The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has expanded its lexicon to include 22 new Nigerian words, showcasing the vibrancy of Nigerian culture, language, and everyday life.
These additions reflect the growing influence of Nigerian Pidgin English and street slang, as well as the nation’s cultural diversity. Many of the entries, such as japa and jand, are included as both nouns and verbs, complete with pronunciations to aid non-Nigerians in understanding and using them.
Dr. Kingsley Ugwuanyi, an OED consultant who also provided vocal support for the pronunciations, shared the news on LinkedIn on January 7. He explained that the selection process involved analyzing corpora to identify frequently and widely used words across Nigeria.
“The criteria include frequency, widespread use, age (generally words that have been in use for zero to 10 years), and the social significance of the words,” Ugwuanyi noted.
In his LinkedIn post, he expressed pride in drafting most of the entries and lending his voice to the pronunciations.
This update follows a similar move in 2020, when OED included 29 Nigerian words such as danfo, okada, next tomorrow, and mama put.
Here are the 22 new Nigerian words added in 2025:
- 419
- Abi
- Adire
- Agbero
- Area Boy
- Cross-carpet / Cross-carpeting
- Eba
- Edo
- Gele
- Jand (noun)
- Jand (verb)
- Janded
- Japa (noun)
- Japa (verb)
- Kanuri
- Kobo
- Naija
- Suya
- Yahoo
- Yahoo Boy
- Yarn Dust
These words reflect Nigeria’s unique linguistic identity and its growing influence on global English.
