Читать книгу Colloquial Kansai Japanese - D. C. Palter - Страница 8

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Fifteen Words Needed to Survive in Kansai

This first set of fifteen terms (ten words and five grammatical expressions), we believe, are the most critical for understanding the language around you. If you can master the usage of these words, you will be recognized by everyone as a Kansai resident.

VOCABULARY

1. ahō, aho 阿呆､ あほ

2. akan あかん

3. chauちやう

4. ē ええ

5. honma ほんま

6. maido 毎度

7. metcha, mutcha めつちや、むつちや

8. nanbo なんぼ

9. ōkini 大きに

10. οru おる

GRAMMATICAL EXPRESSIONS

11. -haru —はる

12. -hen —へん

13. nenねん

14. shimota, mota しもた､もた

15. ya や

1. ahō, aho 阿呆、アホ fool, foolish, stupid

Although considered a part of standard Japanese, ahō, or aho, is used often only in Kansai. While it is sometimes written in kanji as 阿呆, pronounced ahō, the final vowel sound is often clipped off and it is usually written in katakana as aho アホ. Depending on the tone and particle used with aho, the word can range in meaning from a playful way to say "no" to a fairly strong expletive. Women as well as men use this word, but women need to pay special attention to usage and tone in order to avoid sounding unladylike. Women usually avoid saying aho directly to the person they are criticizing.

Nande kono hon no ichiban saisho ni, konna aho na kotoba iretan? Omaera, aho ya nā.

なんでこの本の一番最初に、こんなアホな言葉入れたん？ お前ら、ァホやなあ。

Why did you put such a stupid word at the beginning οf this book? You guys are pretty stupid.

Omaera is the plural of omae (see word entry 43) and is used by men to mean "you." Ya replaces da だ.(See 15)

We agree it is somewhat reckless of us to begin your new vocabulary with aho, but of the fifteen most important words in Kansai-ben, this one ended up first in alphabetical order and second only to akan in A-I-U order. We are too aho to come up with a better system, so please don't stop reading now.

SUZUKI:	Kondo, anta toko no yome-han to dēto sasetē ya.
HONDA:	Nani aho na koto yūten nen!
鈴木：	今度、あんたとこの嫁はんとデ一卜させてえや。
本田：	何アホなこと言うてんねん！
SUZUKI:	Do you mind if I take your wife out on a date?
HONDA:	Don't say such stupid things!

-Tēya —てえや is used when making requests in very casual situations and is conjugated to the -te —て form of the verb. -Tēna —てえな has the same meaning. Toko とこ is the Kansai version of tokoro 所.(See 53)

HIRAKATA:	Kondo no bōnasu sanjuppāsento katto yate!
IBARAGI:	Sonna aho na. Kaisha nani kangaeten nen?
枚方：	今度のボーナス30%カットやて！
茨木：	そんなアホな。会社何考えてんねん？
HIRAKATA:	We're getting a 30% cut in our next bonus!
IBARAGI:	How can they be so stupid? What is this company thinking?

Kangaeten nen is equivalent to kangaete iru 考えている). -Ten nen is the Kansai version of -te iru, the progressive verb (-ing form) conjugation. (See 45)

2. akan あかん bad, useless, impossible, no

Akan is a very distinctive and easily recognizable feature or the language spoken in Kansai. Although not vulgar, this word is considered to be somewhat impolite. Akan is probably a modified version of ikan, which is the clipped form of ikenai, meaning "must not" or "cannot." Akan has many uses, both by itself and as a part of grammatical expressions. Its various meanings, somewhat similar to dame 駄目 in standard Japanese, are explained below.

(a) no! impossible!
SUZUKI:	Issen man en, kashite kurehen?
HONDA:	Akan!
鈴木：	一千万円、貸してくれへん？
本田：	あかん！
SUZUKI:	Can you loan me 10 million yen?
HONDA:	NO!

(b) expletive
MITSUI:	Anta no kabu, hanbun ni sagatta de.
ITOH:	Akan.
三井：	あんたの株、半分に下がったで。
伊藤：	あかん。
MITSUI:	The value of your stock fell by half.
ITOH:

In this case, although akan is used as an expletive, it has more of a tone of regret than anger. Anta あんた is an informal word for "you." It is a contracted form of anata あなた, but is much more informal. It is used by both men and women, as opposed to omae お前, which is a rougher word for "you" used only by men.

