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The is a group of Japanese dialects in the Kansai region (Kinki region) of Japan. In Japanese, is the common name and it is called Kinki-hōgen in technical terms. The dialects of Kyoto and Osaka are known as or Kamigata-go, and were particularly referred to as such in the Edo period. The Kansai dialect is typified by the speech of Osaka, the major city of Kansai, which is referred to specifically as . It is characterized as being both more melodic and harsher by speakers of the standard language. Omusubi: Japan's Regional Diversity , retrieved January 23, 2007
The common Kansai dialect is spoken in Keihanshin (the metropolitan areas of the cities of Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe) and its surroundings, a radius of about around the Osaka-Kyoto area (see regional differences).Mitsuo Okumura (1968). Kansaiben no chiriteki han'i. Gengo seikatsu 202 number. Tokyo: Chikuma Shobo. This article mainly discusses variations in Keihanshin during the 20th and 21st centuries.
Even in the Kansai region, away from Keihanshin and its surrounding areas, there are dialects that differ from the characteristics generally considered to be Kansai dialect-like. Tajima Province and Tango Province (except Maizuru) dialects in northwest Kansai are too different to be regarded as Kansai dialects and are thus usually included in the Chūgoku dialect. Dialects spoken in Southeastern Kii Peninsula including Totsukawa and Owase are also far different from other Kansai dialects, and considered a language island.
The Shikoku dialect and the Hokuriku dialect share many similarities with the Kansai dialects, but are classified separately.
When the political and military center of Japan was moved to Edo under the Tokugawa Shogunate and the Kantō region grew in prominence, the Edo dialect took the place of the Kansai dialect. With the Meiji Restoration and the transfer of the imperial capital from Kyoto to Tokyo, the Kansai dialect became fixed in position as a provincial dialect. See also Early Modern Japanese.
As the Tokyo dialect was adopted with the advent of a national education/media standard in Japan, some features of the Kansai dialect have diminished and changed. However, Kansai is the second most populated urban region in Japan after Kantō, with a population of about 20 million, so Kansai dialect is still the most widely spoken, known and influential non-standard Japanese dialect. The Kansai dialect's idioms are sometimes introduced into other dialects and even standard Japanese. Many Kansai people are attached to their own speech and have strong regional rivalry against Tokyo.Fumiko Inoue (2009). Kansai ni okeru hōgen to Kyōtsūgo. Gekkan gengo 456 number. Tokyo: Taishukan Shoten.
Since the Taishō period, the form of Japanese comedy has been developed in Osaka, and a large number of Osaka-based comedians have appeared in Japanese media with Osaka dialect (See also Yoshimoto Kogyo). Because of such associations, Kansai speakers are often viewed as being more "funny" or "talkative" than typical speakers of other dialects. Tokyo people even occasionally imitate the Kansai dialect to provoke laughter or inject humor.Masataka Jinnouchi (2003). Studies in regionalism in communication and the effect of the Kansai dialect on it.
Below is a list of simplified Kansai accent patterns. H represents a high pitch and L represents a low pitch.
| L-H | H-L | chopsticks | |
| H-H | L-H(-H) | edge | |
The geminated consonants found in godan verbs of standard Japanese verbal inflections are usually replaced with long vowels (often shortened in 3 morae verbs) in Kansai dialect (See also Onbin, u-onbin). Thus, for the verb 言う ("to say"), the past tense in standard Japanese 言った ("said") becomes 言うた in Kansai dialect. This particular verb is emblematic of a native Kansai speaker, as most will unconsciously say 言うて instead of 言って or even if well-practiced at speaking in standard Japanese. Other examples of geminate replacement are 笑った ("laughed") becoming 笑うた or わろた and 貰った ("received") becoming 貰うた , もろた or even もうた .
An auxiliary verb -てしまう (to finish something or to do something in unintentional or unfortunate circumstances) is contracted to -ちまう or -ちゃう in colloquial Tokyo speech but to -てまう in Kansai speech. Thus, しちまう , or しちゃう , becomes してまう . Furthermore, as the verb しまう is affected by the same sound changes as in other 五段 godan verbs, the past tense of this form is rendered as -てもうた or -てもた rather than -ちまった or -ちゃった : 忘れちまった or 忘れちゃった ("I forgot it") in Tokyo is 忘れてもうた or 忘れてもた in Kansai.
