Japanese Language Stack Exchange
Japanese Language Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [dialects]

方言. Language and vocabulary differences between specific regions of Japan.

Applies to any question asking about differences in language between specific regions of Japan or definitions of specific words found in said region.

Related tags

203 questions
24
votes
3 answers

What are the main differences between 京都弁(Kyoto-ben) and 大阪弁(Osaka-ben)

These two dialects will sound very similar to an untrained ear. Can anyone highlight the main differences between these two dialects?
Ken Li
  • 2,524
  • 3
  • 23
  • 30
24
votes
2 answers

What is the etymology behind したっけ

僕だけがいない街 anime shows the children saying したっけ! translated as 'See ya!' and other terms, these are from Hokkaido dialect. I guess you can switch したっけ to other forms to say 'See ya': じゃあまた また明日 Anyway, there's any relation with 明日? What is the…
sumitani
  • 560
  • 7
  • 18
24
votes
1 answer

Is there a difference between さみしい and さびしい？

Both mean "lonely" and appear to be valid readings for 寂しい. Is there a difference in nuance? Is this difference due to dialect?
pinguish
  • 241
  • 2
  • 3
21
votes
4 answers

Pronunciation of す in です and the end of ます verbs

I've always been curious about the pronunciation of the す in です and at the end of 〜ます verbs. Most commonly the "u" sound is inaudible, but sometimes by some people it's more pronounced, and some people really go for it. Does it vary by age group,…
ジョン
  • 4,380
  • 1
  • 28
  • 48
18
votes
7 answers

Except for pitch, what are the differences in pronunciation between Kansaiben and Tokyoben?

I have tried to ask people this type of question on many occasions and the answer is always the same, but people are notoriously bad at evaluating their own language, so I ask here: Apart for pitch, which I know will differ significantly from…
alexandrec
  • 1,191
  • 8
  • 14
18
votes
1 answer

わ usage at the end of sentences

What is the difference between the "わ" sentence ender used by women in general and the one that is used by both Males and females in the Kansai area? I've asked my Japanese co-workers about it specifically and they said that there is a difference…
Mark Hosang
  • 6,951
  • 2
  • 34
  • 56
17
votes
2 answers

や in Kansai-ben when it is not だ

The following sentence occurs in The Legend of Zelda: ナンカ　コウテ　クレヤ (This would be なんか買うてくれや！ and was famously translated as "Buy somethin', will ya!".) From the 買うて, it's obvious he's speaking Kansai-ben, and I suspect that this usage of や is…
Kef Schecter
  • 2,430
  • 1
  • 19
  • 20
17
votes
2 answers

In which dialects have the sounds "ゐ" (wi) and "ゑ" (we) been preserved, and are their kana still occasionally seen?

In Nate Glenn's answer to bdonlan's qestion "Why were ゐ and ゑ eliminated?" he states: "Wi" and "we" are still in some dialects, but standard Japanese does not have those sounds. My question is which dialects are they which preserve these sounds?…
hippietrail
  • 15,025
  • 29
  • 94
  • 143
15
votes
2 answers

Is verb ending ない shortened to ん?

Off the top of my head I remember hearing these sentences, which I assume are just shortenings: すみません, 分からん 絶対許さん! Along with these two I've seen in sentence examples: もう我慢できん 彼にはその文の意味が理解できんかった - this one is a little funky, since there is no…
Daniel Safari
  • 2,338
  • 1
  • 20
  • 35
14
votes
3 answers

Meaning of やな at the end of a sentence

In these examples: 久しぶりやな いい感じやなぁ I don't understand what "ya" and "na" mean at the end of a sentence
Andrea Neves Lopes
  • 271
  • 1
  • 3
  • 7
14
votes
3 answers

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
  • 2,173
  • 5
  • 26
  • 34
14
votes
3 answers

How similar is the Japanese spoken in Taiwan to the Japanese spoken in Japan?

I've heard that Japanese is spoken by some Taiwanese people who were old enough to have lived during Japanese rule, along with some people who've learnt it for other reasons. For younger people, I've been told Mandarin or English would be the best…
Andrew Grimm
  • 16,067
  • 14
  • 70
  • 179
13
votes
1 answer

What are the stereotypical characteristics of yakuza speech?

When people imitate yakuza speech, what are the major things they do to make it recognizable as such? If possible, how accurate is this compared to actual yakuza speech? I've seen mention elsewhere on this site that there is some relationship with…
hippietrail
  • 15,025
  • 29
  • 94
  • 143
13
votes
3 answers

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.
  • 377
  • 3
  • 15
13
votes
2 answers

Do any of the Japanese particles have different pronunciations in any dialects? Or extra or missing particles?

I was wondering whether the differences in Japanese vocabulary between the dialects extend even so far as particles. Are there dialects that pronounce any of the standard particles differently? Especially the grammatical (syntactic?) ones like は…
hippietrail
  • 15,025
  • 29
  • 94
  • 143
1
2 3
…
13 14