ANNOUNCER:	Hanshin, hōmuran utaremashita.
TORAKICHI:	Akan.
アナウンサー:	阪神、ホームラン打たれました。
トラキチ：	あかん。
ANNOUNCER:	A home run was hit off of Hanshin.
TORAKICHI:

(c) no good, bad
MIKA:	Shiken donai yatta?
TOMOKO:	Akankatta wa.
美香：	試験どないやった？
友子：	あかんかったわ。
MIKA:	How was the test?
TOMOKO:	Miserable.

Tomoko obviously should have studied harder. Donai yatta どないやつた means "how was it?" Akankatta is the past tense of akan.

(d) don't do that!
DAUGHTER:	Hona, ite kuru wa.
MOTHER:	Akan yo.
娘：	ほな、行て来るわ。
母：	あかんよ。
DAUGHTER:	I'm going out now.
MOTHER:	No you're not.

This usage is heard quite often when parents are telling their children what they are not allowed to do.

KENSUKE:	Kono butaman, hutte ē?
KYŌTA:	Akan de.
健助：	この豚マン、食ってええ？
京太：	あかんで。
KENSUKE:	Can I eat this pork roll?
KYŌTA:	No!

Note that this example is typical of male speech only. Women use taberu 食べる instead of kuu 食う for the verb "to eat." Akan, especially followed by the particle de, sounds rough and in female speech would probably be followed by yo instead.

The same conversation between two women might be as follows:

MIKA:	Sono butaman tabete mo ē?
TOMOKO:	Akan yo.
美香：	その豚マン食べてもええ？
友子：	めかんよ。

Akan nen and akande are also often used to mean "no" or "you can't."

(e) must (used as a double negative)

Atarashii kuruma, kawana akan.

新しい車、買わなあかん。

I've got to buy a new car.

Shinbun yomana akan.

新聞読まなあかん。

I have to read the newspaper.

In this usage, the verb is conjugated as the standard negative form (i.e., -nai) with the final-i sound clipped off and followed by akan. This structure is identical in meaning to the -nakereba naranai form, but is much more colloquial. Suru is usually conjugated as sena akan せな あかん.

Shigoto sena akan.

仕事せなあかん。

I've got to work.

3. chau ちやう (a) no, different, wrong; (b) isn't that right?

(a) Chau is the clipped form of chigau 違う. This contraction is widely used throughout Kansai in place of chigau.

chau de	ちゃうで	you're wrong
chau, chau	ちゃう、ちゃう	that's wrong

KENSUKE:	Denshadai nihyaku en ya na.
KYŌTA:	Chau, chau. Ninyaku gojū en yade.
健助：	電車代二百円やな。
京太:	ちゃう、ちゃう。二百五十円やで。
KENSUKE:	The train fare is 200 yen, right?
KYŌTA:	No, it's 250 yen.

Because chau is a verb ending in -u, it can be conjugated to chaimasu ちやいます for slightly more formal situations.

KAKARICHŌ:	Omae no happyō, daiseikō yattan chau?
HIRASHAIN:	Zannen nagara, chaimasu wa.
係長：	お前の発表、大成功やったんちゃう？
平社員：	残念ながら、ちゃいますわ。
BOSS:	Your presentation was a big hit, right?
EMPLOYEE:	No, unfortunately not.

Yatta is the Kansai version of datta だった.

(b) In the first line of the above dialogue and in the following examples, chau is used in a manner similar to a sentence-ending particle meaning "isn't that right?" The standard equivalent is janai? じやない？ or sō ja nai? そうじやない？

Are, Nozomi chau?

あれ、望ちゃう？

Isn't that Nozomi?

Mō ē chau?

もうええちゃう？

That's enough already, don't you think?

Sore de jūbun yattan chau?

それで十分やったんちゃう？

That was good enough, right?

4. ē ええ good, that's enough

Ē replaces ii いい, which usually means "good," but can mean "no" or "that's enough" or just about anything else depending on the context. Although usually written as ē ええ, the pronunciation is actually between ē and ei. Ē can be used anytime ii is used in standard Japanese. It is used extensively in Kansai and throughout much of the southern half of Honshu. But don't confuse this with the ē that means "yes," which is used throughout Japan.

Ano kuruma, kakko ē nā.

あの車、かっこええなあ。

That's a pretty car.

Kakko かっこ is a contraction of kakkō 格好, which means "appearance" or "shape," and is often used with ē to denote something that looks good, or with warui or waru for something ugly. By changing the order, however, we get the word ēkakkoshii ええ格好しい, which means pretentious, something very much disliked in Kansai.

