» Hiroshima-Ben

Introduction

Whether tourists or long-term residents, most foreigners in Japan eventually make their way down to Hiroshima. Tourists usually come to see the Peace Park and museum, or else take the ferry out to the huge, world-famous torii in Miyajima. Many old-timers want to sample the famous Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki and see how it compares to the Kansai version. Some of us, of course, actually live here. The one thing everyone has in common, though, is that while we’re here we all have to wrestle with the Hiroshima dialect, or “Hiroshima-ben”.

For such a small country, Japan has an amazing variety of dialects, most of which are largely unintelligible to someone who only speaks the standard, school-taught language. (This fact throws the whole notion of being a “dialect” into doubt, since dialects are by definition intelligible variants of the common language, but that’s a matter better taken up by professional linguists.) Aomori-ben and Kagoshima-ben, two of the most famous, have to be given Japanese subtitles whenever they appear on the news or some other nationwide program. In fact, the only reason that there’s a “standard” Japanese language at all is because things got so bad during the Meiji era that the Japanese government had to decide on and then implement teaching a standard version late in the 19th century so the country could run smoothly from one end to the other. Even today, most Japanese children grow up speaking their local dialect and do not begin to learn standard Japanese until they get into school.

This linguistic peculiarity has two important roots, one historical and the other cultural. The historical reason lies in the policies of Ieyasu Tokugawa. Since there had been a lot more Japanese history under local feudal lords than one central government, the Tokugawa shogunate employed spies throughout Japan to keep watch on the local goings-on. With paranoia on both sides running high, one reaction to this was to develop impenetrable local dialects as a sort of code. This paranoia, coupled with the famous Japanese tendency towards forming and staying in groups, gave the movement a speed and solidarity that it would not have had in most other countries. In a surprisingly short amount of time, people from outside a given area became unable to understand what was going on if the natives didn’t want them to.

Although with modern communication and transportation there has been a recent lessening in the purity of local dialects, Hiroshima-ben today bears about the same relationship to standard Japanese as, say, a southern U.S. dialect does to Australian English. Theoretically they’re the same language, but in practice even native speakers from one place have a hard time understanding what’s going on in the other. The aim of this guide is to help people who either visit or live here get a linguistic handle on the local dialect, which will help make their stay here more enjoyable.

Hiroshima-ben suffers from an unfortunate reputation. A few years back there was a movie called “The Yakuza” that was set here, and ever since the local dialect has been associated with the criminal underworld. I can’t count the number of times that Japanese people have admonished me not to use it, saying it’s too “rough” or “dirty”. Well, I disagree. Of course, Hiroshima-ben isn’t suitable for board meetings, but for everyday conversation (in this part of the country, at least) it’s much more natural and appropriate than the textbook stuff everyone tries to push down foreigners’ throats. This is the living language, and it doesn’t have to be rough or dirty if you don’t want it to. In fact, it has its own form of respect language, just like standard Japanese. So c’mon, join the fun.

How to use this guide

This guide is divided into two sections: phonetic changes (including accent changes) and specialized words. Phonetic changes are more or less global variations of standard Japanese pronunciation and/or grammar. Specialized words are just that, words that are in (common or uncommon) use around here but that do not appear in other areas of the country.

I would like to say that there is a lot of disagreement on what, exactly, constitutes Hiroshima-ben. The material given here is in no way to be considered definitive. Although I observed a couple of criteria in compiling this guide (such as leaving out any word that I found in my standard Japanese dictionaries), in many cases the decision to include a given word or phrase came down to a gut feeling based on several years’ experience both living and working here in Hiroshima. I have no doubt that all of the material presented here will be of use to anyone trying to find their way around the local territory (physical or linguistic), but if any mistakes appear, they are my own.

Phonetic changes

~iru changes to ~oru (and also ~orun? when you ask something)

Example:

Q: いまどこにおるん?
A: ひろしまえきにおる

Q: Where are you now?
A: I’m at Hiroshima Station.

Note: The local version of the verb “to exist” for animate objects is, in fact, “oru” rather than “iru”.

