Japanese Lesson... sort of.
Gather 'round kiddies, it's time for another Japanese lesson. This post, we'll be looking at 関西弁 (Kansai-Ben) in all of its brash and obscene glory. (For those who don't know, this is the dialect found roughly around Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto, etc. I'll be especially looking at the Osaka variety.)
The focus of Kansai-ben is to be as down-to-earth and in-your-face as possible. That Tokyo-influenced crap they teach in school is too uppity and bourgeoisie for Kansai speakers. So this stuff is a little less "polite" than what you'll hear in class. Also, most Tokyo speakers won't have any idea what you are saying, for the most part.
Here we go...
Japanese: お前、言いたいことあるんなら、ゆうてみい。
Japanese: Omae, iitai koto arun na, yuute mii!
Direct translation: You (rough), say something if, say it!
Means: Hey buddy, if you've got something to say to me, say it!
People who are a little familiar with standard Japanese will notice that some words are written like usual, but pronounced or used differently. 言いって (iitte) changing into ゆうて (yuute), in particular.
Japanese: あいつ、泣かしたろか？
Japanese: Aitsu, nakashitaro ka?
Direct translation: That guy, going to make scream, yeah?
Means: I'm going to make that guy scream.
Japanese: まあ、ぼちぼちやな。
Japanese: Maa, bochi bochi ya na.
Direct: Well, so so it is, right.
Means: Well, it's getting there...
This is really popular for indicating in a humble way that something is not quite there yet, or so so. For instance, "How is your Japanese coming?" "Well, it's getting there..." "How's your project going?" "Well, it's moving along slowly."
And finally, an intro into Kansai-ben cannot end without a taste of Osaka's answer to the word 'baka', or idiot.
Japanese: お前ら、アホやなあ。
Japanese: Omaera, aho ya naa.
Direct: You (rough, plural), idiot is right(?)
Means: You guys are pretty stupid.
Couple things going on here. In Kansai-ben, ら (-ra) can replace 達 (-tachi) as a plural indicator. Next is our five dollar word for idiot, アホ (aho). Lastly, や (ya) is the Kansai equivalent for the standard だ (da), which for you polite-speakers, is the contracted form of です (desu). Notice that the な is dragged out to なあ (having the same basic meaning as the standard version.)
These examples were ripped from Colloquial Kansai Japanese, by DC Palter and Kaoru Slotsve. I just picked up this book from Amazon for a few bucks, and it is pimp. Have fun with these examples, because Japanese teachers cannot stand Kansai-ben in their classes. 楽しんで。
The focus of Kansai-ben is to be as down-to-earth and in-your-face as possible. That Tokyo-influenced crap they teach in school is too uppity and bourgeoisie for Kansai speakers. So this stuff is a little less "polite" than what you'll hear in class. Also, most Tokyo speakers won't have any idea what you are saying, for the most part.
Here we go...
Japanese: お前、言いたいことあるんなら、ゆうてみい。
Japanese: Omae, iitai koto arun na, yuute mii!
Direct translation: You (rough), say something if, say it!
Means: Hey buddy, if you've got something to say to me, say it!
People who are a little familiar with standard Japanese will notice that some words are written like usual, but pronounced or used differently. 言いって (iitte) changing into ゆうて (yuute), in particular.
Japanese: あいつ、泣かしたろか？
Japanese: Aitsu, nakashitaro ka?
Direct translation: That guy, going to make scream, yeah?
Means: I'm going to make that guy scream.
Japanese: まあ、ぼちぼちやな。
Japanese: Maa, bochi bochi ya na.
Direct: Well, so so it is, right.
Means: Well, it's getting there...
This is really popular for indicating in a humble way that something is not quite there yet, or so so. For instance, "How is your Japanese coming?" "Well, it's getting there..." "How's your project going?" "Well, it's moving along slowly."
And finally, an intro into Kansai-ben cannot end without a taste of Osaka's answer to the word 'baka', or idiot.
Japanese: お前ら、アホやなあ。
Japanese: Omaera, aho ya naa.
Direct: You (rough, plural), idiot is right(?)
Means: You guys are pretty stupid.
Couple things going on here. In Kansai-ben, ら (-ra) can replace 達 (-tachi) as a plural indicator. Next is our five dollar word for idiot, アホ (aho). Lastly, や (ya) is the Kansai equivalent for the standard だ (da), which for you polite-speakers, is the contracted form of です (desu). Notice that the な is dragged out to なあ (having the same basic meaning as the standard version.)
These examples were ripped from Colloquial Kansai Japanese, by DC Palter and Kaoru Slotsve. I just picked up this book from Amazon for a few bucks, and it is pimp. Have fun with these examples, because Japanese teachers cannot stand Kansai-ben in their classes. 楽しんで。