Like ii, ē preceding a noun is a very common pattern.

Ē tenki ya nā.

ええ天気やなあ。

Nice weather, isn't it.

Ē fuku yaro.

ええ服やろ。

Nice clothes, huh.

The following sentences have the same meaning of "I've had enough already" or "stop it already," but the last of the three examples is the strongest.

Ē kagen ni shitokiya!	ええ加減にしときや！
Ē kagen ni shii ya!	ええ加減にしいや！
Ē kagen ni sei!	ええ加減にせい！

Just like ii, ē, especially when following mō もう, means "no" or "no thanks."

Mō ē もうええ means "I’ve had enough" (when turning down an offer of food, etc.) or "I give up" (especially when talking to oneself). This is often followed by wa.

HIKARI:	Ē fuku ya nā.
NOZOMI:	Kōtara?
HIKARI:	Ē wa. Takai kara.
光：	ええ服やなあ。
望：	こうたら？
光：	ええわ。高いから。
HIKARI:	These are nice clothes, huh?
NOZOMI:	Why don't you buy them?
HIKARI:	Naa. They're too expensive.

5. honma ほんま really

Honma is equivalent to hontō 本当, meaning "really." It is often used to indicate that the person is still listening to what the speaker is saying.

Honma ni?	ほんまに？	Really?
Honma, honma.	ほんま、ほんま。	Really, really.
Honma ya!	ほんまや！	Really!
Honma kainā.	ほんまかいなあ。	You're joking.

Honma ni, like hontō ni, is also often used as an adverb to strengthen the word following it.

Kyō, honma ni atsui nā.

今日、ほんまに暑いなあ。

It's really hot today.

Sono nēchan, honma ni kirei ya nen.

そのねえちゃん、ほんまに奇麗やねん。

That girl's really beautiful.

Honma or honma ni will be heard at least ten times per minute in a typical conversation as far south as Okayama, but this word is very distinctive and, because of the frequency of its use, is among the most recognizable features of Kinki Japanese.

6. maido 毎度 hello

Maido translates literally as "every time" but, as with the all-purpose dōmo どうも, maido can represent maido arigatō gozaimasu, meaning "thank you for your patronage" or other stock phrases of greeting. In actual usage, maido is probably best translated as "hello" but is often used as a part of expressions of thanks. Although it is arguably the penultimate Kansai-ben word, in actuality it isn't used much by young people, especially outside of Osaka. Maido is often combined with ōkini.

Maido, ōkini.

毎度、大きに。

Thanks for your patronage.

Ā, maido maido.

ああ、まいどまいど。

Hello/ Thanks for calling/ Thanks for coming.

This last example is usually used by the person receiving a phone call in the office after the caller has identified himself. However, as Kansai-ben is looked down upon by callers from Tokyo, including the corporate head-office personnel, the more acceptable dōmo, dōmo is often substituted when the caller is neither a close friend nor another native of Osaka.

7. metcha, mutcha めつちや、むつちや very

Both metcha and mutcha are adverbs meaning "very." In usage, they are similar to totemo とても, taihen 大変, or sugoku すごく. Metcha and mutcha are completely interchangeable and can be thought of as variations in pronunciation of the same word.

Metcha omoroi.

めつちやおもろい。

Very interesting.

Mutcha umai.

むつちゃうまい。

Very delicious.

Metcha hagaii.

めつちゃはがいい。

Very irritating.

8. nanbo なんぼ how much

Nanbo is a distinctive Kansai word used in the entire southern half of Honshu, including Hiroshima and Okayama, in place of ikura いくら· Nanbo by itself means "how much?" when inquiring about a price. The standard ikura ... -temo expression, meaning "no matter how much ..." can also be replaced by nanbo . . . -temo.

SUMIYOSHI:	Sore nanbo?
SAKAI:	Sen en.
住吉：	それ、なんぼ？
堺：	千円。
SUMIYOSHI:	How much is that?
SAKAI:	1,000 yen.

Tōkyō no honsha ni nanbo setsumei shite mo, wakatte kurehen.

東京の本社になんぼ説明しても、分かってくれへん。

No matter how much I try explaining to the Tokyo head office, they fail to understand.

