Colloquial Japanese

ConFurioso

Hey folks. Just a thought I had. How about posting any useful colloquial phrases we may know? Or local dialect nuances? Or perhaps even 'text spk!'

Just to get the ball rolling....

Easy one: the shortening of すみません to すいません. Nothing too special here. It's pretty much just saying it faster.

I don't know if its an area specific thing, but I noticed sometimes people would cut the endings off adjectives or change them a little. For example.....

The word adjective すごい becoming すごっ (where the small っ reprsents a sudden stop). I've also heard すげええ and すげっ.

See also 安っ as opposed to 安い, 高っ instead of 高い and perhaps the strangest ....かっちぇ instead of かっこいい. Most of the time it was young male adults or students (of both genders).

Last....one of my favourites. The Japanese lol......笑

just-joe

you can say ”うける”　when you think something is very funny or hilarious.

”ヤバイ”　is also very useful and means crazy/cool/amazing and can be used with either a good or bad meaning...

ConFurioso

I think I can safely say ヤバイ is one of the hardest word for me to use in Japanese....>-<

just-joe

really? you can use it any time?! but its not polite or formal, so informal occasions only. yabai!

eg.

this chicken is lovely. yabai!

woah we ate too much pocky. yabai!

rent in dublin is way too expensive. yabai ne.

woah ken watanabe is hot. yabai!

its very hot. yabakunai?

ConFurioso

Ha! Yeah! Sometimes the more subtle situations get me. For example, got this from a student:

'Got 60% in my English test, yabai!'

I said, 'yeah, try harder next time.'

She said, 'naw, YABAI! It's good!'

I said 'not bad????!!'

'No, yabai is good and bad!' She then ran off in hysterics in the way only a Japanese junior high student can do.

I think it was the moment I realised yabai is probably the closest thing in Japanese to 'shït'!

just-joe

haha yeah that could be a good way to translate it. or "woah"

i also love hisashiburi for both general long time no see but also

guinness hisashiburi = long time no guinness

or

misuta donatsu hisashiburi da ne

etc etc

Aard

I have nothing to add, orher than that I find this type of thing fascinating.

What about end of sentence particles? Are these ever altered in a slang way or anything?

ConFurioso

Hisashiburi is one of my favourite Japanese words, along with natsukashii. :-)

On the subject of end of sentence particles, I noticed (in Kanazawa at least) the informal da would be exchanged with ya. So....

Kore ya, instead of kore da. (Usually whilst pointing at something).

However....if the yo particle was used, I'd never hear kore ya yo, it was always kore da yo. Confusing....but understandable. Kore ya yo just sounds a little too weird.

just-joe

recently i like to say いいじゃん　short for いいじゃないですか？ which is like "sure its grand?!"

eg.
I only have 20 euro for the izakaya tonight.

ii jan?! we're only going for an hour