Japanese Language Stack Exchange
Japanese Language Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [colloquial-language]

口語表現（話し言葉）. Words, forms and expressions used only in non-formal spoken language.

When speaking about colloquial language we refer to the elements of language (words, expressions, grammatical forms, etc.) which are commonly used in the non-formal everyday spoken language, but are considered inappropriate for formal language or written language (except for really informal written language).

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Is it ok for non-japanese to refer to themselves as 僕{ぼく} and if not why?

Grammatically speaking it shouldn't be an issue, but I have heard from some people that a non-japanese using 僕{ぼく} sounds really weird. Has anyone else heard this? And if so, is there a reason?
Mark Hosang
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Usage of ～じゃん (～じゃない)

I'd like to know if I can put ～じゃん at the end of every adjective, if there are any exceptions to that usage, and if it's different from ～じゃない. Adj (na) + じゃん 便利じゃん 便利だったじゃん 便利じゃないじゃん 便利じゃなかったじゃん Adj (i) +…
daniel tomio
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Who decides what katakana will be used to form English loan words?

I love katakana, mostly because of how the characters look. But I am constantly baffled by why certain loan words from English are constructed using certain katakana sounds. For example, if someone asked me to say "energy" in Japanese, I would have…
user1316
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Commonness of casual phrases like "あたし" and "ちっちゃい"

I came across a Japanese girl in Germany who talked using words like あたし instead of わたし, or ちっちゃい instead of ちいさい. When I asked her, she said that these words or usages of words are more common in Japan. Is this true? How does the majority of…
Herr
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Is the word 「やんな」positive or negative?

I found that in a website 〜やんな is a colloquial form of 〜やるな meaning 'Don't do...' However, I have seen the word in a manga with the following sentence. A: おい　あかりを消してやんな。新入りさんがまぶしくてねむれんといかん。 B: じゃあ　消すぜ While B speaking, he also turning off the…
George
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「～たじゃない」 expression in spoken Japanese

I noticed in an anime I watched, one of the characters said something like below: さっき食べたじゃない。 And what I think the meaning is: Didn't you just eat a few while ago? From what I have learned in Japanese classes, 「じゃない」, which is the shortened form…
Lukman
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Where does なう on Twitter come from?

If you follow any Japanese speakers on Twitter, you'll almost certainly see them use なう at the end of a sentence, to say "I am in this place/doing this thing now". Where does this use come from? Who started it? Is it anything to do with the (e.g.…
nevan king
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Why is the て-form being used before ん？

In the following sentence: 誰｛だれ｝探｛さが｝してんの What is the grammatical reason for 探｛さが｝す to be used in て-form before ん?
Quince Blossom
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Difference between って and は as topic marker

I often see って being used to mark a topic, such as in the sentence 新宿ってどこ？ I'm aware that this is more colloquial compared to the topic marker は. Other than the formality aspect, are って and は completely interchangeable in meaning when used like…
HAL
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What does とな mean (and how do I use it)?

I came across this on Twitter, it seems to be mostly a question but sometimes an exclamation. Is it とは, or maybe とか? How do you use it? My dictionary has a とな as word that come at the end of a sentence to get confirmation. Is this the…
nevan king
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Can I end sentences with ん?

One friend of mine told me when she was living in Japan, she liked to end her sentences with ん (maybe instead of の). Examples: 明日学校にいくん？ 明日学校に行かないと思う…風邪引いたん。 Actually I've never seen it! But my friend told me they used it! I just want to know if…
daniel tomio
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How commonly are "あたし" or "[僕]{ぼく}" used?

My friend and I are learning Japanese. For a time, all we knew was 私, but after we learned more words, she started to use あたし when referring to herself, and I began using 僕. What I'm wondering is, how commonly are these used? Related: Is it ok for…
voithos
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Omission of く in negative form of い-adjective

I learnt that the negative form of い-adjective is: remove the trailing い, then add くない. Example: 赤い→赤くない However, I've been watching Japanese livestream and following her twitter. Sometimes, she omit the く in negative form of い-adjective. Example:…
Andrew T.
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How to say "What's it to you?" in Japanese?

What would be appropriate expressions or idioms to convey the typical English response: What's it to you? (in a sense that goes somewhere between "None of your business" and "This is not your problem") The best I can think of is あなたには関係ない. I am…
Dave
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What are the rules for substituting の with ん?

I've noticed that sometimes the hiragana の can be shortened to ん. For example, 部屋のなか → 部屋んなか (inside of the room) 俺のうち → 俺んち (my house) 俺のところ → 俺んとこ (my place) (More examples can be found in Derek's post.) Is there some explanation or rules that…
Pacerier
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