writeMoreover, the polite -masen ending of Eastern Japanese negative verbs becomes -mahen in Western Japanese.
| Eastern Japanese | Western Japanese | |
| doesn’t eat | tabemasen | tabemahen |
| doesn’t go | ikimasen | ikimahen |
| excuse me | suimasen | sunmahen |
2. The past tense of verbal negatives ends in -nakatta in Eastern Japanese and in -henkatta or -nkatta in Western Japanese.
| Eastern Japanese | Western Japanese | |
| didn’t eat | tabenakatta | tabehenkatta, tabenkatta |
| didn’t know | shiranakatta | shirankatta |
| didn’t think | omowanakatta | omowahenkatta, omowankatta |
| didn’t do | yaranakatta | yarehenkatta |
| wasn’t doing | yattenakatta | yattehenkatta |
3. The past tense of Eastern Japanese verbs has a double “tt” sound, but Western Japanese frequently has a single “t” sound instead, sometimes accompanied by a long vowel sound like “ō.” Eastern Japanese, unlike Western Japanese, accentuates crisp double consonants.
| Eastern Japanese | Western Japanese | |
| thought | omotta | omōta, omota |
| received | moratta | morōta, morota |
| made a mistake | machigatta | machigōta |
| finished up | shimatta | shimōta, shimota |
| bought | katta | kōta |
| bought | katte shimatta | kōte shimōta |
| said | itta | yūta, yutta |
| used | tsukatta | tsukōta, tsukota |
| met | atta | ōta |
4. The verb “to be” for animals and people is iru in Eastern Japanese and oru in Western Japanese.
| Eastern Japanese | Western Japanese | |
| is | iru | oru |
| isn’t | inai | orahen, orehen, oran |
| wasn’t | inakatta | orehenkatta, orankatta |
| was | ita | otta |
| isn’t being | itenai, inai | ottehen, orahen |
| wasn’t being | itenakatta, inakatta | ottehenkatta, orahenkatta |
5. The copula da of Eastern Japanese is ya (primarily Kansai) or ja (primarily Chūgoku) in Western Japanese. Although not strictly equivalent, these words can be thought of as functioning like the verb “to be.”
| Eastern Japanese | Western Japanese | |
| is | da | ya, ja |
| was | datta | yatta, jatta |
| likely is | darō | yarō, yaro, jarō, jaro |
6. The adverbial form of adjectives ends in ku in Eastern Japanese, but usually lacks ku in Western Japanese. Instead of ku, both single and double vowel sounds are commonly heard.
| Eastern Japanese | Western Japanese | |
| become hot | atsuku naru | atsū naru, atsu naru |
| eat fast | hayaku taberu | hayō taberu, hayo taberu |
| understand well | yoku wakaru | yō wakaru |
| kindly, well | yoroshiku | yoroshū |
| busily and ... | isogashikute | isogashiite, isogashūte |
7. The imperative form of verbs in Western Japanese can differ from Eastern Japanese. Both forms, however, are commonly used in Western Japan.
| Eastern Japanese | Western Japanese | |
| eat fast! | hayaku fabero! | hayō tabē! hayo tabe! |
| wake up! | okiro! | okii ya! oki! |
| go! | ike! | ikii! iki! |
| read! | yome! | yomii! yomē! |
| study! | benkyō shiro! | benkyō shii! benkyō shii ya! |
2
STANDARD KANSAI LANGUAGE
While old people in Kyōto, Kōbe, Nagoya, Ōsaka, Okayama, and Hiroshima speak noticeably distinct strains of Western Japanese, there seems to be a trend toward a new standard for the region. The basis for this standard is the speech of the Kyōto-Kōbe-Ōsaka region. Although differences exist from speaker to speaker and from locale to locale, in the degree to which the local dialect and Tōkyō expressions have been incorporated, most of what the younger generation says in Western Japan will match the Japanese in this chapter. In later chapters the traditional styles of Kyōto, Ōsaka, and Hiroshima speech, now mostly spoken by rural and older people, will be covered in depth.
HOW MUCH?
If you go to one of Kyōto’s many temple flea markets, such as the one at Kitano-Tenmangu on the 25th of each month, you’re bound to hear some tough bargaining. These markets are good for finding traditional wares and food, and great for hearing Western Japanese in action.
w: Kore nanbo ya?
e: Kore wa ikura desu ka?
How much is this?
w: Mittsu kōtara chotto makete kurehen ka?
e: Mittsu kattara chotto makete kuremasen ka?
If I buy three will you lower the price a little?
w/e: Hai, hassen en ni maketokō.
O.K. I’ll lower it to eight thousand yen.
w: A: Chotto maketoite ya.
B: Sunmahen, makarimahen nen.
e: A: Sukoshi waribiki dekimasen ka?
B: Gomen nasai, waribiki dekinain desu.
A: Can you reduce the price a little?
B: Sorry, I can’t give a discount.
w: Oterasan no nominoichi wa doko?
e: Otera no nominoichi wa doko?
Where’s the temple flea market?
People in Kansai affix san to certain words. They refer to temples as oterasan. Older people say arigatosan (thank you), ohayōsan (good morning), eraisan (big shot), and ansan (polite you).
w: Kore wa bottakuri yatta.
e: Kau kachi wa nakatta./Borareta.
This was a rip-off.
Bottakuru means to overcharge.
w: Kore wa honma ni horidashimon ya.
e: Kore wa honto ni horidashimono da.
This is a real bargain.
w: Machigainō ureru.
e: Machigainaku ureru.
You’ll have no problem selling these.
Nambo can also be substituted for
