Moderately Interesting Japanese Ep. 8 Hokkaido Dialect
The typical winter scenery of Hokkaido.
One of my favorite aspects of language learning is studying dialects. I am fascinated by how language branches and adapts to new environments like some form of linguistic natural selection. Japanese is rife with interesting dialects, some of which are so different from the standard that they can sound like a totally different language to the untrained ear. I thought I’d make a series of posts highlighting different dialects in Japanese. Since this sort of post will take a bit more research on my end and I plan to find native speakers of the dialect to confirm with, they won’t be very regular, but I hope that you enjoy them!
What are some of the main Japanese dialects?
Firstly, let me tell you how to say “dialect” in Japanese, because I know I’m gonna use it and I don’t want to cause any confusion.
___弁 (__-ben)
__ Dialect, so “Osaka Dialect” is “Osaka-ben.”
I daresay that just about 100% of all Japanese learners are familiar with Tokyo-ben, because it is Standard Japanese. The next most popular dialect is Kansai-ben, which is spoken in the Kansai region (Osaka, Hiroshima, etc.). The Kansai Dialect can be broken down into several smaller, regional dialects. Next would probably be Okinawa-ben.
(Caution! Some people, particularly Okinawans, consider Okinawan Japanese to be a language independent from Japanese, and they can be offended if you refer to it as a dialect. Japan’s official stance is that Okinawan is a dialect, though, so I am calling it a dialect in my posts.)
Now without further ado, let’s actually start learning about one of these dialects!
Hokkaido is the island in green. It’s the biggest prefecture in Japan by far.
I am a foreigner and Japanese is not my native language, but I have been living on the island of Hokkaido for 5 years now and am very comfortable with the Hokkaido dialect, so I chose to introduce it to you first. Also, it’s not one that gets talked about a lot, so I figured maybe there weren’t many posts about it.
Hokkaido is the northernmost island of Japan, and it wasn’t settled and officially incorporated as part of Japan until the late 1800′s. There is a group of indigenous people here called the Ainu who speak a language completely different from Japanese, but their language has not bled into Hokkaido-ben. (Many place names in Hokkaido are from Ainu, though).
Because Hokkaido was settled so late in history compared to the other islands of Japan, their dialect doesn’t differ drastically from Tokyo-ben. There are some minor intonation differences that, frankly, I don’t feel confident explaining. I have internalized the intonations through exposure, but I’ve never been taught it and don’t really know what is correct. So I’m not going to talk about tonal differences, and instead focus on the different words and a wee bit of grammar.
Standard Japanese: 捨てる suteru
English: to dispose of (lit. “to throw/toss”)
To an English speaker, “throw away” feels just as natural as “dispose of.” But to people outside of Hokkaido, it sounds very unusual and the image it conjures is comedic, like someone is hurling trash into the garbage can like it’s the opening pitch at the World Series.
Example: そこの古い新聞を投げていいよ。
Romaji: Soko no furui shinbun wo nagete ii yo.
Standard: そこの古い新聞を捨てていいよ。
Romaji: Soko no furui shinbun wo sutete ii yo.
English: You can throw away those old newspapers there.
English: dangerous, scary, a “close call”
My hostmom uses this with me, like, all the time. According to her, I’m always doing okkanai things, like walking alone at night or *gasp* going outside with wet hair. I love her so much haha.
Example: うちの子が熊のぬいぐるみだと思って遊んでいたのは本当の子グマだった。おっかなかったわ！
Romaji: Uchi no ko ga kuma no nuigurumi da to omotte asonde ita noha hontou no koguma datta. Okkanakatta wa!
Standard: うちの子が熊のぬいぐるみだと思って遊んでいたのは本当の子グマだった。危なかったわ！
Romaji: Uchi no ko ga kuma no nuigurumi da to omotte asonde ita noha hontou no koguma datta. Abunakatta wa!
English: Our kid thought he was playing with a teddy bear, but it was actually a live bear cub. What a close call!
（手袋を）履く (Tebukuro wo) haku
Standard:（手袋を）はめる (tebukuro wo) hameru
English: to put on (gloves)
Winter in Hokkaido is long and cold. Gloves are one of the most essential articles of clothing here, and I have heard/used “haku” so much that “hameru” sounds incorrect to me. The “haku” sounds funny to other Japanese people because it is used for putting on socks, underwear, and pants, and they will imagine you putting socks or panties on your hands instead of gloves.
Example: 外は寒いから、手袋を履きなさい。
Romaji: Soto ha samui kara, tebukuro wo hakinasai.
Standard: 外は寒いから、手袋をはめなさい。
Romaji: Soto ha samui kara, tebukuro wo hamenasai.
English: It’s cold out, so put on your gloves.