The long vowel of the volitional form is often shortened; for example, 使おう (the volitional form of tsukau) becomes 使お , 食べよう (the volitional form of 食べる ) becomes 食べよ . The irregular verb する has special volitional form しょ（う） instead of しよう . The volitional form of another irregular verb 来る is 来よう as well as the standard Japanese, but when 来る is used as an auxiliary verb -てくる , -てこよう is sometimes replaced with -てこ（う） in Kansai.
The causative verb ending is usually replaced with in Kansai dialect; for example, させる (causative form of ) changes さす , 言わせる (causative form of 言う ) changes 言わす . Its -te form and perfective form change to and ; they also appear in transitive ichidan verbs such as 見せる ("to show"), e.g. 見して for 見せて .
The potential verb endings for 五段 godan and -られる for 一段 ichidan, recently often shortened -れる (ra-nuki kotoba), are common between the standard Japanese and Kansai dialect. For making their negative forms, it is only to replace -ない with -ん or -へん (See Negative). However, mainly in Osaka, potential negative form of 五段 godan verbs is often replaced with such as 行かれへん instead of 行けない and 行けへん "can't go". This is because overlaps with Osakan negative conjugation. In western Japanese including Kansai dialect, a combination of an adverb よう and -ん negative form is used as a negative form of the personal impossibility such as よう言わん "I can't say anything (in disgust or diffidence)".
Kansai dialect belongs to western Japanese, but いる and its variation, いてる (mainly Osaka), are used in Osaka, Kyoto, Shiga and so on. People in these areas, especially Kyoto women, tend to consider おる an outspoken or contempt word. They usually use it for mates, inferiors and animals; avoid using for elders (exception: respectful expression orareru and humble expression orimasu). In other areas such as Hyogo and Mie, いる is hardly used and おる does not have the negative usage. In parts of Wakayama, いる is replaced with ある , which is used for inanimate objects in most other dialects.
The verb おる is also used as a suffix and usually pronounced in that case. In Osaka, Kyoto, Shiga, northern Nara and parts of Mie, mainly in masculine speech, -よる shows annoying or contempt feelings for a third party, usually milder than -やがる . In Hyogo, southern Nara and parts of Wakayama, -よる is used for progressive aspect (See Aspect).
Generally speaking, -へん is used in almost negative sentences and -ん is used in strong negative sentences and idiomatic expressions. For example, -んといて or -んとって instead of standard -ないで means "please do not to do"; -んでもええ instead of standard -なくてもいい means "need not do";-んと（あかん） instead of standard -なくちゃ（いけない） or -なければならない means "must do". The last expression can be replaced by -な（あかん） or -んならん .
In the negative imperative mood, Kansai dialect also has the somewhat soft form which uses the ren'yōkei + な , an abbreviation of the ren'yōkei + なさるな . な sometimes changes to なや or ないな . This soft negative imperative form is the same as the soft imperative and な , Kansai speakers can recognize the difference by accent, but Tokyo speakers are sometimes confused by a command not to do something, which they interpret as an order to do it. Accent on the soft imperative form is flat, and the accent on the soft negative imperative form has a downstep before na.
The ending can be dropped and the last vowel of the adjective's stem can be stretched out for a second mora, sometimes with a tonal change for emphasis. By this process, omoroi "interesting, funny" becomes omorō and atsui "hot" becomes atsū or attsū. This use of the adjective's stem, often as an exclamation, is seen in classical literature and many dialects of modern Japanese, but is more often used in modern Kansai dialect.
There is not a special conjugated form for presumptive of adjectives in Kansai dialect, it is just addition of やろ to the plain form. For example, 安かろう (the presumptive form of 安い "cheap") is hardly used and is usually replaced with the plain form + やろ likes 安いやろ . Polite suffixes です/だす/どす and ます are also added やろ for presumptive form instead of でしょう in standard Japanese. For example, 今日は晴れでしょう ("It may be fine weather today") is replaced with 今日は晴れですやろ .
