Learning Kansai-ben (Kansai Dialect)

If you want to sound like a native of Kansai its gonna take a lot more than phrases and memorizing words. You have to get down to the grammar level and understand the sentance structure, in order to take Standard Japanese and translate it into Kansai-ben.

If there is anything you don't understand in this guide then you need to get back to basics and get your grammar down before you take on Kansai-ben.

Here are just a few of the more simple converstions:

1) Present Negative Plain Verb suffix 'nai' becomes 'hen'

Instead of the casual negative 'nai' for verbs, use 'hen'

example: wakaranai = wakarahen
example: arienai = ariehen

2) Present Negative Plain Verb suffix 'nai' becomes 'n'

In some cases you can switch out 'hen' for 'n'

Shiranai = shiran
tamaranai = tamaran
wakaranai = wakaran

3) Present Negative Polite Verb suffix 'masen' becomes 'mahen'

This is the polite negative form for verbs

shirimasen = shirimahen
hanashimasen = hanashimahen

4) Present Plain verb 'to be' becomes 'ya' instead of 'da'

aoi da = aoi ya
sore ha suzuki dakedo = sore ha suzuki yakedo
tanoshii datta = taonshii yatta
takai dakara = takai yakara

5) Exclamation Particle 'de' instead of 'yo'

jon da yo = jon ya de!
tada da yo = tada ya de

6) 'ne' becomes 'na'

sugoi ne = sugoi na!

7) 'ii' becomes 'ee'

ii desu ne! = ee ya na!

8) 'da ne' becomes 'ya na'

sou da ne = sou ya na
omoshiroi da ne = omoroi ya na

9) deshou becomes yarou

ii deshou? = ee yarou?

10) Present Progressive Form tte + iru becomes tte + nen

nani shiteiru? = nani shitenen?

11) '... ja nai?' [isn't it?] becomes 'yan or yanka or yanke'

atsui ja nai? = atsui yanka? atsui yan, atsui yanke!
(isn't it hot?)

 

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