Several Nigerian words and expressions have been officially added to the Oxford English Dictionary, marking another moment of global recognition for Nigerian culture, language, and everyday expressions.
In its December 2025 update, the Oxford English Dictionary included over 500 new words and phrases from around the world, drawing from different forms of English such as West African English, Japanese English, and Maltese English. Nigerian English featured prominently in the update, with common street terms, food names, and cultural expressions making the list.
According to Punch, among the Nigerian words added are “nyash,” “mammy market,” “amala,” “moi moi,” “abeg,” “biko,” and “Ghana Must Go.”
According to the dictionary, nyash refers to a person’s buttocks, mammy market is defined as a market traditionally run by women, commonly found in military barracks, NYSC camps, and educational institutions, while amala is described as a dough-like staple food made from yam, cassava, or plantain flour.
Moin moin (also spelled moi moi) was recognised as a bean-based dish popular among the Yoruba people, while abeg and biko were added as interjections commonly used to express politeness, urgency, or emphasis. Ghana Must Go was defined as the popular chequered plastic bag widely used across West Africa, a term rooted in the 1983 expulsion of undocumented Ghanaian migrants from Nigeria.
This is not the first time Nigerian expressions have made their way into the dictionary.
