Kansai dialect 1

Kansai dialect
The Kansai dialect (関西弁 Kansai-ben) is a distinct group of related Japanese dialects found in the Kansai region
of Japan. They are typified by the speech of Osaka, which is referred to specifically as Osaka-ben. It is characterized
as being both more melodic and harsher by speakers of the standard language.[1] Until the mid-Edo period, when the
dialect of Edo (now Tokyo) came to exert a stronger influence on literature and learning, an old form of Kansai-ben
had been the de facto standard Japanese.

Background
Technically, Kansai-ben is not a single
dialect, but a group of related dialects in the
region. Each major city has a particular
dialect, such as Kyoto-ben, Kobe-ben,
Nara-ben, and Wakayama-ben. Kansai-ben
has over one thousand years of history.
Since Osaka is the largest city in the region,
and since its speakers gained the most media
exposure in the last century, non-Kansai-ben
speakers tend to associate the dialect of
Osaka with the entire Kansai region. Thus,
anyone habitually saying akan or honma to
a Tokyo-jin (someone from Tokyo) would
probably be labelled as an Osaka-ben
speaker and an Osaka-jin (someone from
Osaka), regardless of whether the speaker is
indeed from Osaka.
A division of Kansai-ben proposed by Mitsuo Okumura, a Japanese linguist. The
Since Kansai-ben is the most widely known orange zone is the Middle Kansai-ben, the blue one is the North Kansai-ben, the
non-standard dialect of Japanese, it has brown one is the West Kansai-ben, the yellow one is the East Kansai-ben, the
green one is the South Kansai-ben.
become a favorite with Japanese authors,
manga and anime artists, as a choice for
representing a character somewhat "different" from the norm. Kansai-ben is also used in manzai and other comedies
in non-Kansai Japan, because of the large number of comedians from Osaka in Japanese media (thanks in part to the
Yoshimoto Kogyo agency based in Osaka), and the willingness of Osaka comedians to use their own dialect while
on stage. Because of such association, speakers of Kansai-ben are often viewed as being more humorous or wittier
than average Tokyo-jin. Tokyo people even occasionally imitate Kansai-ben to provoke laughter or inject humor.

Historically, nearly every village in the Kansai area had a style of speech that differed somewhat from the speech of
its neighbors. It was even possible for well-travelled people to identify the particular area from which a speaker came
– as the character Henry Higgins did with English in the play Pygmalion. As the Tokyo and Kantō dialects have
gained influence during the last 400 years, intraregional differences in Kansai dialects have diminished.
Nevertheless, residents of each major city and prefecture still take some pride in their particular dialectical
variations, and this pride has preserved a number of differences between the areas of the region.
The primary dialects of Kansai-ben can be roughly designated by city. There is Osaka-ben, the most famous and well
known. Following it in prominence are Kyoto-ben, known for its indirectness and politeness, and Kobe-ben, known
for its -tō/-ton verb conjugation.
Kansai dialect 2

General differences from standard Japanese

Many words in Kansai-ben are contractions of their classical Japanese equivalents (it is unusual to contract words in
such a way in standard Japanese). For example, chigau (to be different, wrong) becomes chau, yoku (well) becomes
yō, and omoshiroi (interesting, funny) becomes omoroi. These contractions follow similar inflection rules as their
standard forms, so that chau is politely said chaimasu in the same way as chigau is inflected to chigaimasu.
Common contractions in Tokyo-ben are replaced by specific Kansai-ben variations. The korya and sorya
contractions of kore wa and sore wa heard in relaxed speech in Tokyo are instead kora and sora in Kansai-ben.

