japa

J8A1P3A1
Nigeria/d͡ʒá.k͡pā/

verb

to emigrate from a country for better pay or working conditions.

OriginYoruba jápa ← Nigerian Pidgin japa →
UncommonScrabble 13
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Meanings

verbjapa (third-person singular simple present japas, present participle japaing, simple past and past participle japaed or japa'd)

present singular third person japas · participle present japaing · participle past japaed · past japaed · participle past japa'd · past japa'd · alternative abbreviation JP · alternative jakpa

  1. Nigeriacolloquialto emigrate from a country for better pay or working conditions.

    I am japa-ing, leaving the country because of the opportunities that are available to me abroad.

    2023 February 27, Larry Madowo, Bethlehem Feleke, Fridah Okutoyi, “Nigeria's 'japa' trend: Halting exodus of talented Nigerians is a task for the next president.”, in CNN.com, retrieved 25 Mar 2023
nounjapa (uncountable)

alternative abbreviation JP · alternative jakpa

  1. Nigeriacolloquialuncountablethe emigration of Nigerians, usually for economic opportunities.

Origin

  1. Nigerian Pidginjapa
  2. Yorubajápa
  3. Englishjapa

Borrowed from Yoruba jápa and Nigerian Pidgin japa.

More words from Yoruba, Nigerian Pidgin

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Jaap
Cite this entry
APA

japa. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/japa

MLA

“japa.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/japa. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “japa,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/japa.

Source: japa on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.