Standard Japanese: 可愛い kawaii
I included this because it’s one of the famous aspects of Hokkaido-ben, but I actually don’t hear it used that much. I tend to see it on souvenir shirts for tourists more than in actual conversations.
Example: この子猫はめっちゃめんこい！
Romaji: Kono koneko ha meccha menkoi!
Standard: この子猫はめっちゃかわいい！
Romaji: Kono koneko ha meccha kawaii!
English: This kitten is super cute!
Note: Even though it is functioning as an adjective and ends with an “i,” it is not an “i” adjective. It is a “na” adjective.
Standard: 居心地が悪い、嫌 igokochi ga warui, iya
English: uncomfortable (surroundings), unpleasant
This is a word that many Hokkaido people use but struggle to explain. Azumashikunai describes any place that you find unpleasant or uncomfortable, maybe due to it being too crowded, or too empty, or because it’s very cramped, for example.
Example: 日曜日の札幌駅が人混みであずましくない。
Romaji. Nichiyoubi no Sapporo-eki ga hitogomi de azumashikunai.
Standard: 日曜日の札幌駅が人混みで嫌だ。
Romaji: Nichiyoubi no Sapporo-eki ga hitogomi de iya da.
English: Sapporo Station is always crowded on Sundays and I don’t like it.
English: different (in a bad way), off-kilter, something is “off”
Hokkaido people really struggle to explain izui because Standard Japanese doesn’t have an equivalent for it, but I think it can be likened to “off” in English. You got something in your eye but can’t find it and your eye feels funny? Your eye is izui. You have a hair in your shirt and can’t find it? That feels izui. Sometimes it can be a mysterious ache not painful enough to warrant a visit to the doctor, or sometimes it can just be a sense that something is “off.”
Example: 目にゴミが入って、いずい。
Romaji: Me ni gomi ga haitte, izui.
Standard:目にゴミが入って、痛い。
Romaji: Me ni gomi ga haitte, itai.
English: Something got in my eye and now it feels off.
English: (train, lit. “steam engine”)
The first time I came to Japan, I could just barely hold down an everyday conversation in Japanese. My hostparents (hostdad especially) both spoke very strong Hokkaido-ben, and during my first meal with them my hostdad asked if I had traveled from the airport to their city by “steam engine,” and I was just baffled. Wait, did he just say locomotive? What year is it? Are steam engines still a thing in Japan?! Then my kind hostmother explained that he meant regular, modern trains.
Example: すみません、函館ゆきの汽車はいつ出発しますか？
Romaji: Sumimasen, Hakodate-yuki no kisha ha itsu shuppatsu shimasu ka?
Standard: すみません、函館ゆきの電車はいつ出発しますか？
Romaji: Sumimsaen, Hakodate-yuki no densha ha itsu shuppatsu shimasuka?
English: Excuse me, when does the train bound for Hakodate leave the station?
Being the northernmost prefecture and next door to Russia, it’s only natural that Hokkaido-ben have its own word for “cold.”
Example: このかき氷ってめっちゃしゃっこい！
Romaji; Kono kakigoori tte meccha shakkoi!
Standard: このかき氷ってめっちゃ冷たい！
Romaji: Kono kakigoori tte meccha tsumetai!
English: This shaved ice is super cold!
Standard: とうもろこし Toumorokoshi
Hokkaido is famous for their sweet corn, and “toukibi” is a word you will hear a lot here as a result. A popular summer snack is corn on the cob with soy sauce and butter, and it’s made just like in the gif above! Japanese people tend to eat it using a toothpick, picking off kernel by kernel. So when I just rocked up, grabbed an ear and started going to town on it, they thought I was a barbarian hahaha.
Example: やっぱり、とうきびに醤油だね！
Romaji: Yappari, toukibi ni shouyu da ne!
Standard: やっぱり、とうもろこしに醤油だね！
Romaji: Yappri, toumorokoshi ni shouyu da ne!
English: Soy sauce really does go good with corn!
Standard: とても totemo、結構 kekkou
English: very, super, rather
This word is like “menkoi,” in that it is famous throughout Japan for being Hokkaido-ben, but I rarely hear it in actual conversations. I hear people use it when they are surprised by something. “Namara oishii” has a nuance of “It’s (actually) very tasty.”
Example: 曇ってるけど、今日の天気はなまらいい。
Romaji: Kumotteru kedo, kyou no tenki ha namara ii.
Standard: 曇ってるけど、今日の天気はけっこういい。
Romaji: Kumotteru kedo, kyou no tenki ha kekkou ii.
English: It’s cloudy today, but it’s still pretty good weather.
My friend asked me to go get a couple drinks from the convenience store. I came back with a bottle for her and for me and she asked, “Nanbo datta?” I thought that bo was maybe a counter for things, and desperately tried to figure out what we were supposed to be counting. Then she explained that, for whatever reason, “nanbo” means “how much (does something cost)?”