Ya and ja are used only informally, analogically to the standard da, while the standard desu is by and large used for the polite (teineigo) copula. For polite speech, - masu, desu and gozaimasu are used in Kansai as well as in Tokyo, but traditional Kansai dialect has its own polite forms. Desu is replaced by dasu in Osaka and dosu in Kyoto. There is another unique polite form omasu and it is often replaced by osu in Kyoto. The usage of omasu/osu is same as gozaimasu, the polite form of the verb aru and also be used for polite form of adjectives, but it is more informal than gozaimasu. In Osaka, dasu and omasu are sometimes shortened to da and oma. Omasu and osu have their negative forms omahen and ohen.
| + The politeness levels of copula |
When some sentence-final particles and a presumptive inflection yaro follow - su ending polite forms, su is often combined especially in Osaka. Today, this feature is usually considered to be dated or exaggerated Kansai dialect.
In the expression to the condition of inanimate objects, - taru or - taaru form, a shortened form of - te aru. In standard Japanese, - te aru is only used with , but Kansai - taru or - taaru is also used with intransitive verbs. One should note that - te yaru, "to do for someone," is also contracted to - taru (- charu in Senshu and Wakayama), so as not to confuse the two.
Other Western Japanese as Chūgoku and Shikoku dialects has the discrimination of grammatical aspect, - yoru in progressive and - toru in perfect. In Kansai, some dialects of southern Hyogo and Kii Peninsula have these discrimination, too. In parts of Wakayama, - yoru and - toru are replaced with - yaru and - taaru/chaaru.
In modern Kansai dialect, - haru (sometimes - yaharu except godan verbs, mainly Kyōto) is used for showing reasonable respect without formality especially in Kyōto. The conjugation before - haru has two varieties between Kyōto and Ōsaka (see the table below). In Southern Hyōgo, including Kōbe, -te ya is used instead of - haru. In formal speech, - naharu and - haru connect with - masu and - te ya changes - te desu.
- Haru was originally a shortened form of - naharu, a transformation of - nasaru. - Naharu has been dying out due to the spread of - haru but its imperative form - nahare (mainly Ōsaka) or - nahai (mainly Kyōto, also - nai) and negative imperative form - nasan'na or - nahan'na has comparatively survived because - haru lacks an imperative form. In more honorific speech, o- yasu, a transformation of o- asobasu, is used especially in Kyōto and its original form is same to its imperative form, showing polite invitation or order. Oide yasu and okoshi yasu (more respectful), meaning "welcome", are the common phrases of sightseeing areas in Kyōto. - Te okun nahare (also - tokun nahare, - toku nahare) and - te okure yasu (also - tokure yasu, - tokuryasu) are used instead of - te kudasai in standard Japanese.
| + The honorific form of Kansai dialect |
The kantō-joshi na or naa is used very often in Kansai dialect instead of ne or nee in standard Japanese. In standard Japanese, naa is considered rough masculine style in some context, but in Kansai dialect naa is used by both men and women in many familiar situations. It is not only used as an interjectory particle (as emphasis for the imperative form, expression and admiration, and address to listeners, for example), and the meaning varies depending on context and voice intonation, so much so that naa has been called the world's third most difficult word to translate. Besides naa and nee, noo is also used in some areas, but noo is usually considered too harsh a masculine particle in modern Keihanshin.
Kara and node, the setsuzoku-joshi meaning "because," are replaced by sakai or yotte; ni is sometimes added to the end of both, and sakai changes to sake in some areas. Sakai was so famous as the characteristic particle of Kansai dialect that a special saying was made out of it: Ōsaka sakai ni Edo berabō". However, in recent years, the standard kara and node have become dominant.
Kate or katte is also characteristic particle of Kansai dialect, transformation of ka tote. Kate has two usages. When kate is used with conjugative words, mainly in the past form and the negative form, it is the equivalent of the English "even if" or "even though", such as Kaze hiita kate, watashi wa ryokō e iku ("Even if I catch a cold, I will go on the trip"). When kate is used with nouns, it means something like "even", "too," or "either", such as Ore kate shiran ("I don't know, either"), and is similar to the particle mo and datte.
