Nagoya dialect
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The Nagoya dialect (名古屋弁, Nagoya-ben) is a dialect of the Japanese language spoken in the western half of Aichi Prefecture, centering on the city of Nagoya. It is also called Owari dialect (尾張弁 Owari-ben) since the area was formerly part of Owari Province.
The dialect spoken in the eastern half of the prefecture is called Mikawa dialect (三河弁 Mikawa-ben) and is considered a separate dialect.
The Nagoya dialect is relatively near to standard Japanese, though there are some obvious differences.
Grammar
Sentence final particles
The Nagoya dialect has a wider range of sentence-final particles than is used in standard Japanese.
- gaya
- (1) Used when the speaker is surprised. (1a) When surprised about the current situation. Ex. Yuki ga futtoru gaya. (It is snowing!) (1b) When an idea flashed through the speaker's mind, or when the speaker reminds something suddenly. ex. Ikan ikan, wasuretotta gaya. (Oh no, I forgot it.)
- (2) To let the listener know the speaker is surprised of what the listener did. (2a) When surprised for the listener's ability, richness or something good. Ex. Sugoi gaya. (You are great.) (2b) When surprised for the listener's incompetence or something not good, ordering the listener to do better. Ex. Ikan gaya. (Literally "It's prohibited". The speaker is surprised that the listener does not know it and is ordering him to remember it is prohibited.)
- (3) {misuse} sometimes used to mimic Nagoya-ben.
- gane
- Almost the same as gaya but is somewhat soft.
- ga, gaa, ge, gee, gan
- These are contractions of gaya or gane and are relatively new words.
- te, tee
- To emphasize the statement.
- to
- "I heard" or "They say". Used when the speaker is in direct to the source. Ex. Sore wa chigau to. (They say it is not so.)
- gena
- Also "I heard" or "They say". Less confident than to.
- ni
- Used when the speaker thinks that the listener does not know what the speaker is saying. Ex. Wikipedia wa furii nanda ni. (Wikipedia is free. (I bet you don't know it.))
- mai, maika
- Used after the volitional form of verbs to make it clear that the speaker is inviting. The "shiyou" form once had meaning of "maybe" though this usage is archaic both in Nagoya-ben and the Standard Japanese today.
- shan, kashan, kashiran, shiran.
- (1)"I wonder". Same as kashira in Standard Japanese though "kashira" is used only by women while these are used both by men and women. Ex. Kore de ii kashan. (I wonder if it is OK.)
- (2)"I am not sure". Ex. Nan da shan ittotta. (He said something though I am not sure what he said.)
- Whether there is "ka" or not is due to the speaker.
- dekan
- (1)Expresses that the speaker is not satisfied. Ex. Kaze hiite matta dekan.(I have caught a cold. (I hate it).)
- (2)Expresses that the speaker is pleased. Same as some Americans say "bad" to mean "good".
- wa
- Used only by women in Standard Japanese.
- miyo
- Formed from the command form of the verb "miru"(to see). Attached to attract the listener's attention mostly in order to scold him. Ex. Kowaketematta miyo. (Look what you've done. It's broken.)
- miyaa, mii
- Formed from the soft command form of the verb "miru"(to see). Attached to attract the listener's attention. But the usage is not restricted to scolding.
- yo
- Same as the Standard Japanese "yo".
- ne
- Same as the Standard Japanese "ne".
- namo
- Froms teineigo, though is obsolete. Today the Standard Japanese auxiliary verb "masu" is used instead.
Auxiliary verbs
Nagoya-ben has some auxiliary verbs which are not use in the standard language. Some standard helping verbs are contracted in Nagoya-ben.
- yaa, yaase
- Forms a soft order.
- sseru, yasseru, yaasu
- Forms an expression in respectful language.
- In some sub-dialects of Nagoya-ben, yaasu is used for the second person and sseru/yasseru for the third.
- choosu
- Respectful form of the helping verb kureru. Kudasaru in Standard Japanese.
- mau1
- contraction of helping verb shimau.
