mōta もうた
• 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.
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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 Japanese, ahō, or aho, is used often only in Kansai. While it is sometimes written in kanji as 阿呆, pronounced ahō, the final vowel sound is often clipped off and it is usually written in katakana as aho アホ. Depending on the tone and particle used with aho, the word can range in meaning from a playful way to say "no" to a fairly strong expletive. Women as well as men use this word, but women need to pay special attention to usage and tone in order to avoid sounding unladylike. Women usually avoid saying aho directly to the person they are criticizing.
Nande kono hon no ichiban saisho ni, konna aho na kotoba iretan? Omaera, aho ya nā.
なんでこの本の一番最初に、こんなアホな言葉入れたん？ お前ら、ァホやなあ。
Why did you put such a stupid word at the beginning οf this book? You guys are pretty stupid.
Omaera is the plural of omae (see word entry 43) and is used by men to mean "you." Ya replaces da だ.(See 15)
We agree it is somewhat reckless of us to begin your new vocabulary with aho, but of the fifteen most important words in Kansai-ben, this one ended up first in alphabetical order and second only to akan in A-I-U order. We are too aho to come up with a better system, so please don't stop reading now.
| SUZUKI: | Kondo, anta toko no yome-han to dēto sasetē ya. |
| HONDA: | Nani aho na koto yūten nen! |
| 鈴木： | 今度、あんたとこの嫁はんとデ一卜させてえや。 |
| 本田： | 何アホなこと言うてんねん！ |
| SUZUKI: | Do you mind if I take your wife out on a date? |
| HONDA: | Don't say such stupid things! |
-Tēya —てえや is used when making requests in very casual situations and is conjugated to the -te —て form of the verb. -Tēna —てえな has the same meaning. Toko とこ is the Kansai version of tokoro 所.(See 53)
| HIRAKATA: | Kondo no bōnasu sanjuppāsento katto yate! |
| IBARAGI: | Sonna aho na. Kaisha nani kangaeten nen? |
| 枚方： | 今度のボーナス30%カットやて！ |
| 茨木： | そんなアホな。会社何考えてんねん？ |
| HIRAKATA: | We're getting a 30% cut in our next bonus! |
| IBARAGI: | How can they be so stupid? What is this company thinking? |
Kangaeten nen is equivalent to kangaete iru 考えている). -Ten nen is the Kansai version