Another difference in sentence final particles that strikes the ear of the Tokyo speaker is the nen particle such as nande ya nen!, "you gotta be kidding!" or "why/what the hell?!", a stereotype tsukkomi phrase in the manzai. It comes from no ya (particle no + copula ya, also n ya) and much the same as the standard Japanese no da (also n da). Nen has some variation, such as neya (intermediate form between no ya and nen), ne (shortened form), and nya (softer form of neya). When a copula precedes these particles, da + no da changes to na no da ( na n da) and ya + no ya changes to na no ya ( na n ya), but ya + nen does not change to na nen. No da is never used with polite form, but no ya and nen can be used with formal form such as nande desu nen, a formal form of nande ya nen. In past tense, nen changes to -ten; for example, "I love you" would be suki ya nen or sukkya nen, and "I loved you" would be suki yatten.
In the interrogative sentence, the use of nen and no ya is restricted to emphatic questions and involves interrogative words. For simple questions, (no) ka is usually used and ka is often omitted as well as standard Japanese, but no is often changed n or non (somewhat feminine) in Kansai dialect. In standard Japanese, kai is generally used as a masculine variation of ka, but in Kansai dialect, kai is used as an emotional question and is mainly used for rhetorical question rather than simple question and is often used in the forms as kaina (softer) and kaiya (harsher). When kai follows the negative verb ending - n, it means strong imperative sentence. In some areas such as Kawachi and Banshu, ke is used instead of ka, but it is considered a harsh masculine particle in common Kansai dialect.
The emphatic particle ze, heard often from Tokyo men, is rarely heard in Kansai. Instead, the particle de is used, arising from the replacement of z with d in words. However, despite the similarity with ze, the Kansai de does not carry nearly as heavy or rude a connotation, as it is influenced by the lesser stress on formality and distance in Kansai. In Kyoto, especially feminine speech, de is sometimes replaced with e. The particle zo is also replaced to do by some Kansai speakers, but do carries a rude masculine impression unlike de.
The emphasis or tag question particle jan ka in the casual speech of Kanto changes to yan ka in Kansai. Yan ka has some variations, such as a masculine variation yan ke (in some areas, but yan ke is also used by women) and a shortened variation yan, just like jan in Kanto. Jan ka and jan are used only in informal speech, but yan ka and yan can be used with formal forms like sugoi desu yan! ("It is great!"). Youngsters often use yan naa, the combination of yan and naa for tag question.
Some Japanese words gain entirely different meanings or are used in different ways when used in Kansai dialect. One such usage is of the word naosu (usually used to mean "correct" or "repair" in the standard language) in the sense of "put away" or "put back." For example, kono jitensha naoshite means "please put back this bicycle" in Kansai, but many standard speakers are bewildered since in standard Japanese it would mean "please repair this bicycle".
Another widely recognized Kansai-specific usage is of aho. Basically equivalent to the standard baka "idiot, fool", aho is both a term of reproach and a term of endearment to the Kansai speaker, somewhat like English twit or silly. Baka, which is used as "idiot" in most regions, becomes "complete moron" and a stronger insult than aho. Where a Tokyo citizen would almost certainly object to being called baka, being called aho by a Kansai person is not necessarily much of an insult. Being called baka by a Kansai speaker is however a much more severe criticism than it would be by a Tokyo speaker. Most Kansai speakers cannot stand being called baka but don't mind being called aho.
