PIDGIN FOR THE PEOPLE
A-E F-J K-O P-S T-Z
AKWARA
Noun.
Usage: usually derogatory
1) a prostitute, a sex worker, a person engaging in sexual relations for pay.
See also: bordelle, bok, ashawo (Twi language - Ghana)
ARATA
Noun.
1) a rat.
ASHA (Alt. Sp. ASHIA)
Idiomatic term.
1) sorry, be well – used to express empathy for someone’s pain / hard labor / loss.
ASHUGA NGONGOLI (Alt. Ap. ASHUKA NGONGORI)
Idiomatic phrase.
1.) serves you right – an expression of schadenfreude, used to rejoice at another’s misfortunes.
BADLUCK (Alt. Sp. BALUCK, BALOK)
Noun.
1) misfortune.
See also: ill-luck
BANGA
Noun.
1) marijuana, cannabis, hemp.
BANGALA
Noun.
Usage: usually vulgar
1) penis, male genitalia.
BEND-SKIN (Alt. Sp. BEN-SIKIN)
Noun.
1) motorbike, motorized two-wheelers offering taxi service in the informal transport / paratransit sector of urban centers.
2) musical genre popularized by the Bangangte people in West Cameroon and the New Bell district of Douala.
BEND-SKINNEUR
Noun.
1) driver of bendskin motorbikes.
BOH (Alt. Sp. MBOH)
Noun.
1) a friend.
BOH-BOH
1) a nickname amongst namesake friends, people bearing the same given name.
BOBBI
Noun.
1) female breast, teat.
BOULOT
Noun.
1) a job, a place of work.
BUYAM-SELLAM
Noun.
1) a market woman whobrings produce and other goods in from rural regions to sell in urban marketplaces.
Verb.
1) the act of buying and selling goods.
CALEÇON
Noun.
1) underwear, undergarments.
CHAKARA
Noun.
1) chaos, trouble.
SIMILAR: wahala
CHÔMENCAM
Noun.
1) unemployment in Cameroon, joblessness in Cameroon.
Verb.
1) to be unemployed in Cameroon.
CHEWER
Noun.
1) a single person, onewith no romantic companion.
CHOP (Alt Sp. tchop)
Noun.
1) food, nourishment.
Verb.
1) to eat, to consume.
See also: damer
2) to enjoy. Used figuratively as in “chop life” (enjoy a carefree lifestyle) / “chop money.”
CLANDO
Noun.
1) illicit, illegal.
Noun.
1) clandestine mini-bus offering unofficial public transportation / paratransit in urban centers.
SIMILAR to a Filipino jeepney, Flatbush-Brooklyn dollar van, or Nigerian danfo
COMPLICE
Noun.
1) friend, compadre.
CRAZE
Noun.
1) crazy, a state of madness or drunkenness.
Ex. You di craze? — Are you crazy/out of your mind?
CRY-DIE
Noun.
1) a death celebration, a traditional ceremony which may occur at any time after death and funereal rites, even years after a person has passed on.
DAMER
Noun.
1) food, nourishment.
Verb.
1) to eat, to consume.
DASH
Noun.
1) free item. gratis, complimentary.
Verb.
1) to give for free.
DEY
Noun.
1) here, this place, in this place.
2) there, that place, in that place.
DEUXIÈME BUREAU
Idiomatic phrase.
1) a mistress, a lover (literal translation from French – “second office”).
DIKO
Verb.
1) to die, to perish.
DOCKY
Noun.
1) documents, officialpapers such as academic transcripts, birth/death/marriage certificates etc.
EKWEN
Noun.
1) misery, despair.
A-E F-J K-O P-S T-Z
Alt. Sp. = alternate spelling
FAMLA
Noun.
1) witchcraft, the rites and rituals of belief systems associated with magic, dark or otherwise.
See also: nyongo
FLO
Noun.
1) a cigarette.
FLOP
Noun.
1) full.
Used figuratively as in “flop-belly” meaning “pregnant”
GRIS-GRIS (Alt. Sp. GRIGRI)
Noun.
1) an African charm, talisman, amulet, or fetish used for spells that ward off misfortune or bring good luck.
HAMBOCK
Noun.
1) to disturb, to bother.
Ex. No hambok me! — Don’t bother me!
