Kansai talk · Languages in Kansai
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Languages in Kansai
Languages in Kansai
The Kansai dialect (関西弁 Kansai-ben) is Japan's largest dialect group after Tokyo's dialect group collectively. There are many subdialects, ranging from the elegant and effete Kyo-kotoba (京言葉) of Kyoto's courtiers to the gruff but imaginative gangster slang of Osaka, much favored by Japanese comedians. Some notable features include the copula ya instead of da, the negative ending -hen instead of -nai and the use of akan instead of dame for "No way!".
That said, most Kansaites are perfectly conversant in standard Japanese, so knowledge of the local dialect is by no means necessary, but even a few words will be appreciated. The typical Osakan greeting is Mōkarimakka? ("Making money?"), to which the typical reply is Bochi-bochi denna ("Well, so-so"); trying this out on a friend or acquaintance is guaranteed to produce a surprised smile, and make you look like a kettai (strange), aho (idiot) and omoroi (funny) guy.
English is taught at all schools in Japan, and while it is less commnonly spoken than in Tokyo you will find that younger people will often know enough English to communicate, especially those residing in the cities. Still, learning even a few important phrases in Japanese will be appreciated and not as difficult as many Westerners think.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Kansai
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Kansai - updated Apr 2024
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Kansai Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.