The fastest way to learn Nigerian Pidgin is to spend most of your study time on Nigerian Pidgin you can mostly understand. That kind of Nigerian Pidgin is called comprehensible input. What you read and listen to should change as you improve, so the plan below shows what to do at each level and how to split an hour of study.
What to Do at Each Level
Find the level that sounds like you. Its bar shows how to spend an hour of study.
- Level 1
I'm just starting out or know only a few words.
Read and listen 35 min. Review 15 min. Speak 10 min.
Read Pidgin picture books from African Storybook, listed under Pidgin English (Nigeria), and watch short lessons on basic words and phrases. Say a few lines out loud.
- Level 2
I can read simple sentences.
Read and listen 40 min. Review 10 min. Speak 10 min.
Read Naija Guru's short stories, which repeat everyday sentences and come with audio, and look up only the words that stop you. Watch short videos on everyday phrases, and start short talks with a tutor or a friend.
- Level 3
I can read short stories and messages.
Read and listen 40 min. Review 5 min. Speak 15 min.
Read BBC News Pidgin's stories and watch its short videos, most under five minutes. Add comedy skits, which use a lot of Pidgin, and talk about what you watched for longer.
- Level 4
I can read longer texts about everyday life.
Read and watch 45 min. Review 5 min. Speak 10 min.
Listen to talk shows, football talk and news on Pidgin radio stations such as Wazobia FM and Konfam FM. Watch a Nollywood film with subtitles, one film a week.
- Level 5
I can follow complex topics, but miss some details.
Read and watch 50 min. Speak 10 min.
Read Wikipedia in Nigerian Pidgin and watch Nollywood films without subtitles. Look up only the words that block the story.
- Level 6
I can follow detailed arguments and different writing styles.
Read and watch 50 min. Speak 10 min.
Listen to Pidgin from different cities, such as Lagos, Warri and Port Harcourt, and talk about what you hear. Keep up with new slang on Naijalingo, where people add words as their meanings change.
Move up a level when your lessons start to feel easy, and move back down if you lose the thread by the third line.
How Long Does It Take to Learn Nigerian Pidgin?
The U.S. Foreign Service Institute does not list Nigerian Pidgin, and we found no official body that publishes study hours for it. Most of its words come from English, according to a University of Hawaiʻi guide to the language, and English is not on the list either, so FSI has no relative of Pidgin to compare it with.
| Language | FSI group | Full-time weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Spanish, French | Category I | 30 |
| German, Indonesian | Category II | 36 |
| Russian, Vietnamese | Category III | 44 |
| Japanese, Korean | Category IV | 88 |
| Nigerian Pidgin | Not listed | Not listed |
These are weeks of full-time classes, at about 23 class hours a week, so treat them as a rough guide. Time you spend understanding Nigerian Pidgin on your own counts too.
What Slows Learners Down
- Reading It as EnglishChop means to eat in Pidgin, so a word you know from English can carry a new meaning. Read whole sentences to see what each word means.
- Reading Without AudioPitch can change a word's meaning: babá is an old man, and bába is a barber. Most written Pidgin shows no tone marks, so read with audio to hear each new word.
- Expecting One SpellingPidgin spelling changes from writer to writer, so the same word can be dey in one story and de in another. Save the spelling you see, and listen for the word itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Nigerian Pidgin app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Nigerian Pidgin, start with Bubblegum. Poppy writes lessons at your level about things you like. Our Nigerian Pidgin app comparison covers courses, tutors and vocabulary apps too.
Can I learn Nigerian Pidgin in three months?
You can learn enough Nigerian Pidgin to greet people and talk about your day. At 14 hours a week, three months is about 180 hours, which is about a third of FSI's shortest full-time course, 552 class hours for languages such as Dutch and Italian.
How much should I study Nigerian Pidgin each week?
Aim for three to five hours a week of Nigerian Pidgin you understand, in sessions of at least 15 to 30 minutes. A longer session lets you get lost in a story, which teaches more than five minutes a day, and steady time each week matters more than a daily streak. Our post on deep sessions over daily streaks explains why.
Is Nigerian Pidgin hard for English speakers?
The Foreign Service Institute does not rank Nigerian Pidgin, so there is no official answer. Its grammar is its own: Pidgin marks time and number with separate words, so go means will, don means has, and dem marks more than one. You pick these up fastest from Nigerian Pidgin you understand.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- U.S. Department of State, Foreign Language Training (FSI language categories)
- University of Hawaiʻi Charlene Sato Center, Language Varieties: Naijá (Nigerian Pidgin), by David Esizimetor and Francis Egbokhare (English as its major source of words, chop, tone, and the words go, don and dem)
- Wikipedia: Nigerian Pidgin (most written texts show no tone marks; Lagos, Warri and Port Harcourt varieties)
- Naija Guru: The Standard NP orthography (Nigerian Pidgin spelling varies between writers)