~yo changes to ~nan-yo

Example:

Q:くるま、かったんだって?
A:そおなんよ!

Q: Did he say that he bought the car?
A: Yeah.

~nai changes to ~n

Examples:

せん (Standard Japanese: しない)
いけん (Standard Japanese: いけない)

Note: Combine the last two entries to give yourself “せんといけん”,
the Hiroshima ben equivalent of the standard Japanese words for “must
do” such and such, “しないといけない” or “しなければならない”.

Example: (へやを) そうじせんといけん
I have to clean (my room/apartment).

~shinaide changes to ~shinsanna or ~sentoite

Example: よふかし　しんさんな

Don’t stay up so late.

“D” sounds often change to “J” sounds. There are several
examples of this. The two most common are given below:

Da changes to ja

Example: そおなんじゃ?

Is that so?

Daroo changes to jaroo

Example: (そとは) あめじゃろう

It’s probably raining outside.

Nee changes to noo

Example: さむいのぉ

It’s cold.

~teiru changes to ~toru or ~toku

This is a variant on the first note given in this section.

~ii changes to ~ee

Example: やめといたほうがええ

It’d be better just to quit.

(BTW, in young people’s speech “ai”, “ii”,
“oi” and “ui” often change to “ee” when the person
wants to sound tough.)

~reba changes to ~ryaa

Example: あつけりゃあ　コートをぬぎんさい

If you’re hot, take off your coat.

“S” sounds change to “h” in certain circumstances. Probably
the most common example of this is “Soo” changing to “hoo”.

Example: “そうですか？” changes to “ほうですか？”

~kara changes to ~ke～　(The “e” is often drawn out.)

Example: あとでいくけえ　まっといて

I’ll go (to where you are) later on, so wait for me.

Note: This only applies to the から that means “since” or “because
of” (the one that’s a virtual synonym of ので), not the から that shows movement
from a location or in time. Combining け with じゃ gives one of the most common
phrases in all of Hiroshima ben: じゃけ. If you don’t learn anything else, learn
this.

Accent changes

Like much of Western Japanese in general, Hiroshima-ben has its own rhythms and intonations. Although it would be impossible to give an exhaustive listing of every change that differentiates it from standard Japanese, some typical examples are given below.

Respect Language

As mentioned briefly in the introduction, Hiroshima has its own form of respect language. Failure to realize this can sometimes cause inadvertent misunderstandings (even among Japanese people), because of the way that “shimau” is used in this part of the country.

A. どこから来ちゃったん？

A. Where did you (respectfully) come from?
NOT
A. Where did you (unfortunately) come from?

Specialized words (1)

This part of the guide is divided into two sections. The first one, given immediately below, is for words that you will almost certainly encounter in any conversation in Hiroshima-ben Japanese. They are extremely common words in daily use among Hiroshima people, so much so that many of them may not realize that these are, in fact, Hiroshima ben and not standard Japanese. Learn these words first, as they will do you the most amount of good.

Buchi

This word is not limited to Hiroshima, but you’ll hear it sometimes, especially
among the 20-something crowd. It’s used in roughly the same way as “way”
is in California surfer slang, to mean “a hell of a lot” or “extremely”.
As a slang term, however, it seems to be on its way out.

Examples:

A: こおたの?
B: いや、ぶちたかかったけ　かわんかった.
A: Didja buy it?
B: Nah, it was way expensive. Didn’t get it.

そうよなこときいたら、ぶちはぶてるじゃろう。
Hearing something like that’ll really piss you off, huh? (See below for “habuteru”.)

Habuteru

This word is not standard Japanese, although many Hiroshima denizens think
that it is. It means “to be angry”, and is one of those flavorful
words that does not have an exact equivalent in the standard language. Its meaning
is about halfway between おこる(to get angry) and すねる (to sulk or pout). The stress
is on the “る”.

Example: すぐ　はぶてるんじゃけえ

You get upset so easily…

Hoija (”soreja” in standard Japanese) “See
ya!”

