Love Ghanaian Pidgin, Here’s a pidginary to help you understand what the hell Ghanaians are saying online. These are phrases you’ll hear different young Ghanaians using. These terms are best understood depending on the context they’re used.
Chale/Chaley
Do not spell this as Charlie. It is use to refer to anyone.
Sample Sentence
Charle, charle come here!
Troski
public transportation
Sample Sentence
My apple fell in the troski
Mate
name of the bus conductor in the troski
Sample Sentence
the driver and mate i came with were arrested for wrong parking.
Kmt/Comot
This means to go out. Used differently – kmt for der – it means fuck off.
No Yawa
no problem
Abeg
This is a typical Nigerian dilution of an English word, It means “I beg “
Bola
meaning rubbish or trash
Borga
this is typically used to refer to someone who has been outside the country, more specifically, outside Africa
Akata
meaning is gangster or s street boy/girl
Takashi/419
this means to defraud someone/ trick someone
Jot
refers to cigar or in some cases weed
Chow/Cho
local name for food. It can also be used as a sign of exasperation
Hung
This is pronounced horng and means hungry.
Sample Sentence
Chale you chop? I dey hung roff. // Chale, have you eaten? I’m very hungry.
Shormi
This is both a verb and a noun. It means to apply a fragrance (as a verb) and also perfume, fragrance (as a noun)
Toss/Mell
While we’re on the subject of smells, Toss in Ghanaian Pidgin means smell. To say someone stinks, you can just say, that guy dey toss. A synonym for this is Mell which as you can guess it’s just shortened from Smell. Ingenious right?
Shada
This is both noun and verb. It means clothes (as a noun) and to wear clothes (as a verb). It can also be used to describe a well dressed person.
Don/Kick
This means to wear. Kick is also used in the same way, although it’s also used generally to refer to sneakers/shoes.
Bee
This means beautiful.
Gb3ke
This means night and is derived from Ga, the native language of Accra.
Gb3nk3
This means near.
Gbele
This means to open.
Chao/Chaw
This means plenty.
Rydee
This means right now.
Trabo
This means trousers.
Herh
a sound to express shock or disbelief
Sample Sentence
Herh! If I catch you.
By Heart
this means recklessly.
Sample Sentence
He doesn’t think, he always act by heart/ he doesn’t think he always acts recklessly.
Dier
an exaggerating term, excluding something or someone; making it/them stand out
Sample Sentence
You don’t want anything here, as for you dier.
Tron
Not to be confused with the Joseph Kosinski directed sci-fi movie, or the Justin Sun cryptocurrency. Tron in Ghanaian pidgin mostly means hard or strong.
Origin
This is very likely derived from strong based on spelling and pronunciation. Think strong, trong, tron. Do you see it? Or are we reaching?
It can also be used to mean wicked. You’re wicked in most Ghanaian languages translates directly into your head is hard. For instance, in Ewe, you’d say “ta gbor s3s3” and in Twi, “woti ye din”.
Sample Sentence
The guy tron oooooo.
Barb
This means to understand.
Sample Sentence
She teaches very well, I always barb the work/ she teaches very well, I always understand the work.
Bost
This means to steal. Used as a noun and verb. It can also mean to ‘blow my mind’
Sample Sentence
The small boy bost my slippers/ the small boy stole my slippers. Your girlfriend really dey bost my mind/ your girlfriend really blows my mind away.
Kai
This means to remember or to recognize.
Sample Sentence
You dey kai where we go last time? // Do you remember where went the last time?
Rec/Jie
This means to resemble.
Vee
to visit
Sample Sentence
I go vee the woman/ I went to visit the woman
Medo
term for medicine
Vex
This means to be mad.
Sample Sentence
the girl make I vex/ the girl has made me angry
E Over Me
This means to be overwhelmed.
Sample Sentence
Chale this job dey over me. // Chale, this job is overwhelming.
Dough
This is pretty universal and not unique to Ghana. Dough means money. Much like Bread, Cheese and other slang terms used to describe money.
