Pidgin is the second lingua franca in Nigeria.
You may not necessarily know how to speak it and flow like others but somehow, you have to know what it translates to. Just like in English, we have proverbs in pidgin. Upon first look at it, they may not mean anything to you but when you examine it all over again, it begins to make sense and boom! you’ve cracked the code. Here are a few Nigerian pidgin proverbs and their translations;
1. “Today’s newspaper na suya paper for tomorrow”
Meaning: No position is permanent in the long run
2. “I get am before no be property”
Meaning: You need to live in the present, not the past.
3. “If life dey show you pepper, make pepper soup”
Meaning: Always look out for the best things from the bad struggles
4. “Answer your papa name”
Meaning: Speak for yourself and only you.
5. “Na from clap dance dey start”
Meaning: It’s the tiny things you do today that leads to the big ones you do later on
6. “You no fit collect water wey dem use make eba”
Meaning: Don’t cry over spilt milk
7. “The matter wey you no want baba to hear, na im go settle am last last”
Meaning: Everything you’re hiding in secret will come out eventually.
7. “The difference between kpekere and plantain chips na packaging”
Meaning: The way you put yourself together matters a whole lot
8. No matter how your tempa hot reach, you no fit use am boil beans
Meaning: Your hot temper won’t get you anywhere
9. If person too tey for party, e go follow dem dey wash plate
Meaning: Never overstay your welcome
10. Akara and moi-moi get the same parent na wetin dey pass tru make dem different
Meaning: The finish line is the ultimate judge
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