For no reason other than history, certain words are used in Kansai while others are used in Tokyo.
| nukui ぬくい | atatakai 暖かい | warm |
| kosobai こそばい | Kusuguttai くすぐったい | ticklish |
| kokeru こける | korobu 転ぶ | fall down |
| hokasu ほかす | suteru 捨てる | throw away |
• "S" sounds in standard Japanese are often replaced by "h" sounds.
| -han —はん | -san —さん | Mr., Ms., Mrs., Miss |
| -mahen —まへん | -masen —ません | (negative conjugation) |
| -mahyō —まひよう | -mashō —ましょう | ("let's do" conjugation) |
• Desu です and its variations are replaced by ya や.
| ya や | da だ | is |
| yaro やろ | darō だろう | don't you think? |
| yakaraやから | dakara だから | therefore |
• Long vowels, especially at the end of words, are often shortened.
| iko 行こ | ikō 行こう | let's go |
| sho しよ | shō しよう | let's do |
| soya そや, seya せや | sō da そうだ | yes |
• Short vowels at the end of words are sometimes lengthened.
| tē 手え | te 手 | hand |
| kē 毛え | ke 毛 | hair |
| kā 蚊あ | ka 蚊 | mosquito |
| kii 木い | ki 木 | tree |
| chii 血い | chi 血 | blood |
| tō 戸お | to 戸 | door |
• Double consonants (denoted by tsu つ）are often softened or replaced with a long vowel.
| tsukōte つこうて, tsukote つこて | tsukatte 使って | use |
| kōta 買うた | katta 買った | bought |
| morota もった, mōta もうた | moratta もらった | received |
| yūte ゆうて | itte 言つて | say |
• The final vowel of words ending with two vowels, especially adjectives that end in -i, are dropped in informal conversations and the final sound lengthened for emphasis. Stronger emphasis is indicated by longer sounds.
| EMPHASIZED | STANDARD KANSAI | ENGLISH |
| shindo —しんど〜 | shindoi しんどい | tiring |
| omoro—おもろ〜 | omoroi おもろい | interesting |
| gottsu— ごつつ〜 | gottsui ごっつい | very |
| atsu— あつ〜 | atsui 暑い | hot |
| ita— いた〜 | itai 痛い | painful |
| kusa—臭〜 | kusai 臭い | smelly |
• Although the level of formality depends on the person, place, and situation, in general the language in Kansai is less formal than in Tokyo. Typical conversations among Kinki people sound a notch less formal than those among Tokyoites, who consider this to be more an expression of bad manners than friendliness. Of course, there are large gradations in formality in Kansai-ben as well as in standard Japanese, and it is important to speak with the correct level of formality in each situation. Women tend to speak more politely and use more standard Japanese than men.
• Kansai-ben speakers often repeat the same word twice. This is especially common when showing sympathy or relieving someone's anxiety.
| kamahen, kamahen | かまへん、かまへん | I don't mind at all. |
| chau, chau | ちゃう、ちゃう | No, that's not right. |
• Accentuation of words also differs, but it is difficult to give any rules other than to recommend listening to your neighbors instead of language tapes, especially as there are large variations even within Kansai. Here are some examples of how pronunciation in Kansai differs from Tokyo.
The most often cited example is the homonym ame, which can mean either rain 雨, or candy 始. In Kansai, the word for rain is accented on the second syllable a-ME, and the word for candy is unaccented a-me. In Tokyo, the accentuation is on the first syllable A-me for rain and on the second syllable a-ME for candy. Here are a few more examples:
| KANSAI | TOKYO | ΚANJI | ENGLISH |
| a-ME | A-me | 雨 | rain |
| a-me | a-ME | 飴 | candy |
| HA-shi | ha-shi | 橋 | bridge |
| ha-shi | HA-shi | 箸 | chopsticks |
| I-nu | i-NU | 犬 | dog |
| DE-n-sha | de-n-sha | 電車 | train |
| o-ha-YO-u | o-HA-YOU | お早う | good morning |
| FU-ku | fu-KU | 服 | clothes |
| KU-tsu | ku-TSU | 靴 | shoes |
| bu-SU | BU-su | ぶす | ugly |
| chu-U-ka | CHU-u-ka | 中華 | Chinese food |
| na-n-DE? | NA-n-de? | 何で | why? |
Accentuation is, in general, much stronger in Kansai than in Tokyo, where pronunciation is basically flat. For example, fuku has a barely perceptable accent on the second syllable in Tokyo, so it is listed as fu-KU, but the accent on the first syllable in Kansai is relatively strong. This gives the speech in Kansai its more melodic, emotional tone as opposed to flat, monotonic Tokyo speech.
■ 1 ■
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
