15 more words needed to survive in Kansai region

[Dmitry]

Hi folks! Today I`m continuing sharing words and phrases that you can hear in Kansai region of Japan. Without next list of words it is just impossible to construct a simple conversation. As usual I`ll give equivalent to modern Japanese:

ぼちぼち（でんな）[bochi-bochi (denna)] - 'so-so', 'not bad', 'fine'

In standard Japanese ぼちぼち is used as a synonym for そろそろ (sorosoro) - 'it`s time to...'. While in Kansai dialect ぼちぼち means both 'so-so' and 'it`s time to...'. Let`s check couple examples:

1: もうかりまっか？

2：まあ、ぼちぼちでんな。

1: [mookahimakka?]

2: [maa, bochibochidenna]

1: How`s the business?

2: So-so.

1: 今の仕事、進んでんの？

2:まあ、ぼちぼちやな。

1: [ima no shigoto, susundenno?]

2: [maa, bochibochiyana]

1: How`s the project progressin?

2: Moving along slowly.

ぼちぼち is totally perfect answer when someone asks you whether you can speak Japanese or not.

ごっつい [gottsui] - 'very', 'big'

ごっつい generally means 'very', which is similar in usage to めっちゃ [metcha] むっちゃ [mutcha]:

ごっついええなあ。

[gottsui ee naa]

Really good.

ごっつう仕事あるわ。

[gottsuu shigoto aru wa]

I`ve got a lot of work to do.

あいつ、ごっついなあ。

[atsui, gottsui naa]

He`s really big

ほな、ほんなら、そんなら [hona, honara, sonnara] - 'in that case', 'if so, then...'

All three of these words have the same meaning of 'it`s true, then...'. Note, that ほな is used more often by women and ほんなら by men:

1:それ、なんぼ？[sore, nanbo?] - How much is that?

2：百六十円や。[hyaku roku zyuu en ya.] - It`s 160 yen.

1：ほんなら、買うわ。[honnara, kau wa.] - In that case, I`ll take it.

もうかりまっか [mookarimakka] - 'How are you?' 'How`s business?'

This word is regularly used as a greeting to a shopkeeper whose store you regularly visit.

おもろい [omoroi] - 'interesting' (equivalent to 面白い [omosiroi] in standard Japanese).

It`s conjucted the same way as other adjectives.

しんどい [shindoi] - 'tired', 'tiring', 'dificult'

It`s also conjucted the same way as ither adjectives

こんな仕事、しんどいわ。

[konna sigoto, sindoi wa]

This type of work is tough.

好きやなあ [suki ya naa] - 'like'

This phrase has the same meaning as standard 好き, but I put here it because it uses generally in this particular form, and because of the difference in prononciation. In standard Japanese people pronounce 好き as 'SKI' without 'U', in Kansai Japanese they say 'SU-ki', with the first syllable accented.

1：この歌好きやなあ。[kono uta suki yanaa] - You really like this song?

2：いつもこれやねん。[itsumo koreyanen] - I always sing this one.

鬱陶しい [uttooshii] - 'gloomy', 'dreary' (especially in reference to the weather)

Note, it`s also used to describe persistent, slimy people:

今日、鬱陶しいなあ。

[kyou, uttooshii naa]

It`s pretty ugly out today.

鬱陶しいやっちゃなあ。

That guy is really slimy!

よう [yoo] - very, much, often, well

よう=よく (in standard Japanese)

よう食った。

[you kutta]

I ate a lot.

ゆう [yuu] - 'to speak' (=言う (いう))

In Kinki (Kansai) Japanese they pronounce yuu. Taking into account this fact and due to conjucted forms, it`s easy to misunderstand the speaker:

ゆうた (いった) [yuuta]　- said

ゆうてん（いった）[yuuten] - said

ゆうてる（いってる）[yuuteru] - saying

ゆうとってん（いってた）- was saying

で [de] - (exclamatory sentence-ending part)

Unlike な, used only at the end of the sentences.

着いたで [tsuita de] - We`ve arrived!

暑いで [atsui de] - It`s hot!

はん [han] - Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss

San in standard language becomes han in Kansai dialect:

宮沢はん - Mr. Miyazawa

嫁はん [yome-han] - wife

な、なあ [na, naa] - (sentence-ending particles) 'don`t you think?'

1：これ、な、分かれへん、なあ。 [kore, na, wakarehen, naa] - This is, y`know, completely incomprehensible, isn`t?

2：なっ！[Na!] - Completely

さん [san] - greeting suffix

San is added to the end of greeting such as 'good morning':

お早うさん [o hayou san] - good morning

おめでとうさん [omedetousan] - congratulations

ありがとうさん [arigatoosan] - thanks

わ [wa] - untraslatable neutral sentence ending

もうええわ。[mooeewa]

It`s good enough

知らんわ。[siranwa]

I don`t know.

Ok, that`s it. Hope you`ll enjoy these words. See ya. Good luck!

[tsuenwan]

Wa! Thanks a lot for this list, it's really handy.

I've always been really interested in the Kansai region and the dialect is so fascinating, I've always felt like they have a different culture, in a way, from the rest of Japan. Their sense of humor is hilarious!

[Cave Bear]

ありがとうございます！I've been through the Kansai briefly, when I made a brief train stop in Kobe to check out the earthquake museum and get dinner. I'd love to go back some time and use these useful phrases. Thanks again, Dmitry!