Pidgin vs Nigerian English: what’s the difference?

People outside Nigeria often lump them together: “Nigerian English”, “Pidgin English”, “broken English”, as if they were one thing. They are not. Most educated Nigerians use both, sometimes in the same conversation, and they know exactly which is which.

The short answer

• Nigerian English (also called Nigerian Standard English) is a variety of English, the way American or Australian English is. It is based on British English, with words and expressions from Nigeria’s own languages. It is what schools, courts, government, newspapers and offices use.
• Nigerian Pidgin (also called Naijá, or just Pidgin) is a separate language. Most of its words come from English, but its grammar is its own. It is the language of markets, buses, music and the street, and it has no official status.

Linguists who study Pidgin report that speakers treat it as a separate code from standard Nigerian English, not a sloppy version of it, and that it is not drifting back towards English.

Side by side

Look at the middle column. It is plainly English, with English grammar, but with Nigerian words (danfo) and expressions (next tomorrow, barbing salon) that a Londoner might not know. The right-hand column has a different grammar: dey for ongoing action, don for something finished, go for the future, no before the verb for “not”.

What makes Nigerian English Nigerian

Linguists describe several layers:

• Loanwords from Nigerian languages: agbada (a man’s flowing robe), akara (bean fritters), danfo (the Lagos minibus), okada (a motorcycle taxi).
• Coinages: English words put together in new ways, such as barbing salon, next tomorrow, long-leg (being well connected) and carpet crossing (a politician switching parties). Many are short-lived; some last for decades.
• Shifts in meaning: in Nigerian English, to trek can simply mean to walk a short distance.
• Pronunciation: some sounds change, so the final s in “boys” is often pronounced like the s in “bus”; the sound in the middle of “measure” is often said as “sh”; and the rhythm of speech differs from British English.
• Little words: “now” is often added for emphasis, as in “for example now”.

The Oxford English Dictionary recognised this in January 2020, when it added 29 Nigerian English words and phrases, from buka and danfo to K-leg and next tomorrow, and described Nigerians as making “a unique and distinctive contribution to English as a global language”.

What makes Pidgin a different language

Pidgin is not just English with Nigerian words. Its grammar works differently:

• Verbs never change: no “goes”, “went” or “gone”, just go with a marker in front (dey go, don go, go go).
• “He” and “she” are the same word (im or e), and “him”, “her” and “it” after a verb are all am.
• There is a plural “you”, una, borrowed from Igbo.
• Plurals can be shown with dem after the noun.
• Its vocabulary borrows from Portuguese (sabi, pikin), Yoruba (oga, abi), Igbo, Hausa and more.

Read our beginner’s guide for how it fits together, or where the name “pidgin” comes from.

Who speaks which, and when

Most Nigerians who went to school can move between the two, and many switch mid-sentence. A banker might write a report in standard English, chat with colleagues in Nigerian English, and bargain with a driver in Pidgin on the way home. Choosing between them is about setting and audience, not ability: Pidgin signals ease, friendliness and street sense; standard English signals formality.

That is also why calling Pidgin “broken English” misses the point. Many Nigerians call it “Broken” themselves, and it carries little official prestige, but it is the fastest-growing and most widely used language in the country. Someone speaking Pidgin is not failing at English. They are speaking something else.

Where meanings and labels vary

The line is not perfectly sharp. Some words, like wahala, gist and oga, live happily in both Pidgin and casual Nigerian English. Sources also disagree about how many people speak Pidgin: estimates run from about 75 million to well over 100 million. Treat any single number with care.

AJ’s London accent on June 12 Street

AJ Cities is a free open-world game set on the edge of Ajegunle, Lagos, and its hero lives this difference. AJ was born in Lagos but grew up in south London, and when he is deported home, the accent goes with him. On June 12 Street it gets him called oyinbo: foreigner. “I’m as Naija as he is,” he tells Chuks, who answers in the easy mix of English and Pidgin the whole street uses: “Because of the accent, abi?”

Benny sees it as a pricing problem: “Speak the English, AJ. The oyinbo price goes up.” Three ways of talking, one street. Follow it in AJ’s story.

Is Nigerian Pidgin the same as Nigerian English?

No. Nigerian English is a standard variety of English used in schools, government and the media. Nigerian Pidgin is a separate language with its own grammar, used informally.

Is Nigerian English an official language?

English is Nigeria’s official language, and Nigerian Standard English is the variety used in official settings. Pidgin has no official status.

What is an example of Nigerian English?

“Next tomorrow” (the day after tomorrow) and “barbing salon” (a barber’s shop). Both are in the Oxford English Dictionary.

Do Nigerians speak both?

Many do, and switch between them depending on the setting: standard English for formal situations, Pidgin with friends and in markets.