9. ōkini 大さに thank you

Like maido, ōkini is another typical Kansai word that isn't used that often in Kansai anymore. Its use seems centered in Kyoto, where it is always used in place of dōmo or arigatō by nearly everyone. In Osaka, the use of this word is limited mostly to older people, and dōmo or arigatō are heard just as often as ōkini. In Kobe, its use is limited to old men and women shopkeepers. However, because ōkini is understood and recognized by everyone as proper Kansai-ben, even though the Tokyo mentality has been partially successful in converting most people to using dōmo, we recommend you say ōkini, at least occasionally, to the bus or taxi driver when he drops you off or to the clerk who gives you change. If you live in Kyoto, forget about saying dōmo or arigatō outside of Japanese classes.

Note that the pronunciation of ōkini differs somewhat for men and women. Women lift their voice slightly on the middle syllable (ō-KI-ni) while men accent the first syllable (ō-ki-ni).

10. oru おる is, exists (for humans and animals)

The use of oru in place of iru is widespread not only throughout all of Kansai but everywhere in the southern half of Japan. Because oru is used as the humble version of iru in standard Japanese, however, and as such is only used to refer to oneself, the use of oru in referring to other people seems rude to non-natives of Kansai.

HIRASHAIN:	Ashita οraremasu ka?
KAKARICHŌ:	Suman kedo, ashita οrehen wa.
平社員：	明日おられますか？
係長：	すまんけど、明日おれへんわ。
EMPLOYEE:	Will you be in tomorrow?
BOSS:	Sorry, I'm going to be out tomorrow.

As in standard Japanese, the passive -rareru form of the verb is often used to make the sentence more formal, especially when asking something about your conversation partner. Therefore, oraremasu ka? is heard quite often in place of irasshaimasu ka? especially in business telephone conversations and in the office. As this is an honorific form, it cannot be used when referring to oneself.

Suman すまん is one of the Kansai versions of sumimasen すみません. This is the most clipped form and the least polite. Sunmahen すんまへん is slightly more polite and is considered "correct" Kansai-ben. In some parts of Kansai it is considered rude and is thus used mostly by men and older people. Two versions that are also used widely are sunmasen すんま せん and suimasenすいません.

Note that the employee speaks more formally to the boss than the boss does when he answers the employee. The employee uses oraremasu while the boss uses οrehen.

In addition to its use as a stand-alone verb, oru can also replace iru as an auxiliary verb to create the progressive form of the verb. -Te oru is usually contracted to -toru.

Nani shitoru?

何しとる？

What are you doing?

11. -haru 一 はる (honorific verb conjugation)

This verb conjugation forms an integral part of Kinki's keigo 敬語, the extra polite language used to show respect to people of higher rank or to strangers. However, as Kansai-ben generally has a reputation of being less formal than standard Japanese, when truly formal language is required, such as during job interviews or intercom announcements, standard formal Japanese is usually used, therefore, the -haru form is most often heard in situations that fall somewhere between formal and informal. It is used especially by women, since they are expected to speak somewhat formally to male acquaintances but don't wish to sound cold by speaking too formally. It is also a convenient form for a company's younger employees when speaking to or about senior members, since it shows respect without sounding like excessive bootlicking. This form is used often in Kyoto, where it is considered a part of standard speech rather than keigo.

This conjugation is believed to have been derived by shortening nasaru to -haru. However, unlike nasaru, -haru can be used with nearly any verb to make it more formal.

In most places in Kansai, the -haru form is conjugated to the -i base of the verb. However, in Kyoto and surrounding areas, such as Νara, conjugation with the -a base of the verb is more common.

Where are you going?
Doko e ikiharun desu ka?	どこへ行きはるんですか？
Doko e ikiharimasu ka?	どこへ行きはりますか？
Doko e ikaharun desu ka? (Kyoto)	どこへ行かはるんですか？（京都)

As in standard Japanese, a sentence in the polite form can end in either the -masu conjugation of the verb (-harimasu) or by affixing -n desu (-harun desu). The meaning of all three sentences above is essentially the same.

Nani tabeharimasu ka?

何食べはりますか？

What would you like to eat?

The -haru form can also be attached to the -te —て form of the verb to create the -ing form.

Doko e itteharun desu ka?

どこへ行ってはるんですか？

Where is he going?

Sensei, nani yūtehattan?

先生、何ゆうてはったん？

What was the teacher saying?

12. -hen —へん (negative verb conjugation)

The verb conjugation -hen is similar in usage to -nai. -Hen is attached to either the -a base or -e base of verbs in order to form the negative of verbs. It can also be attached to the -e base to produce the negative "cannot" form of verbs. For example, the verb yomu 読む (to read) in standard Japanese is conjugated yomanai 読まない, meaning "not read," or yomenai 読めない, meaning "can't read." In Kansai, yomu is conjugated yomahen 読まへん, meaning "not read," or yomehen 読めへん, meaning either "not read" or "can't read." Which of the two meanings is intended can only be determined from the context. However, when intending to say unequivocally "can't read," yomu can also be conjugated yomarehen 読まれへん.