Phonological and morphological differences

In phonological terms, Kansai-ben is characterized by strong vowels. In contrast, to Tokyo speech is characterized
by strong consonants and frequent vowel reduction. For example, fi̥rɯ̥mɯ̥ desɯ̥ ("It's a film") in Tokyo becomes
fuirumu desu in Kansai. Kansai-ben shows a recurring tendency to lengthen vowels at the end of monomoraic nouns.
Common examples are kī for ki ("tree"), and tō for to ("door").
The geminated consonants found in standard Japanese verbal inflections are usually replaced with long vowels in
Kansai-ben. Thus, for the verb iu ("to say"), the past tense in standard Japanese itta or yutta ("said") becomes yūta in
Kansai-ben. This particular verb is a dead giveaway of a native Kansai-ben speaker, as most will unconsciously say
yūte instead of itte or yutte even when well practiced at speaking in standard Japanese. Other examples of geminate
replacement are waratta ("laughed") becoming warōta, and moratta ("received") becoming morōta or even mōta.
The -te shimau verb gerund plus auxiliary form (to finish something, or to do something in unintentional /
unfortunate circumstances) found in standard Japanese exists in Kansai-ben, but is contracted to -temau rather than
the -chimau or -chau of Tokyo speech. Thus shichimau or shichau becomes shitemau. Furthermore, as the verb
shimau is affected by the same sound changes as in other verbs ending in -au, the past tense of this form is rendered
as -temōta or -temota rather than -chimatta or -chatta: wasurechimatta or wasurechatta ("I forgot [it]") in Tokyo
speech is wasuretemōta or wasuretemota in Kansai-ben.
Oddly, long vowels in inflections of standard Japanese are typically shortened in Kansai-ben. This is particularly
noticeable in the volitional conjugation of verbs. For instance, ikō "let's go" is shorter in Kansai-ben as iko; shō, the
contracted form of shiyō "let's do" in standard Japanese, is simply sho in Kansai-ben. The common phrase of
agreement, sō da "that's it", is said so ya in Kansai-ben.
A frequent occurrence in Kansai-ben is the use of h in place of s in suffixes and inflections. Some palatalization of s
is apparent in most Kansai speakers, but it seems to have progressed further in morphological suffixes than in core
vocabulary. This process has produced the Kansai -han for standard -san "Mr.-, Ms.-", -mahen for -masen (formal
negative form), and -mahyo for -mashō (formal imperative mood), among other examples.

Accent
The accent of Kansai-ben is greatly different from standard Tokyo accent, so non-Kansai Japanese can recognize
Kansai people easily from their accent alone. Kansai-ben's accent is called the Keihan-shiki accent
(京阪式アクセント, Kyoto-Osaka style accent) and spoken in and around most of Kansai, Shikoku and part of
Hokuriku region. Keihan-shiki accent includes some local variations. The mainstream of Keihan-shiki accent is that
used in Kyoto and Osaka, but the traditional early modern Keihan-shiki accent is kept in Shikoku and southern
Wakayama.
In Tokyo accent, the first and second mora are always different and only downstep is regarded as important. In
Kansai accent, the first and second mora are sometimes the same pitch and both of downstep and upstep are regarded
as important. Kansai accent has the most pitch patterns in Japan and so some Japanese linguists, such as Haruhiko
Kindaichi, advocate that Kansai accent keeps some of ancient Japanese accent's patterns.
Kansai dialect 3