HOLD-GRASS
Verb.
1) to hold firm, to stand one’s ground on an opinion or idea.
JAKASS
Usage: usually derogatory
Noun.
1) a donkey, a jackass.
JAP
Noun.
1) a car, an automobile.
JUJU
Noun.
1) a west African charm, talisman, amulet, or fetish used for spells that ward off misfortune or bring good luck.
2) the magic or supernatural powers attributed to juju.
KANDA
Noun.
1) skin, hide.
KATIKA
Noun.
1) a caretaker - typically refers to a security guard for public buildings.
KOLO
Noun.
1) one thousand CFA francs.
KONGOSSA
Noun.
1) gossip, idle talk about the others’ affairs, often sensationalized.
Verb.
1) to gossip.
KWAT (Alt. Sp. QUAT)
Noun.
1) neighborhood, urban quarter/ quartier (Fr.)
LANGA
Noun.
1) greed, covetousness, extreme desire for something, especially food.
Adjective.
1) greedy, licentious.
Used figuratively as in “langa-dog” (imagine Pavlov’s dog salivating) or “langa-throat”
See also: ‘long-throat’
LASS
Usage: usually vulgar
Noun.
1) buttocks, anus, vagin*.
LEWA
Noun.
1) a school, an academy.
LONG-THROAT
Noun.
1) greed, greedy person.
LOP
Verb.
1) to smoke marijuana.
MUKARA (Alt. Sp. MUKALA)
Noun.
1) a white person, Caucasian.
MBOKO
Noun.
1) country, backwoods.
MIMBO
Noun.
1) a drink, beverage - typically hard liquor or alcoholic in nature like corn beer or palm wine.
MBANYA
Noun.
1) a co-wife in a polygamous home.
MBOH-MBOH
1) A title individuals bearing the same name call themselves.
2) friend.
MBINDI
Noun.
1) a little thing – in reference to women.
Similar to AAVE ‘shorty’
MBOUROU
Noun.
1) money.
MBOUTOUKOU
Noun.
1) a good for nothingperson.
MOUF
Interjection.
1) get out of here.
MOUNA
Noun.
1) a child.
MOTO
Noun.
1) automotive vehicle – moto car / moto bus / moto bike / moto boy.
NDAMBA
Noun.
1) football, soccer.
Ex. Samuel Etoh is a ndamba GOAT!
NDUTU
Noun.
1) bad luck.
NGA
Noun.
1) agirlfriend.
SIMILAR: chap
2) any girl, a chick.
NGATA
Noun.
1) a prison.
NGEGEROU
Noun.
1) a person with albinism, an albino.
NGOLA
Noun.
1) nickname for Yaoundé, the political capital of Cameroon.
NGOMA
Noun.
1) fifty CFA francs.
NYANGA
Noun.
1) personal embellishment, the act of primping or enhancing one's natural beauty or appearance.
A-E F-J K-O P-S T-Z
Alt. Sp. = alternate spelling
PILI-PILI
Noun.
1) a peppery, Cameroonian minced meat pie.
Adjective.
1) ground up, minced.
POTO-POTO
Noun.
1) mud, mush.
Adjective.
1) muddy, mushy.
REMÉ (Alt. Sp. RÉMAY)
Noun.
1) one’s mother.
2) an elderly woman.
REPÉ (Alt. Sp. RÉPAY)
Noun.
1) one’s father.
2) an elderly man.
SABI
Verb.
1) to understand, to know, to know how to.
Derived from the Portuguese word “saber” with English cognate “savvy.”
SAPEUR
Noun.
1) a fashionable, well-dressed person, a dandy (m.) or fashionista (f).
SABITOUT
Also known as: oversabi
1) someone who knows everything; pretentious person who claims to.
A-E F-J K-O P-S T-Z
Alt. Sp. = alternate spelling
TCHOKO
Noun.
1) a bribe.
Verb.
1) to bribe.
TCHOUK
Verb.
1) to push, to pierce.
WAHALA
Noun.
1) trouble, difficulty, or problem(s).
Adjective.
2) difficult or troublesome to deal with, train, or guide.
Usage: wahala pickin (problem child)
WETI
1) what.
WOWO
Adjective.
1) ugly.
A-E F-J K-O P-S T-Z
Alt. Sp. = alternate spelling