Tο make the negative past tense, conjugate the verb with -henkatta in the same manner as -hen. For example, the past tense of ikahen 行かへん, "don't go," is ikahenkatta 行かへんかった, "didn't go."

yomu	読む	to read
yomahen	読まへん	don't read
yomehen	読めへん	can't read, don't read
yomarehen	読まれへん	can't read
yomahenkatta	読まへんかった	didn't read
yomehenkatta	読めへんかった	couldn't read, didn't read
yomarehenkatta	読まれへんかった	couldn't read
iku	行く	to go
ikahen	行かへん	won't go
ikehen	行けへん	can't go, won't go
ikarehen	行かれへん	can't go
ikahenkatta	行かへんかった	didn't go
ikehenkatta	行けへんかった	couldn't go, didn't go
ikarehenkatta	行かれへんかった	couldn't go

Here are a few more examples. Because the -e base conjugation is more common than the -a base form, only the -e form is shown, but most verbs can be conjugated to either base.

taberu 食べる	tabehen 食べへん	don't eat
dekiru 出来る	dekehen でけへん	can't do
kamau 構つ	kamehen かめへん	don't mind
wakaru 分かる	wakarehen 分かれへん	don't understand

Kuru 来る and suru する have two forms, one where -hen is changed to -hin.

kuru	来る	to come
kēhen	けえへん	don't come
kiinin	きいひん	don't come
korarehen	こられへん	can't come
suru	する	to do
sēhen	せえへん	don't do
shiihin	しいひん	don't do

13. nen ねん (neutral sentence ending)

Sentence-ending particles, or gobi 語尾, are a Japanese grammatical form with no real equivalent in English, but, as only one minute listening to any Japanese conversation will prove, their use must be mastered in order to speak like a native. The purpose of these words, which have no intrinsic meaning, is to control the mood or tone of the sentence, something English speakers generally accomplish by changing pitch, speed, and accentuation. Some examples include the pervasive ne, na, and yo, but, as you might expect, these sentence endings differ by dialect. You may have already noticed that the sentence endings in the examples up until now differ from those used in Tokyo. As they are one of the main points differentiating Kansai-ben from other dialects, a number of common sentence endings will be introduced in the following pages.

Nen is one of the most typical and frequently used sentence endings in the Kansai region. Nen is essentially neutral in tone, and is used when eliciting response from the conversation partner. It also has the effect of ending the sentence in a smooth manner. When used by itself, it has a somewhat soft tone, but is sometimes followed by stronger endings, such as de, for emphasis.

Suki ya nen.	好きやねん。	I like it.
So ya nen.	そやねん。	It's true.
Makudo iku nen.	マクド行くねん。	I'm going to McDonalds.
Baito yamen nen de!	バイト辞めんねんで！	I'm quitting my part-time job!

14. shimota, mota しもた、もた completely

Shimota is the local version of shimatta, which roughly translates as "completely," but with a variety of usages dependent on context. When used as a stand-alone verb, the final a is sometimes lengthened to shimota— しもた〜 for extra emphasis. In conjugated form, shimota is often clipped to mota.

(a) Used usually under one's breath as an expletive indicating contempt for one's own mistakes.

Shimota! Mō οsoi wa.

しもた！もう遅いわ。

#&%$! I'm late.

(b) Following the -te form οf a verb, shimota indicates action completely finished or strengthens the preceding verb.

Mō densha, itte shimota.

もう電車、行ってしもた。

The train's already gone.

Sanzen en mo, tsukote shimota.

三千円も、つこてしもた。

I used up 3,000 yen.

Tsukote is the Kansai pronunciation for tsukatte 使つて. In this context, shimota is often contracted to mota もた, especially in less formal situations. This is similar to the Tokyo contraction of shimatta to chatta.

Mō densha, itte mota.	もう電車、行ってもた。
Sanzen en mo tsukote mota.	三千円もつこてもた。

15. ya や is

Ya replaces da だ, the informal version of desu です. Similarly, note the following:

yaro	やろ	replaces darō	だろう
yan	やん	replaces	じやない
yanka	やんか	replaces janai ka	じやないか
yattara	やったら	replaces dattara	だったら