japa

• JP (abbreviated)
• jakpa

Borrowed from Yoruba jápa and Nigerian Pidgin japa.

• (Nigeria) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒá.k͡pā/

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

1. (Nigeria, colloquial) to emigrate from a country for better pay or working conditions.
   • 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 March 2023:
     • "I am japa-ing, leaving the country because of the opportunities that are available to me abroad."

japa (uncountable)

1. (Nigeria, colloquial) the emigration of Nigerians, usually for economic opportunities.

From Yoruba jápa.

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒá.k͡pā/

japa

1. to relocate; to emigrate

Uncertain. Possibly from German jappen, from German Low German gapen, from Middle Low German gāpen.

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -apa
• Syllabification: ja‧pa

japa f

1. (colloquial, derogatory) human face
2. (colloquial or dialectal, Far Masovian, Kielce, derogatory) human mouth
   1. (Chełmno-Dobrzyń, humorous) open mouth

japa

1. (derogatory) shut up!

• japa in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• japa in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Antoni Krasnowolski (1879) “japa”, in Album uczącéj się młodzieży polskiéj poświęcone Józefowi Ignacemu Kraszewskiemu z powodu jubileuszu jego pięćdziesięcioletniéj działalności literackiéj (in Polish), Lviv: Czytelni Akademickiéj Lwowskiéj; "Gaz. Narod." J. Dobrzańskiego i K. Gromana, Słowniczek prowincjalizmów zebranych w ziemi chełmińskiej i świeckiej, page 303
• Wojciech Grzegorzewicz (1894) “japa”, in “O języku ludowym w powiecie przasnyskim”, in Sprawozdania Komisji Językowej Akademii Umiejętności (in Polish), volume 5, Krakow: Akademia Umiejętności, page 109
• Władysław Siarkowski (1878) “japa”, in “Materiały do etnografii ludu polskiego z okolic Kielc”, in Zbiór wiadomości do antropologii krajowej (in Polish), volume 2, chapter 3, Krakow: Komisyja Antropologiczna Akademii Umiejętności w Krakowie, page 247

From japonês (“Japanese”) or Japão (“Japan”).

• Hyphenation: ja‧pa

japa m or f by sense (plural japas)

1. (Brazil, colloquial, sometimes derogatory) a person from Japan or of Japanese descent

japa m or f (plural japas)

1. (Brazil, colloquial, sometimes derogatory) from Japan or of Japanese descent

• japinha (two-gender diminutive)
• japona (feminine augmentative)

• IPA^(key): /ˈxapa/ [ˈxa.pa]
• Rhymes: -apa
• Syllabification: ja‧pa

japa f (plural japas)

1. female equivalent of japo

• já pa

From já (“to dart, dash”) +‎ pa (“intensifier”). Slang term likely popularised by Naira Marley’s 2018 song, Japa.

• IPA^(key): /d͡ʒá.k͡pā/

jápa

1. to run away, to flee

   Synonyms: sá lọ, júbà ehoro, họ, na pápá bora, fẹsẹ̀ fẹ́ẹ, sá

   • 2018, Naira Marley, “Japa”‎^[1], 0:52–1:08:

     Jápa jápa, jápa lọ London // Jápa jápa, já wọ Canada // Jápa jápa, já wọ Chicago // Jápa jápa, já lọ sí Africa

     Japa japa, japa to London // Japa japa, flee to Canada // Japa japa, flee to Chicago // Japa japa, flee to Africa.

2. (colloquial) to japa; to emigrate from a country, typically for better pay or working conditions. [from late 2010s]

   Wọ́n fẹ́ jápa. ― They want to relocate.

   • 2022 November 29, “Ẹ̀yin tí ẹ̀ ń jápa ẹ ṣọ́ra kí wọ́n má baà jà yín ní olè – Lai Mohammed [You who are emigrating, be careful to not get robbed - Lai Mohammed]”, in BBC Yorùbá‎^[2]:

• → English: japa
• → Nigerian Pidgin: japa