- mau2
- contraction of helping verb morau. Differs from mau1 in accent.
- ...tekan
- contraction of -te wa ikan, Standard Japanese -te wa ikenai
- ...toru
- contraction of -te oru, Standard Japanese -te iru.
- ...taru1
- contraction of -te aru.
- ...taru2
- contraction of -te yaru. Differs from taru1 in accent.
- imperfective form (mizenkei) + suka
- strong negative. Ex. Ikasuka (I will never go.)
- continuative form (ren'yōkei) + yotta
- Used to talk about old days.
- imperfective form (mizenkei) + nakan
- contraction of -neba ikan, Standard Japanese -nakereba ikenai.
- imperfective form (mizenkei) + na1
- Negative conditional form.
- imperfective form (mizenkei) + na2
- Contraction of -nakan, Standard Japanese -nakereba ikenai. Used mainly to command.
- imperfective form (mizenkei) + nnaran
- Contraction of -neba naran, Standard Japanese -nakereba naranai.
Vocabulary
- Some words which are obsolete in Standard Japanese are still used.
- The number after an entry is the syllable accented. 0 means that the word is accentless.
- afurakasu 4 溢らかす
- 5v. to overflow, spill.
- ayasui 3 あやすい
- i-adj. easy to do.
- arakenai 4 あらけない
- i-adj. violent, rough.
- anbayoo 4 塩梅よう
- adv. well; cleverly; skillfully. Note that the pronunciation is not *anbaiyoo.
- igoku 2
- v. to move. Standard Japanese "ugoku".
- izarakasu 4 いざらかす
- 5v. (1) to drag. (2) to make something move.
- izaru 0 いざる
- 5v. (1) to crawl (man moves not standing up) (2) to move in short distance.
- ikka 1 幾日
- n. (1)(obsolete) what day. (2)the day which is not definite now.
- uderu 2 うでる
- 1v. to boil. Standard Japanese "yuderu".
- ushinaeru 0 失える
- 1v to lose. Standard Japanese "ushinau" or "nakusu".
- erai 2 えらい
- i-adj. sick. The word means "great" in the Standard Japanese.
- oojookoku 5 往生こく
- 5v. To suffer hardship。
- oochaku 0 横着
- na-adj. idle.
- okureru 3 おくれる
- 1v. the respectful form of the verb "kureru"(give). Less polite than "Kudasaru".
- osogai 3 おそがい
- i-adj. scary.
- ossan 1 おっさん
- n. a Buddhism priest. Note that the homonym "ossan" meaning "uncle" or "old man" differs in accent.
- obowaru 3 覚わる
- 5v. to learn.
- kaimon 3 かいもん
- n. (1)「かう(1)」のに使う木切れや段ボール片など。(2)「かう(3)」のに使う養生材。
- kau 1 支う
- 【動五】(1)物を固定したりガタつきを無くすために隙間に物を押し込む。引き戸につっかい棒、駐車車両に輪止め、ガタつく家具の下に木片など。(2)施錠する。(3)ジャッキと工作物の間に養生材を挟む。
- kazusuru 1 数する
- suru-v. to count. Standard Japanese kazoeru.
- kawasu 2
- 【動五】しっかりと、または強引に「かう(1)」
- kan 0 かん
- Contraction of "ikan," which is a contraction of "ikenai." No good.
- kankō 0 勘考
- suru-v. To scheme, plot, devise, etc.
- kisaru 0 着さる
- 5v. to fit. "awaseru" in the Standard Japanese.
- kiseru 0 着せる
- 1v. Other than Standard Japanese "put on clothes," can also mean to fasten a lid or put on a cap.
- kiinai, kinai 3, 2 黄ない
- i-adj. yellow. "kiiroi" in the Standard Japanese.
- kasugaru 0
- 5v. To stick, or be stuck. Standard Japanese "sasaru" (刺さる).
- ketta 0 ケッタ
- n. bicycle.
- kettamashiin 5 ケッタマシーン
- (< ketta + eng. machine) n. (1)=ketta. (2)bicycle with transmission. (3)motorcycle.