関西弁 — Kansai Dialect

関西弁 — kansai dialect

when learning japanese as a foreign language, most people will learn standard japanese 標準語 (ひょうじゅんご), as it’s the type of japanese taught in a classroom setting or in your textbooks.

however there are a lot of dialects in japan, one of the most famous one being 関西弁 (かんさいべん) the kansai dialect! kansai dialect is said to sound louder, harsher and more melodic.

関西弁 (かんさいべん) summarizes all dialect spoken in the 関西 (かんさい) region ( ~弁 (べん) is used to describe a dialect). kansai includes cities like osaka, kyoto or nara. the most famous variation of kansai dialect would probably be 大阪弁 (おおさかべん) osaka dialect.

i’m going be teaching you some kansai dialect now! (｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡

vocabulary (関西弁・標準語・英語) (kansai dialect - standard japanese - english)

あかん　・　ダメ　・ don’t! / stop!

ええ　・　良い (いい)　・ good

ちゃう　・　違う (ちがう)　・ different

めっちゃ　・　とても　・ very

ほんま　・　本当 (ほんとう)　・ really

自分 (じぶん)　・　あなた　・ you

うち　・　私　・　i (primarily used by girls!)

おおきに　・　ありがとう　・ thanks (not used anymore)

あほ　・　ばか　・ idiot

しんどい　・　疲れた (つかれた)　・ tired

マクド　・　マック (マクドナルド)　・mc donalds

~回生　・　~年生　・~ grade (１回生 - first grader)

はよ　・　早く(はやく)　・fast

おる　・　いる　・ to be / exist (in osaka)

ほんで　・　そして　・　and…

phrases (関西弁・標準語・英語) (kansai dialect - standard japanese - english)

わからへん　・　わからない　・i don’t understand

なんでやねん　・　なぜだの　・what the … (lit. why is it)

知らんけど　・　知らないけど　・not sure though

かっこええなぁ　・　かっこいいね　・she/he’s cool/handsome

せぇやな/そやな　・　そうね　・that’s it

めっちゃ好きやねん　・　とて好きだの　・i love/like it/you　

misc.

in kansai dialect the う as in です or ます is pronounced.

the kansai dialect is associated with a fun, outgoing personality. in anime characters might speak kansai dialect even if they aren’t from kansai. (also in dubbing of foreign animation, some characters might speak kasai ben to underline their character!)

remember that most people (especially younger generations) don’t really speak thick kansai dialect all the time! it’s mostly a mix of standard japanese and dialect. when speaking formally people rarely use kansai dialect but switch to 丁寧語 (ていねいご) polite language of the standard speech.

here’s a video of attack on titan scenes dubbed in kansai dialect compared with standard japanese! even if you can’t understand everything maybe you can still notice the different melody and some characteristics of kansai dialect like  へん ending on verbs, and the copula や (more in the read more)!! i thought it was super interesting and maybe you could also watch it if you don’t like anime.

thanks for reading! please inform me of any mistakes as both japanese and english aren’t my native language(´･ᴗ･ ` ) tumblr mobile, or at least mine, doesn’t display this post correctly!

(if you’re also interested in grammar and intonation, you can click  “keep reading”!)

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