Hoijake (”dakara” in standard Japanese) “So”

Sooyona (”sonna” in standard Japanese) “like
that”

Honde

Listen hard for this one, because the initial syllable (”ho”) is
often all but inaudible, making the word sound like “nde”. It’s often
used to continue a thought from one sentence to the next in much the same way
that we use “so” in English.

Example: (ほ)んで　いつ　くるん?
So, when you coming?

Honma

Like nanbo (below), you’ll hear this just as frequently in Osaka or Nagasaki
as Hiroshima. It is the exact equivalent of “ほんとう”, which every first-year
student of Japanese knows.

Example: それ　ほんま?
Is that really true?

Nanbo

This is so common in Western Japan that it cannot properly be considered exclusively
Hiroshima ben. Nanbo means “how much”, just like いくら. However, it
can be used more broadly than いくら, for example as an equivalent to いくつ (how
old).

Example:

A. おい！年なんぼじゃ？
A. Hey! Just how old are you, anyway?

Used here to imply that someone is too young to be doing/thinking about
something, etc. (This example, BTW, comes from the Micheal Douglas movie
“Black Rain”.)

Tachimachi

In standard Japanese this means “immediately” or “very soon”.
In Hiroshima-ben, however, it means “for the time being” or “provisionally”.
The pronunciation is slightly different as well, being flatter in standard Japanese
and with more of a contour (TAchiMAchi) locally. Be careful not to confuse the
two.

Example: たちまち　そこ　おいときゃあ　ええじゃない

So just table this for the time being.

Taigii
This means “to be tired”. (In standard Japanese, “つかれた”.)
However, “taigii” has an additional connotation
of being tired of something or someone. Accordingly, be a bit careful
when you use it.

Example: そとへでるの、たいぎい
It’s too much trouble to go outside.

Although it’s also part of the Yamaguchi dialect and
thus not Hiroshima-ben per se, another word with much the same meaning
is “erai”. (In standard Japanese this means to be “elite”
or “high up the ladder”, as in “erai hito”.)

Example: まいにちじゅっキロをはしるのはえらいのお。
Running ten kilometers
a day wears you out.

Specialized words (2)

This second section gives some of the less common words in Hiroshima-ben. These are words that almost no one uses except when they’re talking with someone else from the Hiroshima area. The reason? No one else understands them, not even other native Japanese.

You will probably never hear these words if you’re a tourist, or even if you’ve lived here for less than several years, but they can be fun to throw out at times so as to impress the locals and give a little flavor to your language. You will almost certainly get a reaction if you casually say something like, “Itashii, noo”, and any Hiroshima person who happens to hear you will blink in surprise and then - assuming they don’t have a stick up their butt about foreigners sounding “too native” - most likely compliment you extravagantly. (Of course, other Japanese who may be listening will have no idea what you’re talking about.)

Chiito ちょっと、すこし

Example: ちいと　すくないんじゃ　ないかね?

Hey, there isn’t much/isn’t enough (of this), is there?

Etto たくさん Another word used in the same way is “youke”

Example: えっとたべるんじゃねえ
You eat quite a lot.

Gansu
A contraction of the polite “ございます” that everyone learns their first
day in Japanese class, this typical Hiroshima ben-ism has sadly fallen into
almost complete disuse. Although people generally know what it means, only old,
diehard Hiroshima-ites use it nowadays, and they only rarely.

Example: おはようがんす

Good morning!

Habu はぐき
Gum(s), as in the one(s) in your mouth. Not that you’ll use this particularly
often, but if you go to the dentist in Hiroshima…

Example: 歯医者：はぶがちょっとはれとりますね・・・
Dentist: Hmmm, these gums look a little swollen…

Hami マムシ
This is the local word for the famous “mamushi”, a poisonous snake
found in Japan. So if you hear it, watch out!

Example: 昨日、はみが部屋に入っとった！

Yesterday, a mamushi snake came into my room!

Inage(な) へん（な）
Means weird, queer, strange, odd, etc.

