5 Nigerian slangs that have different meanings in other countries

There are over 500 languages spoken in this West African country and in addition to that there are the slangs. The Nigerian slangs are usually so funny that you will wish you were a Nigerian so you could understand them.

Another thing about the slangs used in Nigeria is that they sometimes have a different meaning in other countries. Here are five of them.

How far?

In many places "How far" means you're asking about the distance of a place. In Nigeria, it means something else. When someone says, "How far?" they could be asking you, how are you, or about a discussion you guys had earlier, or it could even be used in form of hello.

Trenches

The dictionary meaning of trenches is a long, narrow ditch or a long, narrow, deep depression in an ocean bed. In Nigeria? Trenches means something totally different.

When someone says they are in the trenches, it means they are living a poor life, one filled with sapa. Trenches is also associated with your life in the past where you didn't have good clothes and it could also refer to rural locations.

I'm coming

In the English language, the phrase "I'm coming" means you're actually moving towards the person you're talking to. In Nigeria, it is something different. When a person says, I'm coming, they could be moving away from you and only mean they will be coming back soon.

Chairman

A chairman is someone who presides at a meeting or heads a committee, board, at least that's what the Collins dictionary says. In Nigeria, that is not what it means.

When a person says that's my chairman, the meaning could range from someone who you always ask for favors, to someone whom you hold in high regard to even someone you're romantically involved with.

Breakfast

Breakfast is supposed to mean the first meal of the day. More recently, it is used in Nigeria to refer to getting a heartbreak.

So when person A ends a relationship with person B and person B is left heartbroken, it is said that person A has served person B breakfast. Now breakfast in this situation could be hot or cold depending on the level of pain experienced by the receiver.