Kansai Tokyo English

hashi 橋 bridge
ha↓shi ha↑shi↓

箸 ha↑shi ha↓shi chopsticks

端 ↑
hashi ha↑shi edge

nihon 日本 Japan
ni↓hon ni↑ho↓n

二本 niho↑n ni↓hon 2 hon

kon'nichiwa こんにちは Ko↑n↓nichi↑wa Ko↑nnichiwa Good afternoon

Arigatō ありがとう Thanks

Ariga↑to↓u A↑ri↓gatou

Adjectives
The stem of adjective forms in Kansai-ben is generally the same as in standard Japanese, excepting regional
vocabulary differences. The -i 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 omoshiroi "interesting, funny"
becomes omoshirō, and atsui "hot" becomes atsū. This usage of the adjective's stem, often as an exclamation, is
common throughout the entire history of the Japanese language; it is seen in old literature in Classical Japanese, as
well as many dialects of modern Japanese. (Some dialects including Kantō are more likely to contract the adjectival
ending into the last vowel of the stem, yielding omoshirē and atsī or achī for the above examples)
Furthermore, the same process that reduced the Classical Japanese terminal and attributive endings (-shi and -ki,
respectively) to -i, also has reduced the adverbial (連用形 ren'yōkei)(-masu stem) ending -ku to simply -u, yielding
such forms as hayō (contraction of hayau) for hayaku ("quickly"). Dropping of the consonant from the final mora in
all forms of adjective endings has been a frequent occurrence in Japanese over the centuries (and is the origin of such
forms as arigatō and omedetō), but Kantō speech preserved -ku while reducing -shi and -ki to -i, thus accounting for
the discrepancy in the standard language.

Copula
The standard Japanese copula da is replaced by the Kansai-ben copula ya. The inflected forms maintain this
difference, giving yaro for darō, yatta for datta. It should be noted that ya is only used informally, the same as the
standard da, while the standard desu is by and large used for the polite (keigo) copula. Kansai-ben has its own keigo
copulas: dosu in Kyoto and dasu in Osaka, but both are now rather archaic because the standard desu became
dominant. Dasu was also sometimes shortened to da, not to be confused with the standard non-keigo copula.

The history of ya
Heian Kamakura Muromachi Edo Today

Kansai nite-ari de-aru dea dya (ja)* ya

Kanto da

• ja is still used slightly in acrid speech. Now ja is commonly used in western Japanese areas like Hiroshima. It
is also used for the stereotype of old men in fiction.
Kansai dialect 4

Politeness
Historically, extensive use of keigo was a feature of Kansai-ben, while Kantō-ben, from which standard Japanese
developed, formerly lacked it. Keigo in standard Japanese was originally borrowed from Kansai-ben. However keigo
is no longer considered a feature of the dialect since the standard Japanese also has it. Even today keigo is used more
often in Kansai-ben speech than in the other dialects except for the standard Japanese, to which people switch in
formal situations. Traditional Kansai-ben keigo has gone out of use, but haru, a transformation of nasaru, is often
used for showing reasonable respect without formality.

Haru
do say eat see "-te" form

Kyoto shiharu, shiyaharu iwaharu tabeharu miharu -ta haru

Osaka iwaharu, iiharu -te haru

Tokyo sareru, nasaru o-ii ni naru, ossharu o-tabe ni naru, meshiagaru go-ran ni -te
naru irassharu

Sentence final particles

The sentence final particles (終助詞 shūjoshi) used in Kansai-ben differ widely from those used in standard
Japanese. The most prominent to a Tokyo-ben speaker is the use of wa by men. In standard Japanese this is a particle
with the same meaning as yo, but used exclusively by women, so it is said to sound softer. In Kansai-ben however it
functions in almost the exact same manner as yo does in standard Japanese, and is as such used equally by both men
and women in many different levels of conversation.
Another difference in sentence final particles which strikes the ear of the Tokyo-ben speaker is the nen particle. This
is much the same as the standard Japanese no da or n'da (no da = no ya > ne ya > nen).
The emphatic particle ze heard so often in the mouths of Tokyo men are nowhere to be heard in the Kansai region.
Instead, the particle de is used, especially in the phrase akan de, equivalent to Tokyo's ikenai yo. It probably arose
from the same variation which gave rise to the Western Japan replacement of z- with d- in words such as denden for
zenzen "never, not at all". However, despite the similarity with ze, the Kansai de does not carry nearly as heavy or
rude a connotation, influenced by the lesser stress on formality and distance in the Kansai region.

Negative form
In casual speech, the negative verb ending, which is -nai in standard Japanese, is often expressed with -hen, as in
ikahen "not going", which is ikanai in standard Japanese. Etymologically speaking, this is not simply a replacement
of standard nai with a different suffix onto the negative stem, but the result of the form ren'yōkei + wa senu, altered
by contraction and phonological change (as illustrated below). The conjugation before -hen has some varieties. Most
common conjugation is -ahen like ikahen, but -ehen like ikehen is also used in Osaka. -Hen are pronounced -hin
when the vowel before -hen is i especially in Kyoto.
Kansai dialect 5

The history of hen

Edo Meiji

Kyoto iki-wa-senu iki-ya-sen ikyasen ikahen

Osaka ikahen or ikehen

The difference of hen between Kyoto and Osaka

not doing not seeing not coming

Kyoto shiihin or seehen miihin kiihin*

Osaka seehen miihen or keehen* or ko-hen

meehen

Standard shinai minai konai

• Kōhen, mixed keehen or kiihin with konai, is also used lately by young people.