| or akahen | H-H-H, H-L-L-L | dame, ikemasen, shimatta | wrong, no good, must, oh no! | abbreviation of " '"; akimasen or akimahen ' (H-H-H-H-H) for polite speech; -ta(ra) akan means "must not ..."; -na akan and -nto akan'' means "must ...". | Tabetara akan. = "You must not eat." : Tabena/Tabento akan = "You must eat." |
| , ahō | L-HL, L-H-L | baka | silly, idiot, fool | sometimes used friendly with a joke; this accompanies a stereotype that baka is considered a much more serious insult in Kansai; Ahondara (L-L-L-H-L) is strong abusive form; Ahokusai (L-L-H-L-L) and Ahorashii(L-L-H-L-L) are adjective form; originally ahau and said to derive from a Chinese word labels=no in Muromachi period.Osamu Matsumoto (1993). Zenkoku Aho Baka Bunpu-kō. | Honma aho ya naa. = "You are really silly." |
| H-H-H | bijin | beautiful woman | Originally written 別品, meaning a product of exceptional quality; extrapolated to apply to women of exceptional beauty, rewritten as 別嬪. Often appended with -san. | Beppin-san ya na. = "You are a pretty woman." | |
| charinko, chari | jitensha | bicycle | said to derive either from onomatopoeia of the bell, or corrupted from jajeongeo, a Korean language word for "bicycle" used by Zainichi Korean. Has spread out to most of Japan in recent decades. | Eki made aruite ikun? Uun, chari de iku wa. ("Are you walking to the station?" "No, I'm going by bike.") | |
| H-H | chigau, de wa nai, janai | that isn't it, that isn't good, nope, wrong | reduplication chau chau is often used for informal negative phrase | Are, chauchau chau? Chau chau, chauchau chau n chau? = "It is a Chow Chow, isn't it?" "No, it isn't a Chow Chow, is it?" (a famous pun with Kansai dialect) | |
| dabo | L-HL | baka | silly, idiot, fool | used in Kobe and Banshu; harsher than aho | |
| donai | H-H-H | donna, dō | how (demonstrative) | konai means konna (such, like this); sonai means sonna (such, like it); anai means anna (such, like that) | Donai yatta? = "How was it?" |
| do | excessively (prefix) | often used with bad meanings; also used in several dialects and recently standard Japanese | do-aho = "terribly fool" do-kechi = "terribly miser" | ||
| dotsuku | H-H-H | naguru | to clobber somebody | do + tsuku (突く; prick, push); also dozuku | Anta, dotsuku de! = "Hey, I'll clobber you!" |
| donkusai | L-L-H-L-L | manuke, nibui | stupid, clumsy, inefficient, lazy | literally "slow-smelling" (臭い) | |
| ee | L-H | yoi, ii | good, proper, all right | used only in Plain form; other conjugations are same as yoi (Perfective form yokatta generally does not change ekatta); also used in other western Japan and Tohoku | Kakko ee de. = "You look cool." |
| egetsunai | H-H-H-L-L | akudoi, iyarashii, rokotsu-na | indecent, vicious, obnoxious | Egetsunai yarikata = "Indecent way" | |
| erai | H-L-L | erai, taihen | great, high-status, terrible, terribly | the usage as meaning "terrible" and "terribly" is more often in Kansai than in Tokyo; also sometimes used as meaning "tired" as shindoi in Chubu and western Japan | Erai kotcha! (< erai koto ja) = "It is a terrible/difficult thing/matter!" |
| gotsui | H-L-L | ikatsui, sugoi | rough, huge | a variation of the adjective form gottsu is used as "very" or "terribly" like metcha | Gottsu ee kanji = "feelin' real good" |
| gyōsan | H-L-L-L or L-L-H-L | takusan | a lot of, many | also yōsan, may be a mixture of gyōsan and yōke; also used in other western Japan; in kanji | Gyōsan tabe ya. = "Eat heartily." |
| hannari | H-L-L-L or L-L-H-L | hanayaka, jōhin | elegant, splendid, graceful | mainly used in Kyoto | Hannari-shita kimono = "Elegant kimono" |
| hiku | H-H | shiku | to spread on a flat surface (e.g. bedding, butter) | A result of the palatalization of "s" occurring elsewhere in the dialect. | Futon hiitoite ya. = "Lay out the futons, will you?" |
| hokasu | H-H-H | suteru | to throw away, to dump | also horu (H-H). Note particularly that the phrase " gomi (o) hottoite" means "throw out the garbage" in Kansai dialect, but "let the garbage be" in standard Japanese. | Sore hokashitoite. = "Dump it." |
| honde | H-H-H | sorede | and so, so that (conjunction) | Honde na, kinō na, watashi na... = "And, in yesterday, I..." | |
