Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has released an updated version for 2026, with 22 new Nigerian and West African expressions making the cut.

In a post via X, the OED revealed that out of the 279 new words added to the dictionary, over 20 are expressions from West African countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Senegal, and Togo.

For Nigeria, the expressions included are abeg, Afrobeats, Ghana Must Go, biko, Mammy Market, Amala, nyash, and Moi Moi, while for Ghana, the additions are Kpanlogo, Light Soup, Abrokyire, and Ampesi.

Many of the words serve multiple grammatical functions, including as nouns, verbs, and adverbs.

According to the OED, Abeg can be used as an interjection or adverb “to express a range of emotions, such as surprise, exasperation, disbelief, etc”.

Below are the new additions to the updated version of the dictionary:
abeg, int. & adv.
abrokyire, n.
Adowa, n.
Afrobeats, n.
amala, n.
ampesi, n.
benachin, n.
bichir, n.
biko, adv. & int.
domoda, n.
dumboy, n.
Ghana Must Go, n.
hiplife, n.
kpanlogo, n.
light soup, n.
mammy market, n.
moi moi, n.
nawetan, n.
nyash, n.
obroni, n. & adj.
poda-poda, n.
yassa, n.
In 2025, Nigerian expressions such as japa, 419, agbero, abi, area boy, yahoo boy, yahoo, Edo, Kanuri, jand, cross-carpet, kobo, Naija, and suya were among the words added to the dictionary.