Imperative form
Kansai-ben has two imperative forms. One is the standard meireikei, inherited from Middle Japanese. The other is a
somewhat soft form which uses ren'yōkei. The end of the soft imperative form is often elongated and generally
followed by ya or na. The -ro form for monograde verbs in standard Japanese was only used in Kantō by nature, so
the -ro form is much rarer in Kansai. In the negative imperative mood, Kansai-ben also has the somewhat soft form
which uses ren'yōkei + na, abbreviation of ren'yōkei + nasaruna. Na sometimes changes to naya or naina (naina is
archaic now). Ren'yōkei + na is the same as the informal imperative mood in Kantō Japanese, an abbreviation of
ren'yōkei + nasai. Kansai speakers can recognize the difference by shades of accent, but Tokyo speakers are
sometimes confused by a command not to do something, which they interpret as an order to do it.

The imperative mood of Kansai-ben

Do Not do Go Not go Eat Not eat

Normal sei see suruna sun'na suna ike ikuna tabei tabee taberuna
taben'na

Soft shi shii shina iki ikii ikina tabe tabei tabee tabena

Vocabulary
In some cases, Kansai-ben uses different words entirely. The verb hokasu corresponds to standard Japanese suteru
"to throw away", and metcha corresponds to the standard Japanese slang chō "very". Chō, in Kansai-ben, means "a
little", as a contracted form of "chotto." Thus the phrase e.g. chō matte, "wait a minute" in Kansai-ben, sounds very
strange to a person from Tokyo.
Some Japanese words gain entirely different meaning or are used in different ways when used in Kansai-ben. One
such usage is of the word erai (usually used to mean "great" or "high-status" in the standard language) in the sense of
"terrible," e.g. erai kotcha (< *koto ya), "it is a terrible/difficult thing/matter". The standard equivalent would be
taihen na koto da.
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. Baka, which is used as "idiot" in
most regions, becomes "complete fool" 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
Kansai dialect 6

baka by a Kansai speaker is however a much more severe criticism than it would be by a Tokyo speaker. Most
Kansai-ben speakers cannot stand being called baka but don't mind being called aho.

Well-known Kansai-ben vocabulary and phrases

Common words and phrases famous as part of the Kansai dialect include

Kansai-ben Standard Japanese English Note Example

akan, dame, ikemasen, wrong, no good, must, abbreviation of "rachi ga akanu" (埒が明かぬ) Tabeta(ra) akan. = "(You)
akimahen shimatta oh no! which means "to get nowhere". -ta(ra) akan must not eat." : Tabena akan =
(keigo form) means "must not ...", -na akan means "must ...". "(You) must eat."

aho baka silly, idiot, fool often used friendly with a joke Honma aho ya nā. = "(You) are
really silly."

chau chigau, dewa nai, that isn't it, that isn't reduplication chau chau is often used for Chauchau chau n chau? = "It
janai good, nope, wrong informal negative phrase isn't a Chow Chow, is it?" (a
famous pun with Kansai-ben)

dabo baka silly, idiot, fool used in Kobe and Banshu; harder than aho

dekka, makka desu ka, masu ka keigo copula desu, masu + ka (interrogative particle); Mōkarimakka? = "How's
somewhat archaic business?"

denna, manna desu ne, masu ne keigo copula desu, masu + na; somewhat archaic Bochi-bochi denna. = "So-so,
y'know."

desse, masse desu yo, masu yo keigo copula desu, masu + e (change from yo); somewhat Ee toko oshiemasse! = "I'll
archaic show you a nice place!"

