I Letter Words for Nigerian English
to Nigerian Translation

Nigerian

Word

Continuous Meaning

ENGLISH

NIGERIAN

 I.

 I beg

  please; see abeg

 I beta pass my nebor

  a portable generating set

 I beta pass my neighbour

  {portable} generator

 I bow o

  to wonder over a person's action.

 I de go

  I am going

 I dey

  I'm fine

 I dey ache

  I am in pain

 I dey fear

  I am afraid

 I dey kampe

  I'm very well

 I dey show

  Ii am comin

 I don die

  I am finished or doomed

 I don waka

  I am going.

 I fit

  I can

 I for come house

  I would have come to the house

 I for like come

  I would like to come

 I full ground remain

  I'm perfectly ready for anything

 I go beat you

 I will beat you.

 I go cure your craze

  I'll deal with you'

 I go light am

  to shoot someone

 I hail o!

  regards

 I just dey oo

  am fine

 I live for school domot

  I live at the school compound

 I never chop

  I haven't eaten

 I no fit

  I Can't

 I no know

  I don't know or haven't a clue

 I no no

  I don't know

 I no sabi

  I don't know

 I no send

  I don't care

 I no well

  I'm sick

 I pass my neighbour

  Portable Generator

 I put am for your bag

  I put it in/inside your bag

 I wan ease my self

  to pee

 I wash

  to reject or to rid yourself of; It is often used in reply when someone is forming ajebo; Made popular by eldee's song 'wash' {e.g. I wash e no go beta for you.}

 iacon

  see Aircon; a more extreme version of the word aircon, which is air conditioner.

 iaport

  Airport

 ib

  the capital city of Oyo State

 IBB

  President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida {IBB}

 ibeji

  twins

 ibeji

  carved figures representing twins made when one twin has died - Yoruba

 ibeji

  twins

 ibo made

  made by Ibo boys; Usually refers to fake things

 ibonise

  to turn a foreign word into an Igbo form

 ice-block

  ice-cube; Bring iceblock for this mineral Sometimes just 'block' in context.

 idol

  any object used in traditional religion, such as masks and carved figures

 if not

  if it were not for.. if not this haze, you would see the fadama clearly

 if you no like um, gimme back

  give back if you don't like it.

 igbo

  Igbo is the language spoken by the igbo tribe in Nigeria

 Igboman

  Igbo person N.B. In principle, the suffix –man can be applied to any ethnic group, but in fact Igboman is the most common collocation.

 igboo

  Nigerian weed

 iguana

  Nile Monitor Lizard Varanus niloticus.

 ijebu

  a tribe in Yoruba land; someone that is stingy

 ijebu

  fraud, counterfeit object, fake {Yoruba}

 ikebay

  buttocks

 ikebe

  bottom; also see yarnsh

 ikebe

  buttocks, but by extension also padding placed inside dress to enlarge the buttocks {Yoruba}

 ikorro

  a short cut.

 illegal bunkering

  the practice of removing petroleum products from oil pipelines and well-heads, without authorization from either oil companies or the government. It is widely thought to involve large-scale smuggling operations that use road tankers, barges and large ships offshore.

 ill-lucks

  misfortunes

 im

  a possessive pronoun used in the place of him; his; her

 im ma

  himself or herself

 impressionario

  impressario Portmanteau form 'impressario' + 'impression'

 imprest

  periodic petty cash; in form of a loan; {for government officials to spend on incidentals}

 impresto

  a loan

 in front

  ahead The house is still in front {does not mean in front of us}

 in soup

  in trouble; 'in the soup'

 in time

  quickly, not within a specified period; I hope he comes in time

 Indian spinach

  small herb used for sauces Basella alba

 indigenes

  inhabitants {of a particular administrative unit or region} We are indigenes of this state.

 indigenous

  local, native Indigenous dishes are available {Abuja Tourist Guide}

 indomie

  is a popular brand of noodles but it is used for all other brands of noodles

 information

  used without article; I received an information.

 ingredients

  spices etc. used to make soup; Are you going for ingredients?

 inkebe

  buttocks

 innocent

  Innocent was the name of the main character in the scary television series 'Wily wily', when he was in human form; Innocent is also a common name in Nigerian movies for houseboys {e.g. Innocent! Go buy star and coke for the visitors!}

 insert sim

  to have sex with a lady

 interest to

  to have an interest to; Consequent upon the death of my sponsor, none of my relations indicated interest to sponsor my schooling activities. {Student appeal letter}

 inyanga

  show off

 IOU

  I owe you

 iroko

  tree used for carving {West Africa English - WAE}.

 iron-bender

  skilled worker in the building trade who bends and cuts iron rods to the required size

 ironwood

  duramen, i.e. the hard central wood of certain trees?

 isi ewu

  An igbo soup made from goat head.

 issue

  children, progeny; He has many issues Not archaic in NE. Can form plural. Extension of legal term?

 italo

  italy

 itidere

  like making a shout out to your friends or fans; Mostly used by Naija Musicians.

 itk

  an abbreviation for I Too Know, which is somone who believes he/she has the answers to everything and imposes his/her opinion on everyone around them {e.g. Paul na ITK he no dey allow me talk when teacher ask question for class}

 its coming

  false expectation

 ivinin

  evening

 iwere

  used as an insult to call someone mental

 iya basira

  nickname for local food joints; The word originates from Styl Plus song{Iya Basira}. Iya basira joints are popularly known for spicing up their dishes with toto water, but still, some of us cannot resist!! {e.g. Na Ben dey control all the Iyabasira joints for town o!}

 iyawo

  a wife {Yoruba}.

 IYC

  {International Year of the Child} childish behaviour/tendency/attitude put up by an adult