Ben in the Ken

Sometimes Japanese people (especially older folks and little kids) will talk to you, and you will feel like the entirety of your knowledge of the language has gone completely out the window. Don’t worry, it hasn’t – they’re probably just speaking Toyama-ben! Toyama-ben is the dialect spoken here. It can be challenging to decipher, but even just knowing of its existence can help conversations with your coworkers and other people around the ken go much more smoothly.

Toyama-ben is actually split into many sub-dialects. The biggest division is between Eastern Toyama-ben (呉東方言 Gotou Hougen) and Western Toyama-ben (呉西方言 Gosei Hougen). From there are even more sub-divisions: Gokayama Hougen (spoken in the Shogawa River Basin and farther south), Himi Hougen (spoken in Himi), Chuubu Hougen (spoken in Toyama City and Takaoka), and Niikawa Hougen (spoken in the Niikawa Region - Uozu, Namerikawa, and Kurobe). Niikawa Hougen also has divisions of its own such as Uozu-ben and Shimo-Niikawa-ben.

Some of the things listed here are not strictly Toyama-ben, and can also be found in use in other areas of Japan, particularly in the western half of the country. I have listed them anyway because it’s good to be aware of them. Translation into standard Japanese is italicized in parentheses.

VERB CONJUGATIONS

• The verb ending –teiru becomes –toru.
  • shitoru - to be doing (shiteiru)
  • mitoru - to be seeing (miteiru)
  • E.g. “Kare, shittoru?” - Do you know him? (Kare wa shitteimasu ka?)
• –teita becomes –totta.
  • shitotta - to have done (shiteita)
  • mitotta - to have seen (miteita)
  • E.g. “Ano eiga, mitotta?” - Did you see that movie? (Ano eiga o mimashita ka?)
• The verb ending –n desu (used for emphasis) becomes –tonga.
  • shitonga (shiteirun desu)
  • mitonga (miteirun desu)
  • E.g. “Nani mitonga?!” - What’re you looking at?! (Nani o mirun desu ka?) [A good one to know for those rude staring people.]
• The affirmative imperative verb endings –te and –shi nasai become –rare.
  • Shirare - do ~! (shite/shi nasai)
  • E.g. “Tateyama ni korare!” - Come to Tateyama! (Tateyama ni kite kudasai!), “Tattore!” - Stand up! (Tachi nasai!) [Your JTEs might use that one a lot.]
• –mashou becomes –maike or -nmaike.
  • senmaike – Let’s do ~ (shimashou)
  • E.g. “Aeon ni ikanmaike/ikomaike!” - Let’s go to Aeon! (Aeon ni ikimashou!)

ADJECTIVES/ADVERBS

• Furushii – old (furui)
• Kito-kito – fresh (shinsen) Incidentally, there is a Toyama-based sushi chain called Kitokito Sushi.
• Iki-iki – energetic (genki) The Iki-Iki-Kan is a place in Toyama City where you can do all sorts of fun activities.
• Chacchato – quickly (hayaku, sassato)
• Ijikurashii or hagayashii – annoying, irritating (mukatsuku, haradatsu, hagayui)
• Dayai – tired (darui)
• Katai – clever (kashikoi)
• Dekaito – many, a lot (takusan)
• Ottoroshii – terrible, awful (osoroshii)
• Showashinai – restless, noisy, fidgety (urusai, sewashinai)
• Kowakusai – impertinent, cheeky (namaiki)
• Yakoi – soft (yawarakai)
• Madde – really, very (totemo)

NOUNS

• Dara – fool, idiot (baka)
• Ora – I (ore)
• Toppe – bean curd (tofu)
• Zen – money (okane, en)

VERBS

• Ushinakasu – to lose something (ushinau, nakusu)
• Tachiru – to stand up (tatsu)
• Nemaru – to sit down (suwaru)

EXPRESSIONS

• Kinodokuna – Thank you, I’m sorry (sumimasen)
• Naa, naan – No
• Maidohaya – Hello, greetings (konnichiwa, gomen kudasai) There is a community bus in Toyama City called the Maidohaya.

SENTENCE-ENDING PARTICLES

• -ke – like the standard Japanese question marker ka
  • “Are anta no kaban ke?” – Is that your bag? (Are wa anata no kaban desu ka?)
• -cha – like the standard Japanese yo
  • "Jamanaicha.” – It’s no trouble! (Jama ja nai desu yo.)
• -ze – also like the standard yo, but –ze (also sometimes –zo) suggests you are urging your conversation partner to agree with your statement. While –ze and –zo are usually used only by men in standard Japanese, in Toyama-ben women will also use them.
• -ma – another that is like the standard yo, but –ma is only put at the end of the imperative –rare
  • “Chacchato yararema!” – Hurry up and do it! (Hayaku shiro yo!)
• -gaya or -gai – like the standard Japanese –ndesu or no da.
  • “Sonnagaya.” – That’s how it is. (Sou nan da.)
  • “Sonnagaicha!” – That’s how it is! (Sou nan da yo!)
• -nya – like the standard Japanese ne
  • “Souyanya!” – That’s right, isn’t it? (Sou desu ne!)
  • “Aa, hommanya!” Oh, it’s true, isn’t it! (Aa, hontou desu ne!)

This is just a basic introduction and is not meant to be an exhaustive list. For more information, you can check out the Japanese Wikipedia page on Toyama-ben, the Toyama-ben thread on the ToyamaJets.net forum, or just ask your coworkers! The Kokugo teachers in particular are usually happy to help you figure things out.