dessharo, deshō, darō keigo copula desu, masu + yaro; somewhat archaic Kyō wa haremassharo. = "It
massharo may be fine weather today."

donai donna, dō how (demonstrative) konai means konna (such, like this), sonai means Donai deshita? = "How did it
sonna (such, like that), anai means anna (such, go?"
like that)

do excessively (prefix) often used with bad meanings do-aho! = "(You are a)
complete fool!"

dotsuku naguru to clobber somebody do + tsuku (突く; prick, push) Anta, dotsuku de! = "Man, I'll
clobber you!"

donkusai manuke, nibui stupid, clumsy, literally "stupid-smelling"

inefficient, lazy

ee yoi, ii good, proper, all right Kakko ee de. = "(You) look

cool."

egetsunai akudoi, iyarashii, wicked, vicious, Egetsunai yarikata = "Vicious

rokotsu obnoxious way"

gotsui ikatsui, sugoi rough, huge gottsu means "very" or "terribly" as metcha. Gotsui kii = "Huge tree"

gyōsan takusan a lot of, many also yōsan and yōke Gyōsan tabei ya. = "Eat
heartily."

hokasu suteru to throw away, to also horu Sore hokashitoite. = "Dump it,
dump please."

hannari hanayaka, jōhin elegant, splendid, Hannari shita kimono =

graceful "Elegant kimono"

honnara, hona (sore)dewa, then, in that case, if often used for informal good-by. Hona mata. = "Well then."
(sore)ja, (sore)nara that's true

honma hontō true, real Sore honma? = "Is that true?"

Kansai dialect 7

ikezu ijiwaru spiteful, ill-natured Ikezu sen toitee na. = "Don't be

spiteful to me, please."

jibun omae, anta, kimi, you, yourself Means "(my)self" or "(do something) by oneself" Ore, Misudo iko omoten nen.
etc. in standard Japanese; additional usage as a Jibun wa? = "I think I'll go to
second-person pronoun is specific to Kansai. Mister Donut. What about
you?"

kamahen, kamawanai never mind, it's abbreviation of "kamai wa senu" Kamahen, kamahen. = "It
kamehen doesn't matter doesn't matter, it's OK."

kanan iya da, tamaranai can't stand, abbreviation of "kanawanu"

unpleasant,
unwelcome

kashiwa toriniku chicken (food)

kattā shatsu, wai shatsu dress shirt kattā is a pun of "cutter" and "katta" (won, beat,
kattā overcame).

kettai-na kimyō-na, hen-na, strange Kettai-na fuku ya na. = "It's

okashi-na, strange clothes."
fushigi-na

kettakuso imaimashii damned, stupid, kettai + kuso "shit" + warui "bad"

warui haradatashii irritating

kii warui kanji ga warui, be not in a good kii is a lengthen vowel form of ki (気).
iyana kanji feeling

kosobai, kusuguttai ticklish

koshobai

maido dōmo commercial greeting original meaning is "thank you always" Maido, irasshai! = "Hello, may
I help you?"

makudo makku McDonald's abbreviation of "Makudonarudo" (McDonald's' Makudo iko. = "Let's go to

Japanese pronunciation) McDonald's."

metcha, messa, totemo, chō very mostly used by younger people; abbreviation of Metcha omoroi mise shitten
mutcha "mecha-kucha" and "mucha-kucha" nen. = "I know a really
interesting shop."

nā nē sentence final particle meaning varies depending on context and voice

inflection. Selected by 1000 linguists as the
[2]
world's third most difficult word to translate.

nanbo ikura how much, no matter Sore nanbo de kōta n? = "How

how much did you buy it for?"

nen no da, n da, no yo sentence final particle also neya, ne and nya. neya is rather archaic Nande ya nen! (stereotype in
style, ne is short style of nen and nya is Manzai) = "You gotta be
sometimes used in Kyoto. kidding!", "Why/What the
hell?!"