Example: そのお弁当はめっちゃ美味しそう！なんぼだった？
Romaji: Sono obentou ha meccha oishisou! Nanbo datta?
Standard: そのお弁当はめっちゃ美味しそう！いくらだった？
Romaji: Sono obentou ha meccha oishisou! Ikura datta?
English: That bento looks super good! How much was it?
English: go bad (produce)
In standard Japanese, “bokeru” means “to go senile” or “to develop dementia/Alzheimer’s.” While I wouldn’t say it’s a slur bad enough that it would be bleeped out, it certainly isn’t a kind way to refer to aging.
So when my host mom told me, “I would give you some apples, but they’re all senile” I had no clue what she was going on about. But then she showed them to me, and they were all wrinkled like this:
Not exactly the most appetizing, but also not entirely rotten. I’m really not sure why Hokkaido-ben likens produce to senility, but if I had to guess, I’d say it’s because pretty much every single person with Alzheimer’s/dementia is wrinkled.
Example: このリンゴはボケてるから、パイでも作ろうか…
Romaji: Kono ringo ha boketeru kara, pai demo tsukurou ka…
Standard: このリンゴは腐りかけてるから、パイでも作ろうか…
Romaji: Kono ringo ha kusarikaketeru kara, pai demo tsukurou ka…
English: These apples are about to go bad, so I guess I’ll make a pie…
Standard ～だろう、～でしょう darou, deshou
This is probably the most famous aspect of Hokkaido-ben. Japanese people get a real kick out of it when this white girl uses it haha. “~be” is a sentence-ending particle that functions about the same as “darou” or “deshou” in that it:
asserts the speaker’s confidence in the likelihood of something
asks for the listener’s confirmation
This sentence-final particle has its roots in the particle ～べし (~beshi) found in Classical Japanese, which had a similar purpose. Other forms of ~beshi survive in Modern Standard Japanese with the words べき (beki) and すべく (subeku).
Here are two examples, one for each function ~be fulfills.
Example 1: 君の飛行機はあと5分に出発するって？間に合わないべ！
Romaji: Kimi no hikouki ha ato 5 fun ni shuppatsu suru tte? Maniawanai be!
Standard: 君の飛行機はあと5分に出発するって？間に合わないでしょう！
Romaji: Kimi no hikouki ha ato 5 fun ni shuppatsu suru tte? Maniawanai deshou!
English: You said your plane takes off in 5 minutes? There’s no way you’ll make it!
Example 2: このサラダに白菜も入ってたべ？
Romaji: Kono sarada ni hakusai mo haitteta be?
Standard: このサラダに白菜も入ってたでしょう？
Romaji: Kono sarada ni hakusai mo haitteta deshou?
Standard: There was napa cabbage in this salad too, wasn’t there?
English: imperative command
I really don’t like giving grammar explanations because it’s been a long time since I’ve formally studied Japanese grammar and I’m scared of explaining something poorly or incorrectly. But an upper-elementary level Japanese learner should know that there are many different levels of imperatives in Japanese that vary in politeness. In order of rude to polite, we have:
Imperatives that end in an “e” sound or ろ, as in:
Imperatives that end in tte, te, or de and are not followed by kudasai
Imperatives that end in nasai. (These are most often used by parents/teachers to their children.)
Imperatives that end in tte, te, or de and have kudasai after them.
And then there’s super formal Japanese, but that’s a whole other kettle of fish.
Anyways. Back to the Hokkaido-ben. I went to a picnic here with a Japanese friend’s family, and her aunt gave me a plate of food and said, “Tabere!” I knew that this had to be an imperative, but I had never studied it before. It felt like it was the same as the rudest imperative, and I spent the whole rest of the picnic wondering what on earth I had done to have her family speak to me like that. Conventionally, they should have been using the -tte form or -nasai form with me.
After the party, I asked her, “Dude, what’s the ~re stuff for? Do they not like me?” I was close to tears I was so hurt and confused.
And that when she laughed and explained that the ~re is a facet of Hokkaido-ben, and it is the same in politeness and nuance as the ~nasai imperative used by parents and teachers to their children.
So I had spent several hours thinking that her family hated me, when really they were treating me like I was their own child!
Example: ちゃんと野菜を食べれ！
Romaji: Chanto yasai wo tabere!
Standard: ちゃんと野菜を食べなさい！
Romaji: Chanto yasai wo tabenasai!
English: Eat all of your vegetables properly.
This was a monster of a post. There are actually a few more words I wanted to introduce, but I had to cut it off at some point haha. I hope that you enjoyed this segment of Moderately Interesting Japanese. I plan to make more on the other dialects within Japanese, but they will take a considerable amount of time so they won’t be very often.
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