Japanese · Upper intermediate (B2) · Chapter 9 of 12
Humour and informal language
冗談とくだけた言葉Jōdan to kudaketa kotoba
Understand widely used slang (やばい, マジで, めっちゃ), recognise Kansai dialect, follow boke and tsukkomi and irony, and pick the right register.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Understand and use common slang such as やばい, マジで and ドタキャン with friends
- Recognise the main features of Kansai dialect
- Follow teasing, irony and the boke and tsukkomi pattern
- Say the same request casually, politely and in keigo
Listen
In Osaka, university friends Nakano Takumi, from Osaka, and Ishii Rika, from Tokyo, tease each other about a plan he cancelled at the last minute. He speaks Kansai dialect. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Rika
拓海、昨日なんで来なかったの？みんなで待ってたんだよ。完全にドタキャンじゃん。
Takumi, kinō nande konakatta no? Minna de matteta n da yo. Kanzen ni dotakyan jan.
Takumi, why didn't you come yesterday? We were all waiting for you. You totally bailed on us at the last minute.
Takumi
ほんまにごめん。寝坊してん。起きたら、もう三時やってん。
Honma ni gomen. Nebō shiten. Okitara, mō sanji yatten.
I'm really sorry. I overslept. When I woke up, it was already three o'clock.
Rika
三時？約束、一時だったよね。さすが拓海だね。
Sanji? Yakusoku, ichiji datta yo ne. Sasuga Takumi da ne.
Three? We were meeting at one, weren't we? Typical Takumi.
Takumi
いや、ちゃうねん。目覚まし、ちゃんとかけててん。でも、夢の中で止めてもうてん。
Iya, chau nen. Mezamashi, chanto kaketeten. Demo, yume no naka de tomete mōten.
No, it's not like that. I did set my alarm. But I switched it off in my dream.
Rika
夢の中で？それ、言い訳になってないから。マジでウケるんだけど。
Yume no naka de? Sore, iiwake ni nattenai kara. Maji de ukeru n da kedo.
In your dream? That's not even an excuse. Seriously, that's hilarious.
Takumi
笑うとこちゃうやろ。俺、めっちゃ反省してんねんで。
Warau toko chau yaro. Ore, metcha hansei shiten nen de.
It's not something to laugh at. I'm really sorry about it, you know.
Rika
反省してる人は、そんなに元気じゃないと思うけど。で、みんなにはちゃんと謝ったの？
Hansei shiteru hito wa, sonna ni genki ja nai to omou kedo. De, minna ni wa chanto ayamatta no?
People who are sorry aren't usually this cheerful. So, did you apologise to everyone properly?
Takumi
うん、グループに送ったで。「今日は行かれへん、ほんまにごめん」って。
Un, gurūpu ni okutta de. “Kyō wa ikarehen, honma ni gomen” tte.
Yeah, I sent a message to the group: “Can't make it today, really sorry.”
Rika
三時に送っても遅いよ。みんな、やばいくらい怒ってたよ。…うそうそ、冗談。みんな笑ってた。
Sanji ni okutte mo osoi yo. Minna, yabai kurai okotteta yo. Uso uso, jōdan. Minna waratteta.
Sending it at three is too late. Everyone was seriously angry. … Just kidding. Everyone was laughing.
Takumi
なんやねん、もう。心臓止まるかと思ったわ。
Nan ya nen, mō. Shinzō tomaru ka to omotta wa.
Oh, come on. I thought my heart was going to stop.
Rika
じゃあ、次は拓海がご飯おごってね。遅刻したら、もう一回おごりだよ。
Jā, tsugi wa Takumi ga gohan ogotte ne. Chikoku shitara, mō ikkai ogori da yo.
So next time, dinner's on you. And if you're late, you pay again.
Takumi
それはあかんて。…まあ、しゃあないな。ありがとうな、許してくれて。
Sore wa akan te. Mā, shānai na. Arigatō na, yurushite kurete.
No way, that's not fair. … Oh well, I suppose I've got no choice. Thanks for forgiving me.