nukui atatakai, attakai warm

ōki ni arigatō thanks abbreviation of "ōki ni arigatō" (thank you very

much, ōki ni means "very much"). Of course,
arigatō is also used. Sometimes used ironically
to mean "No thank you".

oru iru there is/are more informal or arrogance than iru Doko ni oru n? = "Where are
[humans/animals] (you)?"

sakai (ni) kara, node because somewhat archaic; also yotte (ni) Ame ya sakai kasa saso. =
"Because it's rainy, let's open
an umbrella."
Kansai dialect 8

shānai shōganai, it can't be helped

shikataganai

shibaku naguru, tataku to beat somebody Shibaitaroka! ( < shibaite yarō

(with hands or rods) ka) = "Do you want me to give
you a beating!?"

shindoi tsukareru, tsurai, tired, exhausted change from shinrō (辛労; hardship). shindoi has Aa shindo. = "Ah, I'm tired."
kurushii come to be used throughout Japan in recent
years. Also erai (somewhat archaic).

shōmonai tsumaranai, dull, unimportant,

omoshirokunai, uninteresting
kudaranai

ten ta no da, ta n da, ta sentence final particle the past form of nen Kinō Kita itten. = "I went to
no yo Umeda yesterday."

uchi watashi, atashi I (girls) Uchi no koto dō omoteru non?

= "How do you think about
me?"

wai ore I (men) archaic; washi > wai

ware temee, omae, kisama you (impolite) Means "I" or "me" in archaic standard Japanese; Itemaudo ware! = "I'll finish
also usage as a second-person pronoun is specific you off!" (typical fighting
to Kansai. words)

wate watashi I archaic; watashi > watai > watee > wate Wate ni makashitoki! = "Leave
it to me!"

waya mucha-kucha, going for nothing, Sappari waya ya. = "It's no

dainashi, dame fruitless good at all."

yan jan copula abbreviation of yanka; more recent

yan'na dayona, dayone copula yan + na; mostly used by younger people

yanka, yanke dewa naika, janaika copula yanke is used more by men

yaru yaru, ageru to give (informal) used more widely than in standard Japanese,
towards equals as well as inferiors

yasu kudasai, nasaimase keigo copula archaic; mostly used in Kyoto Oide yasu/Okoshi yasu. =
"Welcome."

Specific dialects
Since Kansai-ben is actually a group of related dialects, not all share the same vocabulary, pronunciation, or
grammatical features. However, all have the characteristics described in the discussion of general differences above.
Each dialect has its own specific features which are discussed individually here.

Osaka-ben
A number of terms which are considered by most Japanese to be characteristic of Kansai-ben are actually restricted
to Osaka and its environs, not actually used throughout the entire Kansai region. Perhaps the most famous is the term
mōkarimakka?, roughly translated as "How's business?", and derived from the verb mōkaru (儲かる), "to be
profitable, to yield a profit". This is supposedly said as a greeting from one Osakan to another, and the appropriate
answer is another Osaka phrase, mā, bochi bochi denna "Well, so-so, y'know."
The idea behind mōkarimakka is that supposedly Osakans are all engaged in some sort of mercantile activity, since
Osaka was historically the center of the merchant culture throughout the Edo era and earlier. Certainly the phrase
developed among shopkeepers, and today can be used to greet a business proprietor in a friendly and familiar way,
Kansai dialect 9

but it was probably never a universal greeting and certainly is not today. It can however be used in a joking manner
with any Osakan, and will at least result in a smile and a few laughs, along with the mā, bochi bochi denna response.
The latter phrase is also specific to Osaka, in particular the term bochi bochi. This means essentially "so-so", i.e.
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. For the foreigner used to the repetitive question "Can you
really understand Japanese?", responding with bochi bochi ya nā is sure to astound and amuse listeners. Also, bochi
bochi can be used in place of the standard Japanese soro soro, for instance bochi bochi iko ka "It's about time to be
going".
The southern Osaka-ben, Senshū-ben (泉州弁) and Kawachi-ben (河内弁), are famous for their harsh locution,
especially Kawachi-ben is recognized as the acrid dialect in Kansai.

