woman that gives birth to a male child |
bone |
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look serious/mean |
bone |
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to frown or to forget about something or someone |
bone that side |
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forget it |
bonga fish |
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a kind of blackened dried fish used to prepare local soups; Fool |
bongo |
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it is a new word for Nigeria see naija; The word Bongo is derived from Bongo drums or bongos which are percussion instruments made up of two small drums attached to each other; It is also an antelope specie, found in the Western or Lowland Bongo, there are herbivorous, mostly nocturnal forest ungulate and among the largest of the African forest {I just dey come from bongo.} |
bonz |
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to be fresh, beautiful; Very good |
booze man |
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drunkard |
borku |
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plenty, lots |
born boy |
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male infant |
born-again |
born-again Christian |
a fundamentalist type of Christian who rejects all compromise with other religions. According to the predilections of the speaker this can be a simple description or extremely scornful. N.B. can have a plural 'born-agains' |
borrow |
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to lend; Borrow me this money |
borrow leg |
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to flee from trouble. |
borrow pose |
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Showing off with stuff that is not yours. |
bosun |
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an extreme suegbe |
bottom |
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worst; But it's the bottom men that make the leader the worst men become leaders |
bottom power |
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sexual might {of women} for favouritism |
bottom power |
influence gained by a woman or homosexual through sexual favours |
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botty |
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trendy version of ajebutter. refers to someone who has been over-pampered. someone from a wealthy family {that girl na real botty, she no sabi wash plate} |
bow leg |
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Childhood disease caused by deficiency of vitamin D and sunlight associated with impaired metabolism of calcium and phosphorus {thank God, I no get Bow Leg} |
bow na u |
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means you amaze me |
boy |
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any male. |
boy yoyo |
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a poser; Guy that is trendy, hip and likes to show off |
boy |
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house-servant; from Hindi bhai 'servant' but re-analysed as English 'boy', hence its counterpart 'girl' |
boys' quarters |
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usually a row of small rooms behind a large house where houseservants or younger relatives live. Abbreviated to BQ |
braga |
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someone who shows off or a booster {me i no dey braga or you to dey braga} |
branch |
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to turn aside, to divert to {when on the way to somewhere else} I am going to branch at his house. |
bread |
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one Naira give me ten bread! the fall in the value of the Naira has meant that this is now of limited use, but used for 'money' in general. It may always have been mainly student slang. prob. cognate with 'bread' for money. |
breadfruit |
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edible fruit. |
breadnut |
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edible fruit; Contrasts with breadfruit - no central stone |
breaklight |
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shadow |
brideprice |
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payment by a man to the parents of his wife at marriage or before technical anthropological term, but also in common use in Nigeria. |
brikito |
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British or english |
bring |
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to hand over {money}; Bring money! A common conclusion to a bargaining session. |
bring |
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to turn back on {electricity} ; Power holding or NEPA {Nigerian Electricity Power Authority} has brought light again. |
brocade |
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type of cloth; guinea brocade |
broda |
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Brother |
broda-broda |
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Nepotism |
broken |
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short for Broken English |
Broken English |
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pidgin English in contrast to 'Queen's English' |
brokkus |
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part of the male private part, Scrotum |
brokos/prick |
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penis |
brokoto |
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Cooked cow's foot. |
brokun |
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broken english, pidgin english |
bros |
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{clipped form of} brother {not neccessarily biological} |
bros |
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brother |
bros |
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brother |
bros |
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Brother; Someonoe that is trying to feel among but is excluded from a coversation or a circle of people {Dat guy na my bros; E be like say Chukwuma na de number one bros for this side} |
bros fighting |
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When you get into/ join a fight and you dont even know what it is about. |
bros laffing |
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When someone is laffing at something they dont understand in order to feel among. |
bross |
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It can be said when talking to or talking about a person(male) |
brother |
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actual brother or male of the same generation in an extended family. Applied by extension to those of a comparable status in ethnicity religion, politics etc. |
brother dash me |
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hand-me-down, clothes passed on from another generation of a family |
brown envelope |
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symbol of bribe |
brusai |
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flirt |
b-side |
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referred to as Benin City |
buba |
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loose blouse {Yoruba} |
buba |
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Traditional nigerian blouse |
buka |
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a small building alone the road side where people go to eat. canteen |
buka |
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street restaurant {Hausa} |
bukateria |
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a cafeteria, canteen, or simple eating-place. |
buketeria |
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street restaurant humorous extension of buka {Humorous blend of buka + cafeteria} |
bukka |
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roadside restaurant see: mamaput |
bulala |
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Horse Whip see: koboko |
bullet |
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See arrow (entry too) |
bullet |
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small screwed-up piece of paper flung across an exam hall containing answers to questions, used in University of Port Harcourt but there may be alternative forms in other universities |
bun |
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any small soft cake |
bunk |
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house |
buran tashi |
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Aphrodisiac |
buredi |
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bread |
burnt rep |
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short for "burnt reputation"; used to mean that one has been disgraced, or ones reputation has been lowered {why you wear this kind cloth come party, you don burn your rep be that} |
burst out |
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to come out onto take this bush track and you will burst out onto the Onitsha road {especially roads or rivers} |
bush |
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rustic, uncouth. |
bush |
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uncultivated land, usually open savanna. In originally forest areas, woodland |
bush greens |
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any green vegetable used in soup that is gathered from the bush |
bush man |
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unsophisticated man |
bush mango |
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tree and its fruit much prized for use in soup Irvingia gabonensis { ọgbọnọ} |
bush meat |
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a village girl |
bush-burning |
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preparation of land for farming by burning weeds/scrub |
bush-candle |
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tree, Canarium schweinfurthii so-called because the oil can be used in lamps. Colonial-era expression no longer in use |
bush-cat |
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any wild felid. |
bush-cow |
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buffalo, Syncerus caffer. |
bush-dog |
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civet-cat |
bushfire |
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uncontrolled savanna/bush burning in the dry season |
bush-lamp |
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kerosene lantern In the rickety wooden huts of Tselekwu, kerosine bush lamps fight a losing battle to dispel some of the pervasive darkness. |
bushman |
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unsophisticated person He is a bushman! he doesn't know city ways. |
bushmeat |
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any meat from a hunted animal; often served in special restaurants, and in bushmeat soup |
bushmeat |
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female visitor from the town, as opposed to the campus/hostels; considered less sophisticated than female students student slang |
bushmo |
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a very local girl |
bush-pig |
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wild pig, usually Sus but can apply to Phacochoerus or Potamochoerus porcus Red River Hog. |
bush-taxi |
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car or pickup that travels along back roads taking passengers |
busybody |
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prying person |
butcher |
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to cut up {any dead animal}; He is butchering the fish |
buttered |
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with butter in, not spread on buttered bread common inscription on bread labels |
by |
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exactly at {time} not 'in the period up to' He arrived by 2 p.m. |
byah byah |
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bushy beard |
unscramble letter b words
easy words letter b
picture b words
nouns with the letter b
two letter words with b
two letter words with b at the end
2 letter words with b
5 letter word ending in b
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