Kansai-ben Lesson 1
Posted on 09. Apr, 2006 @ 10:47 pm by harvey in Language, Osaka
I’ve been living in Osaka for a while now, and starting to learn more about how to really construct the local dialect, Kansai-ben! Time for show and tell!
Most of the Kansai-ben featured here was borrowed from a book written by an Osaka native and random encounters with my friends in Kansai.
The Kansai dialect differs depending on which region you are in. Personally, the thicker the dialect, the more interesting and fun I find Kansai-ben, so I have tried to focus on the moderate to extreme. Most of the Kansai-ben in this list is from Osaka, and likely specifically an area in south Osaka called Kawachi. This area of Kansai-ben is famous for being especially harsh, and used often in Yakuza movies. Other areas of Osaka that are known to have strong dialects are Sakai-shi, with Sensyuuben, and East Osaka in a place called Yao.
Anyway, here we go with the lessons! Expect updates periodically!
Kansai-ben lesson Point 「そら」
「そら」Examples:
A: あなたは日本人じゃないですよね？
B: そらどう見てもそうやろ！
A: You’re not Japanese right?
B: You can tell by looking right?! (That’s right no matter how you look at it!)
A: 日本でどこの地方の結婚式が一番お金かかる？
B: そら名古屋やな〜。高いで！
A: Which area of Japan has the most expensive weddings?
B: That’s Nagoya alright. It’s expensive!
A: 1000円になります。
B: え？そら千円高すぎやろ！？
A: That will be 1000 yen.
B: What? 1000 yen? That’s too expensive isn’t it?
「そら」Explanation:
「そら」= 「それは」
For all purposes そら is exactly the same as それは as in “That is” in standard Japanese. If you say それは to yourself many times quickly, you will probably notice that it is naturally “easier” physically to pronounce そら instead. そら is an abbreviated form of それは. そら does not need the particle は after it.
Most Japanese will say that そら is not very nice Japanese.
あまり綺麗な言葉ではないね〜
So there you have そら。 Let me know if you find this interesting, and if so I’ll prepare more!
[UPDATE] If you’re interested in Kansai-ben, check out our Kansai-ben iPhone Application! Japanese 101: Kansai Dialect.
- Harvey
Check out these other Kansai-ben Lessons!
Kansai-ben Lesson 8 – I don’t mind
Kansai-ben Lesson 7 – Revival!
7 Responses to “Kansai-ben Lesson 1”
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Chivey
Apr 10th, 2006
at 14:17
>A: 1000円になります。
>B: え？そら千円高すぎやろ！？
I think that the B part should be like..
‘え？千円？！そら高すぎやでぇ！’
Chrissy
Apr 12th, 2006
at 00:06
関西弁めっちゃかっこいいやねん！
関西弁おしえてくれへん？
Please post more Kansaiben!! I’m trying to learn it!
もうあかんわ～
harvey
Apr 12th, 2006
at 08:20
Thanks for the comment Chrissy! You’ll get more Kansai-ben in 2 days!
Thanks for the alternate ending Chivey!
Duranix
Oct 25th, 2008
at 20:22
皆はん、まいど！
関西弁で、大阪人はそりゃってことを使うねん ；）
Duranix
Oct 25th, 2008
at 20:24
皆はん、まいど！
関西弁で、大阪人はそりゃってことをつかうねん。 ；）
ほんじゃ、またなとおおきに！
DerekNobuyuki
Aug 18th, 2010
at 10:15
I know this post is super old from 4 years ago but…
I agree with Duranix; so what’s supposed to be the difference between そら and そりゃ?
Personally, I may use そりゃ from time to time but have never used そら in this context.
Native関西人
Aug 18th, 2010
at 18:56
そら and そりゃ is basically the same. I think そりゃ is a bit easier to pronounce when you speak very fast Kansai-ben.
Also, a lot of middle age (and <) people regularly use そら in the Kansai area, but most of young people tend to use more そりゃ.