Example: あんた　いなげな　かっこう　しとるのお
Dude, you wear weird clothes.

Itsuiki　いつも
Means the same thing as “itsumo” (always, all the time) does in standard
Japanese.

Example: あいついついき酒を飲んどるじゃん。

That guy’s always drinking. (He drinks all the time.)

Itashii むずかしい
This word is so obscure that even Japanese who are not from Hiroshima but who
have lived here for a number of years rarely know it. Although one’s first guess
would be something like “painful” (which is in fact its meaning in
some Shimane prefecture dialects), the actual meaning is “difficult”.
Also, there is a difference in usage depending on the age of the speaker. Older
men will use it in a general sense, while younger people (those below 40 or
so) will use it in a more restricted sense, limiting it to examples where there
is a physical difficulty/discomfort involved (as in the example below).

Example: このいすは　かたくて　いたしい
This chair feels hard and is difficult to sit in.

Kabachi もんく(a complaint, a gripe)
While you can say かばちをいう (to complain or gripe), if you want to sound tough
try the sentence below, making sure to roll your “r”s appropriately.
(This is NOT for polite company…)

Example: A: こりゃたかすぎるよ！

B:　かばち たれん なよ！
A: This (price, tarriff, etc.) is way too high!
B: Shut the fuck up! (Lit. “I don’t want to hear any of your drooling
back-talk!”)

There is another “kabachi”, which is a somewhat mean-spirited barb
and means that someone gets what coming to him (for ignoring good advice, because
you don’t like the person, etc.).

Example: A: きいた？たなかさんはうわきされてりこんしたんだって。

B（たなかさんがきらい）: かばちよ！
A: Did you hear? Ol’ Tanaka was cuckolded by his wife and is divorcing her…
B (Who doesn’t like Tanaka) Ah, serves him right!

Megeru （こわれる） to be broken

Example: コンピューターがめげとる
The computer’s broken.

Miteru なくなる(To get used up, to disappear, to vanish - but
see the entry for nainaru below)

Example: しお が みてた

There’s no more salt left.

Miyasui かんたん、やさしい
This is the opposite of いたしい and far more common. It means “simple”
or “easy”. It does not mean “easily seen”, as one
might first assume upon hearing it.

Example: この　もんだいは　みやすい
This problem’s easy.

Nainaru なくなる
An obvious phonetic variant of the standard なくなる, like みてる above it means to
get used up, to disappear, to vanish, etc. However, there is a slight difference
in usage, since みてる is generally used for something that disappears
little by little, whereas ないなる can be used when something vanishes instantly.

Example: （バーゲンしょうひんを　あさっている　とき）さっきまであったのに、もうないなった。

(Searching through the bargain table) There was one here
just a little while ago… (but now it’s gone).

Sabaku 取り散らす
In standard Japanese this is a noun meaning “desert”. But here in
Hiroshima it’s a verb, and means to stew, to scatter about.

Sabui さむい
No one can tell me with any authority whether this is just a phonetic variant
of さむい or actually a completely different word. In any case, the meanings are
the same.

Example: ことしの　ふゆは　さぶいのお

This winter’s really cold…

Shiretoru
This is a local contraction (I think) of “たいしたことではない” or, “Aw,
it’s nothing.” I haven’t yet had a chance to use it in conversation myself,
but I’m biding my time.

Example: A: あのひと　すごい　あたまが　ええ
　 B: いやあ　たかがしれとる
A: That guy is really smart.
B: Ah, he’s not that smart…

Sukan 気に食わない
ki ni kuwanai (dislike something intensely)

Example:　　この　りょうりは　すかん
I really hate this food.

Tawan とどかない
To be unable to reach something. The positive form of the verb is たう、but
this isn’t heard as often as the negative.

Example:　　プールが　ふかくて　あしが　たわん
This pool’s deep and my feet don’t reach the bottom.

Yanekoi めんどくさい
Basically means the same thing as たいぎい above. Usually used by older people.

Example:　　ゆきみちは　やねこい
Snow-bound roads are really bothersome (i.e., hard to drive on).

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