| honnara, hona | H-H-L-L, H-L | (sore)dewa, (sore)ja, (sore)nara | then, in that case, if that's true (conjunction) | often used for informal good-by. | Hona mata. = "Well then." |
| L-L-H, H-H-H | hontō | true, real | honma-mon, equivalent to Standard honmono, means "genuine thing"; also used in other western Japan; in kanji | Sore honma? = "Is that true?" | |
| ikezu | L-H-L | ijiwaru | spiteful, ill-natured | Ikezu sentoitee na. = "Don't be spiteful to me." | |
| itemau, itekomasu | H-H-H-H, H-H-H-H-H | yattsukeru, yatchimau | to beat, to finish off | Itemau do, ware! = "I'll finish you off!" (typical fighting words) | |
| kamahen or kamehen | H-L-L-L | kamawanai | never mind; it doesn't matter | abbreviation of " kamawahen" | Kamahen, kamahen. = "It doesn't matter: it's OK." |
| kanawan | H-H-L-L | iya da, tamaranai | can't stand it; unpleasant; unwelcome | also kanan (H-L-L) | Kō atsui to kanawan naa. = "I can't stand this hot weather." |
| kashiwa | L-H-L | toriniku | chicken (food) | compared the colour of plumage of chickens to the colour of leaves of the Quercus dentata; also used in other western Japan and Nagoya | Kashiwa hito-kire chōdai. = "Give me a cut of chicken." |
| kattaa shatsu, kattā | H-H-H L-L, H-L-L | wai shatsu ("Y-shirt") | dress shirt | wasei-eigo. originally a brand of Mizuno, a sportswear company in Osaka. kattaa is a pun of "cutter" and " katta" (won, beat, overcame). | |
| kettai-na | H-L-L-L | kimyō-na, hen-na, okashi-na, fushigi-na | strange | Kettai-na fuku ya na. = "They are strange clothes." | |
| kettakuso warui | H-H-H-H H-L-L | imaimashii, haradatashii | damned, stupid, irritating | kettai + kuso "shit" + warui "bad" | |
| kii warui | H-H H-L-L | kanji ga warui, iyana kanji | be not in a good feeling | kii is a lengthened vowel form of ki (). | |
| kosobai or koshobai | H-H-L-L | kusuguttai | ticklish | shortened form of kosobayui; also used in other western Japan | |
| maido | L-H-L | dōmo | commercial greeting | the original meaning is "Thank you always". in kanji. | Maido, irasshai! = "Hi, may I help you?" |
| makudo | L-H-L | makku | McDonald's | abbreviation of makudonarudo (Japanese pronunciation of "McDonald's") | Makudo iko. = "Let's go to McDonald's." |
| mebachiko | L-H-L-L | monomorai | stye | meibo (H-L-L) in Kyoto and Shiga. | |
| metcha or messa or mutcha | L-H | totemo, chō | very | mostly used by younger people. also bari (L-H) in southern Hyogo, adopted from Chugoku dialect. | Metcha omoroi mise shitteru de. = "I know a really interesting shop." |
| nanbo | L-L-H | ikura, ikutsu | how much, no matter how, how old, how many | transformation of nanihodo (); also used in other western Japan, Tohoku and Hokkaido. | Sore nanbo de kōta n? = "How much did you pay for it?" |
| nukui | H-L-L | atatakai, attakai | warm | also used in other western Japan | |
| ochokuru | H-H-H-H | karakau, chakasu | to make fun of, to tease | Ore ochokuru no mo eekagen ni see! = "That's enough to tease me!" | |
| okan, oton | L-H-L, L-H-L | okaasan, otōsan | mother, father | very casual form | |
| H-L-H-L or L-L-H-L | arigatō | thanks | abbreviation of " ōki ni arigatō" (thank you very much, ōki ni means "very much"); of course, arigatō is also used; sometimes, it is used ironically to mean "No thank you"; also ōkeni | Maido ōkini! = "Thanks always!" | |
| otchan | H-H-H | ojisan | uncle, older man | a familiar term of address for a middle-aged man; also used as a first personal pronoun; the antonym "aunt, older woman" is obachan (also used in standard Japanese); also ossan and obahan, but ruder than otchan and obachan | Otchan, takoyaki futatsu! Aiyo! = (conversation with a takoyaki stall man) "Two takoyaki please, mister!" "All right!" |
| shaanai | H-H-L-L | shōganai, shikata ga nai | it can't be helped | also used some other dialects | |
| shibaku | H-H-H | naguru, tataku | to beat somebody (with hands or rods) | sometimes used as a vulgar word meaning "to go" or "to eat" such as Chaa shibakehen? "Why don't you go to cafe?" | Shibaitaro ka! ( < shibaite yarō ka) = "Do you want me to give you a beating?" |
