Do you know there are many kinds of dialects in Japan? It is said that they are roughly divided into two types of dialects, “Hondo Japanese(本土方言)” and “Ryukyu Japanese(琉球方言）”. More specifically, they can be divided into “Eastern Japanese(東部方言)”, “Western Japanese(西部方言)”, “Kyusyu Japanese(九州方言)”,
and “Ryukyu Japanese(琉球方言)”. In this page, we introduce famous dialects which are useful if you know.
We hope you’ll find your favorite Japanese dialects.
Kansai-ben
We call the dialect of Kansai area “Kansai-ben” in Japanese. This is categorized into “Western Japanese”. Kansai-ben is very famous and sometimes used in anime such as Case Closed, also known as Detective Conan. The chart below shows the most typical words of Kansai-ben.
| English | Standard Japanese | Kansai-Ben |
| interesting | omoshi-roi 面白い | omoroi おもろい |
| no | I-e いいえ | chau ちゃう |
| Don’t worry | Kini-shinai-de 気にしないで | kamahen かまへん |
| bad | warui 悪い | akan あかん |
| really | hontou-ni 本当に | honma ほんま |
| fast | hayaku 早く | hayo はよ |
Hakata-ben
Hakata-ben is one of the typical dialects categorized in “Kyushu Japanese”.
This dialect is spoken in Fukuoka city and other areas. This dialect is often said to be cute and make people clam to hear.
| English | Standard Japanese | Hakata-Ben |
| like | suki 好き | Sui-tou 好いとう |
| no | I-e いいえ | Unnya うんにゃ |
| Don’t worry | Kini-shinai-de 気にしないで | Kini-sendotte 気にせんどって |
| dislike | kirai 嫌い | Sukan 好かん |
| really | hontou-ni 本当に | Bari-bari ばりばり |
| fast | hayaku 早く | Hayo はよ |
Q&A
Q1. When visiting a region in Japan for the purpose of sightseeing, is it a problem that you don’t know its dialect at all?
A1. During sightseeing, you would seldom be in trouble with dialects because most people understand the standard Japanese.
Q2. Can Japanese people understand the dialects of each region?
A2. Many people can understand famous dialects such as Kansai-ben, Hakata-ben and so on. However, it’s not true that people can understand all dialects in Japan. In addition, difficulty in understanding dialects is related to generation. For instance, I can’t sometimes make out what my grandfather who live in Kanagawa prefecture are getting at.
Q3. When studying in Japan as a student, is it a problem that you don’t know the dialect of its region?
A3. No. There are a lot of people who leave their hometown and move into the area where the university is located. Also, many universities have the center which support international students. You can get used to the dialect having conversation with people. Thus, you don’t need to worry about the dialect.
Header Photo by Eleonora Albasi on Unsplash