Understand
Slang everyone understands
Slang changes fast, but some words are known by almost everyone. Use them only with friends; with teachers, managers or strangers they sound careless. (yabai) started as “dangerous, bad” and still means that, but it now also means “amazing”: (kono kēki, yabai), this cake is incredible. The tone of voice and the situation tell you which.
| Word | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| (yabai) | awful; amazing | both, depending on the context |
| (maji de) | seriously, really | (maji de?), seriously? |
| (metcha) | very, really | from Kansai, now used everywhere |
| (ukeru) | that's hilarious | literally “to go down well” |
| (dotakyan) | last-minute cancellation | (dotakyan suru) |
| ～っけ (-kke) | was it …? (checking a memory) | (nanji dakke?), what time was it again? |
Kansai dialect
In Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe people speak (Kansaiben), Kansai dialect, and many keep it even at work. You don't need to speak it, but you'll hear it on TV and all over Osaka. The accent is different too, and sentences often end in (nen) or (de) where Tokyo speech has (n da) or (yo).
In the past, ～たんだ (-ta n da) becomes ～てん (-ten): (nebō shiten), I overslept, you see; (sanji yatten), it was three o'clock. ～てしまう (-te shimau) becomes ～てまう (-te mau), past (mōta): (tomete mōten), I went and switched it off.
| Standard | Kansai | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| (da) | (ya) | is: (sanji ya) |
| (ikanai) | (ikahen) | don't go |
| (ikenai) | (ikarehen) | can't go |
| (hontō) | (honma) | really, true |
| (dame) | (akan) | no good, not allowed |
| (chigau) | (chau) | no, that's not it |
| (darō) | (yaro) | surely, right?: (chau yaro), that's not right, is it? |
| (tomete shimatta) | (tomete mōta) | went and switched it off |
| (shō ga nai) | (shānai) | it can't be helped |
| (arigatō) | (ōkini) | thanks (mostly older people and shopkeepers; young people say ) |
Boke and tsukkomi, irony and register
Kansai conversation is famous for its comic rhythm, taken from (manzai), comedy for two. One person says something silly, the (boke), and the other corrects it sharply, the (tsukkomi): (nande ya nen), what are you on about? Friends play these roles in everyday talk: Takumi's alarm story is a boke, and Rika's (iiwake ni nattenai kara) is a tsukkomi.
Irony works much as in English: (sasuga), just what I'd expect, is normally praise, but after Takumi oversleeps, (sasuga Takumi da ne) is a tease. Register matters just as much: the same request sounds very different to a friend, a colleague and a client.
| Register | “Could you help me?” |
|---|---|
| casual (friends, family) | (tetsudatte kureru?) |
| polite (colleagues, acquaintances) | (tetsudatte moraemasu ka.) |
| keigo (clients, customers) | (otetsudai itadakenai deshō ka.) |
More in the grammar: Sentence-ending particles: よ, ね and more
New words
- ドタキャンdotakyanlast-minute cancellation · slang; (dotakyan suru), to cancel at the last minute
- ほんまhonmareally, true · Kansai for (hontō)
- 寝坊nebōoversleeping · ねぼう; (nebō suru), to oversleep; an alarm clock is a (mezamashi)
- 言い訳iiwakeexcuse · いいわけ; (hansei suru), to be sorry for what you did
- マジでmaji deseriously, really · slang; with friends only
- ウケるukeruthat's hilarious; to go down well · slang in the first meaning
- めっちゃmetchavery, really · casual; from Kansai
- ～へん-henKansai negative ending · (ikahen) = (ikanai)
- やばいyabaiawful, dangerous; amazing · slang; the meaning depends on the situation
- 冗談jōdanjoke · じょうだん; (jōdan da yo), just kidding; (uso uso), only joking (, uso, a lie)
- 遅刻chikokubeing late · ちこく; (chikoku suru), to be late; (ogoru), to treat someone, to pay for them
- あかんakanno good, not allowed, no way · Kansai for (dame)
- ボケbokethe funny one in a comedy duo; a silly remark · also an insult (“idiot”), so take care
- ツッコミtsukkomithe straight one in a comedy duo; a sharp comeback
Practise
1.A friend tastes a cake, smiles and says (kore, yabai). What does she mean?
2.Match the Kansai words with their meanings.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
3.Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.You totally cancelled at the last minute yesterday.
4.After Takumi oversleeps, Rika says (sasuga Takumi da ne). How does she mean it?
5.Which is the right way to ask a client for help?
6.Takumi writes (kyō wa ikarehen). What is this in standard Japanese?
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
マジで？
Maji de?
Seriously?
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.