| shindoi | L-L-H-L | tsukareru, tsurai, kurushii | tired, exhausted | change from shinrō (; hardship); shindoi has come to be used throughout Japan in recent years. | Aa shindo. = "Ah, I'm tired." |
| shōmonai | L-L-H-L-L | tsumaranai, omoshirokunai, kudaranai | dull, unimportant, uninteresting | change from shiyō mo nai (仕様も無い, means "There isn't anything"); also used some other dialects | |
| sunmasen or sunmahen | L-L-L-L-H | sumimasen, gomen nasai | I'm sorry, excuse me, thanks | suman (H-L-L) in casual speech; also kan'nin (, L-L-H-L) for informal apology instead of standard kanben () | Erai sunmahen. = "I'm so sorry." |
| H-H | niru | to boil, to simmer | in standard Japanese, taku is used only for cooking rice; also used in other western Japan | Daikon yō taketa. = "The daikon was boiled well." | |
| waya | H-L | mucha-kucha, dainashi, dame | going for nothing, fruitless | also used in other western Japan, Nagoya and Hokkaido | Sappari waya ya wa. = "It's no good at all." |
| yaru | H-H | yaru, ageru | to give (informal) | used more widely than in standard Japanese towards equals as well as inferiors; when used as helper auxiliaries, - te yaru usually shortened - taru | |
| yome | H-H | tsuma, okusan, kamisan, kanai | wife | originally means "bride" and "daughter-in-law" in standard, but an additional meaning "wife" is spread from Kansai; often used as yome-san or yome-han | anta toko no yome-han = "your wife" |
| yōke | H-L-L | takusan | a lot of, many | change from yokei (余計, means "extra, too many"); a synonymous with gyōsan |
In Kansai, omae and anta are often used for the informal second-person pronoun. Anata is hardly used. Traditional local second-person pronouns include omahan ( omae + -han), anta-han and ansan (both are anta + -san, but anta-han is more polite). An archaic first-person pronoun, ware, is used as a hostile and impolite second-person pronoun in Kansai. Jibun () is a Japanese word meaning "oneself" and sometimes "I", but it has an additional usage in Kansai as a casual second-person pronoun.
In traditional Kansai dialect, the honorific suffix -san is sometimes pronounced - han when - san follows a, e and o; for example, okaasan ("mother") becomes okaahan, and Satō-san ("Mr. Satō") becomes Satō-han. It is also the characteristic of Kansai usage of honorific suffixes that they can be used for some familiar inanimate objects as well, especially in Kyoto. In standard Japanese, the usage is usually considered childish, but in Kansai, o-Sweet potato-san, o-Bean-san and Candy-chan are often heard not only in children's speech but also in adults' speech. The suffix -san is also added to some familiar greeting phrases; for example, ohayō-san ("good morning") and omedetō-san ("congratulations").
The idea behind mōkarimakka is that Osaka was historically the center of the merchant culture. The phrase developed among low-class shopkeepers and can be used today to greet a business proprietor in a friendly and familiar way but is not a universal greeting. The latter phrase is also specific to Osaka, in particular the term bochi bochi (L-L-H-L). This means essentially "so-so": getting better little by little or not getting any worse. Unlike mōkarimakka, bochi bochi is used in many situations to indicate gradual improvement or lack of negative change. Also, bochi bochi (H-L-L-L) can be used in place of the standard Japanese soro soro, for instance bochi bochi iko ka "it is about time to be going".Kazuo Fudano (2006). Ōsaka "Honmamon" Kōza. Tokyo: Shinchosha
In the Edo period, Senba-kotoba (船場言葉), a social dialect of the wealthy merchants in the central business district of Osaka, was considered the standard Osaka-ben. It was characterized by the polite speech based on Kyoto-ben and the subtle differences depending on the business type, class, post etc. It was handed down in Meiji period, Taishō and Shōwa periods with some changes, but after the Pacific War, Senba-kotoba became nearly an obsolete dialect due to the modernization of business practices. Senba-kotoba was famous for a polite copula gowasu or goasu instead of common Osakan copula omasu and characteristic forms for shopkeeper family mentioned below.