Kyoto-ben
Kyoto-ben is characterized by softness and an adherence to politeness and indirectness. The verb inflection -haru is
an essential part of casual speech in Kyoto. In other parts of Kansai, -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, perhaps owing to its
widespread use. The Osaka phrase "Nani shiten nen?" equivalent to the standard, "Nani shiteru no?", would in
Kyoto be said, "Nani shiteharu no?" (and sometimes "Nani shitaharu no?") using the -haru conjugation for an
informal question.
In Kyoto-ben, the honorific suffix -san, which in standard Japanese is reserved for people (and other animate objects
in children's speech), can be used for well-known inanimate locations as well.

Kōbe-ben
Kōbe-ben is a dialect of Kobe. Kōbe-ben is notable among Kansai dialects for conjugating the present progressive
with the verb ending "-ton" or "-tō" for "-ing". For example, while the phrase "What are you doing?" in standard (and
casual) Japanese would be "Nani shiteru no?" in Kōbe-ben it would be "Nani shiton?" or "Nani shitō?". Like
Ōsaka-ben, Kōbe-ben uses the inflectional ねん ("nen") to add emphasis, such that "Nani ittendayo" ("What (the
heck) are you saying?") of standard Japanese could become "Nani yuuton'nen" in Kōbe-ben.

Banshū-ben
Banshū-ben is a dialect of Banshū, which is west of Kobe. Banshū-ben is notorious for being an acrid dialect, similar
to Kawachi-ben. For example, the famous Kansai-ben phrase nande ya nen becomes nandoi ya in Banshū. Such
patterns sometimes sound violent to other Kansai-ben speakers. -tō, a sentence-ending particle in Kobe-ben, is also
used in Banshū; in fact, -tō was originally a development of Banshū-ben.

Ise-ben
Ise-ben is a dialect of northern Mie Prefecture and also called "Mie-ben". It uses the normal kansai-ben intonation
system (Keihanshiki accent) but the vocabulary is largely affected by southern Tokai dialects and especially Nagoya
dialect. For example, Kansai-style copula ya and yanka are often used, but instead of mochiageru (to lift up
something) for warm they have Nagoya-style tsuru. Similarity to Nagoya-ben becomes more pronounced in the
northerly parts of the prefecture; the dialect of Kuwana (northern of Mie), for instance, could be considered far closer
to Nagoya-ben than Ise-ben.
In and around the Ise city (midsouth of Mie), some variations on typical Kansai-ben vocabulary can be found, mostly
used by older residents. For instance, the typical expression ōkini for "thank-you" is sometimes pronounced ōkina in
Ise. Near the Isuzugawa River and Naikū shrine, some old men use the word otai in place of the first-person personal
Kansai dialect 10

pronoun washi.

Wakayama-ben
Wakayama-ben is a dialect of Wakayama Prefecture and also called "Kishū-ben". The most famous feature of
Wakayama-ben is that the consonant sound z changes to d. For example, zenzen (at all) becomes denden and zōkin
(dustcloth) becomes dōkin. This feature is especially used in Tanabe (southern of Wakayama) and its perimeter.
Another famous feature of the dialect is the negative verb ending -yan, which is used instead of Kansai-ben's
standard -hen. For example, dekehen or dekihen in Osaka becomes dekiyan in Wakayama.

Shiga-ben
Shiga-ben is a dialect of Shiga Prefecture and is also called "Ōmi-ben" or "Gōshū-ben". Being that Shiga is the
eastern neighbor of Kyoto, Shiga-ben is similar in many ways to Kyoto-ben. For example, Kyoto-ben's characteristic
-haru is also commonly used in Shiga.
Of course, there are differences between Kyoto and Shiga. In Nagahama, people often use the friendly-sounding
copula -yansu. For example, "Nani shite yansu n?" means "What are you doing?". In Hikone, the emphatic final
particle hon can be heard. For example, "Ashita wa hareru hon" means, "Maybe tomorrow('s weather) will be fine".