Southern branches of Osaka-ben, such as Izumi Province-ben (泉州弁) and Kawachi Province-ben (河内弁), are famous for their harsh locution, characterized by trilled "r", the question particle ke, and the second person ware. The farther south in Osaka one goes, the cruder the language is considered to be, with the local Senshū-ben of Kishiwada said to represent the peak of harshness.Riichi Nakaba (2005). Kishiwada Shonen Gurentai. Kodansha.
Kyoto-ben was the de facto standard Japanese from 794 until the 18th century and some Kyoto people are still proud of their accent; they get angry when Tokyo people treat Kyoto-ben as a provincial accent. However, traditional Kyoto-ben is gradually declining except in the world of geisha, which prizes the inheritance of traditional Kyoto customs. For example, a famous Kyoto copula dosu, instead of standard desu, is used by a few elders and geisha now.Nobusuke Kishie and Fumiko Inoue (1997). Kyōto-shi Hōgen no Dōtai
The verb inflection -haru is an essential part of casual speech in modern Kyoto. In Osaka and its environs, -haru has a certain level of politeness above the base (informal) form of the verb, putting it somewhere between the informal and the more polite -masu conjugations. However, in Kyoto, its position is much closer to the informal than it is to the polite mood, owing to its widespread use. Kyoto people, especially elderly women, often use - haru for their family and even for animals and weather.Kayoko Tsuji (2009). Haru Keigo-kō Kyōto-go no Shakaigengo-shi. 。
Tango-ben (丹後弁) spoken in northernmost Kyoto Prefecture, is too different to be regarded as Kansai dialect and usually included in Chūgoku dialect. For example, the copula da, the Tokyo-type accent, the honorific verb ending - naru instead of - haru and the peculiarly diphthong such as for akai "red".
The dialect spoken in southwestern Hyōgo, former Harima Province alias Banshū, is called Banshū-ben. As well as Chūgoku dialect, it has the discrimination of aspect, -yoru in progressive and -toru in perfect. Banshū-ben is notable for transformation of -yoru and -toru into -yō and -tō, sometimes -yon and -ton. Another feature is the honorific copula -te ya, common in Tanba Province, Maizuru and San'yō dialects. In addition, Banshū-ben is famous for an emphatic final particle doi or doiya and a question particle ke or ko, but they often sound violent to other Kansai speakers, as well as Kawachi-ben. Kōbe-ben (神戸弁) spoken in Kobe, the largest city of Hyogo, is the intermediate dialect between Banshū-ben and Osaka-ben and is well known for conjugating -yō and -tō as well as Banshū-ben.
Awaji dialect (淡路弁) spoken in Awaji Island, is different from Banshū/Kōbe-ben and mixed with dialects of Osaka, Wakayama and Tokushima Prefectures due to the intersecting location of sea routes in the Seto Inland Sea and the Tokushima Domain rule in Edo period.
They use the normal Kansai accent and basic grammar, but some of the vocabulary is common to the Nagoya dialect. For example, instead of - te haru (respectful suffix), they have the Nagoya-style - te mieru. Conjunctive particles de and monde "because" is widely used instead of sakai and yotte. The similarity to Nagoya-ben becomes more pronounced in the northernmost parts of the prefecture; the dialect of Nagashima and Kisosaki, for instance, could be considered far closer to Nagoya-ben than to Ise-ben.
In and around Ise city, some variations on typical Kansai vocabulary can be found, mostly used by older residents. For instance, the typical expression ōkini is sometimes pronounced ōkina in Ise. Near the Isuzu River and Naikū shrine, some old men use the first-person pronoun otai.
| In the first place, today you... what happened? I've been waiting for a very long time. |
| Where? |
| At the top of the Miyako hotel. Uh, in the lobby. |
| Well, I called, just at 5 o'clock. |
| That's strange. Isn't that strange? |
| And I couldn't get through. |
| The lines must have gotten crossed. |
| Yes. |
| I wonder why? |
| I don't know. "Maybe they haven't paid for the phone," I said. Because it's a big facility. |
| Yes. Even after I waited for a long time, you didn't come, so I thought you'd forgotten, so I thought about calling you, but just when I'd decided to wait a little longer the staff called my name. |
| Is that so. I... Was it the second time when you heard about the phone? |
| Really, I hate having my name called out. |
| Sorry. |
| It's awkward, right? |
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