References
• Palter, DC and Slotsve, Kaoru Horiuchi (1995). Colloquial Kansai Japanese: The Dialects And Culture of the
Kansai Region. Boston: Charles E. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 0-8048-3723-6.
• Tse, Peter (1993). Kansai Japanese: The language of Osaka, Kyoto, and western Japan. Boston: Charles E. Tuttle
Publishing. ISBN 0-8048-1868-1.
• Shinji Sanada, Makiko Okamoto, Yoko Ujihara (2006). Kiite oboeru Kansai Ōsaka-ben nyūmon. Tokyo: Hituzi
Syobo [3] Publishing. ISBN 978-4894762961.
• Isamu Maeda (1965). Kamigata Gogen Jiten (The dictionary of etymology in Kamigata). Tokyo: Tokyodo
Publishing.
• Takahashi, Hiroshi and Kyoko (1995). How to speak Osaka Dialect. Kobe: Taiseido Shobo Co. Ltd. ISBN
978-4-88463-076-9
[1] Omusubi: Japan's Regional Diversity (http:/ / www. jpf. org. au/ 06_newsletter/ hitokuchi_3new. pdf), retrieved January 23, 2007
[2] Congo word 'most untranslatable' (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 2/ hi/ africa/ 3830521. stm) 2004-6-22 BBC News
[3] http:/ / www. hituzi. co. jp/ hituzi/ welcome. html

• Kazuki Aida (2009). Kesenai Kioku -Rotwelsch-. Levook Co.,Ltd. ISBN 978-4-434-13282-7

External links
• The Kansai and Osaka dialects (http://www.nihongoresources.com/language/dialects/kansaiben.html)
• Kansai Japanese Guide (http://www.eastudies.org/guide_kansaiben.html) - Kansai-ben teaching texts and
videos made by Ritsumeikan University students)
• Kansai Dialect Self-study Site for Japanese Language Learner (http://web.mit.edu/kansai/)
• (Japanese) 日本語資料 ("Japanese resources") (http://www.konan-wu.ac.jp/~kikuchi/nihon/nihongo.htm) -
Texts about Osaka dialect in the Edo Period
• (Japanese) Kyo-Kotoba (The Language of Kyoto) (http://www.akenotsuki.com/kyookotoba/)
• (Japanese) The National Association for the Promotion of the Osaka Dialect (http://www.osakaben.jp/)
Article Sources and Contributors 11

Article Sources and Contributors

Kansai dialect  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=366694981  Contributors: Akaisuisei, Amake, Anklesocks, Bdonlan, Bendono, Bueller 007, Carlj7, Cassowary, DJ XtAzY,
DannyWilde, Dekimasu, DocWatson42, Dogcow, Doseiai2, Eagle42, Either way, Eky-w-, Enigmaman, Exitmoose, Furrykef, Graineag, Greenpeaceyoko51, Hill of Beans, Holizz, Holothurion,
ILuvEire, Io Katai, J.delanoy, James Crippen, Jimmysuzuki, Joseph Solis in Australia, Jpatokal, Julian Grybowski, Just H, Kaiwanxiao, Kintetsubuffalo, Kusunose, Kyabetsuyaki, Kyoww,
Lambiam, Lareine, LordAmeth, Mackan, Male1979, Masamunecyrus, MattieTK, Mayumashu, Mbell, Mononohazumi, Moocowsrule, Moonriddengirl, Nbarth, Necmate, Oda Mari, Oeyama,
Olivier, Pomodorisecchi, Quasirandom, Reinsarn, SDC, Sakana-rin, Sfreedkin, Snowy150, SpicyCurry, Steel, SuperDMChan, Synthetik, TUF-KAT, Tabletop, Takua108, TakuyaMurata,
Tauwasser, TechPurism, Time for action, TurtleCharlie, WhisperToMe, Woohookitty, Y.t., Zhen Lin, 150 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

Image:Kansai dialect.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Kansai_dialect.png  License: Public Domain  Contributors: User:Kyoww

License
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
http:/ / creativecommons. org/ licenses/ by-sa/ 3. 0/