If you\u2019re studying Japanese and want to explore regional dialects, Tohoku-ben (\u6771\u5317\u5f01) is a fascinating and unique choice. Spoken in the Tohoku region (northeastern Japan), Tohoku dialect is known for its distinct sounds, unique vocabulary, and rural charm. This guide will introduce you to the basics of Tohoku-ben, including pronunciation, common phrases, and grammar differences from standard Japanese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tohoku-ben is characterized by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Tohoku-ben, you\u2019ll notice:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Example<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Standard: \u4eca\u65e5\u306f\u5bd2\u3044\u3067\u3059\u306d\u3002 Here are some phrases and their equivalents in standard Japanese:<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Tohoku-ben, some verb endings are shortened or replaced with unique forms. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Example:<\/em> Negative verbs in Tohoku-ben often use -\u306d (-ne)<\/strong> or -\u306d\u3048 (-nee)<\/strong> instead of the standard -\u306a\u3044 (-nai)<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Example:<\/em> \u4eca\u65e5\u306f\u98ef\u3001\u98df\u3079\u306d\u304c\uff1f Instead of \u304b (ka)<\/strong>, Tohoku-ben uses \u304c (ga)<\/strong> or \u3051 (ke)<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Standard:<\/strong> \u5bd2\u3044\u304b\u3089\u3001\u65e9\u304f\u5bb6\u306b\u5e30\u308d\u3046\u3002 Standard:<\/strong> \u4eca\u65e5\u3082\u4ed5\u4e8b\u9811\u5f35\u3089\u306a\u3044\u3068\u3044\u3051\u306a\u3044\u3002 Mastering Tohoku-ben can add a rich layer of cultural understanding to your Japanese skills. With practice and immersion, you\u2019ll soon appreciate the warmth and charm of this rural dialect. \u3078\u3070\u3001\u307e\u305f\u306a\uff01<\/strong> (Heba, mata na!<\/em>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you\u2019re studying Japanese and want to explore regional dialects, Tohoku-ben (\u6771\u5317\u5f01) is a fascinating and unique choice. Spoken in the Tohoku region (northeastern Japan), Tohoku dialect is known for its distinct sounds, unique vocabulary, and rural charm. This guide will introduce you to the basics of Tohoku-ben, including pronunciation, common phrases, and grammar differences […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,33],"tags":[49],"class_list":["post-1649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dialects","category-grammar","tag-tohoku"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joyokanjikai.com\/learning-japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joyokanjikai.com\/learning-japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joyokanjikai.com\/learning-japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joyokanjikai.com\/learning-japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joyokanjikai.com\/learning-japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1649"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.joyokanjikai.com\/learning-japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1650,"href":"https:\/\/www.joyokanjikai.com\/learning-japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1649\/revisions\/1650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joyokanjikai.com\/learning-japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joyokanjikai.com\/learning-japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joyokanjikai.com\/learning-japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
(\u304d\u3087\u3046\u306f\u3055\u3080\u3044\u3067\u3059\u306d, Kyou wa samui desu ne.)
Tohoku: \u4eca\u65e5\u3001\u3055\u307f\u3043\u306a\u3002
(\u304d\u3087\u3046\u3001\u3055\u307f\u3043\u306a, Kyou, samii na.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nCommon Phrases in Tohoku-ben<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
Meaning:<\/em> \u201cYes\u201d or \u201cThat\u2019s right.\u201d
Standard:<\/em> \u305d\u3046\u3060 (Sou da<\/em>).
Example:<\/em>
A: \u660e\u65e5\u3082\u96ea\u304b\u306a\uff1f (\u3042\u3057\u305f\u3082\u3086\u304d\u304b\u306a, Ashita mo yuki kana?<\/em>)
B: \u3093\u3060\u3002 (\u3093\u3060, N da<\/em>.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Meaning:<\/em> \u201cGoodbye\u201d or \u201cSee you later.\u201d
Standard:<\/em> \u3058\u3083\u3042\u306d (Jaa ne<\/em>).
Example:<\/em>
\u3078\u3070\u3001\u307e\u305f\u306a\uff01 (\u3078\u3070\u3001\u307e\u305f\u306a, Heba, mata na!<\/em>)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Meaning:<\/em> \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d
Standard:<\/em> \u308f\u304b\u3089\u306a\u3044 (Wakaranai<\/em>).
Example:<\/em>
\u4f55\u3059\u308c\u3070\u3044\u3044\u304b\u3001\u308f\u304c\u3093\u306d\u3002
(\u306a\u306b\u3059\u308c\u3070\u3044\u3044\u304b\u3001\u308f\u304c\u3093\u306d, Nani sureba ii ka, wagan ne<\/em>.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Meaning:<\/em> \u201cWell then…\u201d or \u201cIn that case…\u201d
Standard:<\/em> \u305d\u308c\u3067\u306f (Sore de wa<\/em>).
Example:<\/em>
\u3057\u305f\u3063\u3051\u3001\u884c\u3050\u3079\u306a\u3002
(\u3057\u305f\u3063\u3051\u3001\u3044\u3050\u3079\u306a, Shitakke, igu be na<\/em>.)
Translation: “Well then, let\u2019s go.”<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nGrammar and Verb Conjugation in Tohoku-ben<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Simplified Verb Endings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\u4eca\u3001\u98ef\u98df\u3063\u3066\u308b (\u3044\u307e\u3001\u3081\u3057\u304f\u3063\u3066\u308b, Ima, meshi kutteru<\/em>) = “I\u2019m eating now.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Standard: \u884c\u3053\u3046 (\u3044\u3053\u3046, ikou<\/em>) \u2192 Tohoku: \u884c\u3050\u3079 (\u3044\u3050\u3079, igube<\/em>).
Example:<\/em> \u660e\u65e5\u3001\u5c71\u884c\u3050\u3079\uff01
(\u3042\u3057\u305f\u3001\u3084\u307e\u3044\u3050\u3079, Ashita, yama igube!<\/em>)
Translation: “Let\u2019s go to the mountains tomorrow!”<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n2. Negative Verbs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
(\u304d\u3087\u3046\u306f\u3081\u3057\u3001\u305f\u3079\u306d\u304c, Kyou wa meshi, tabene ga?<\/em>)
Translation: “Aren\u2019t you eating today?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n3. Question Particles<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nTohoku Vocabulary Cheat Sheet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Tohoku-ben<\/th> Standard Japanese<\/th> English<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> \u308f\u308a\u3043 (warii<\/em>)<\/td> \u3054\u3081\u3093 (gomen<\/em>)<\/td> Sorry<\/td><\/tr> \u3051\u3063\u3071\u308b (kepparu<\/em>)<\/td> \u9811\u5f35\u308b (ganbaru<\/em>)<\/td> To work hard<\/td><\/tr> \u3057\u3083\u3063\u3053\u3044 (shakkoi<\/em>)<\/td> \u51b7\u305f\u3044 (tsumetai<\/em>)<\/td> Cold (to the touch)<\/td><\/tr> \u306a\u3052\u308b (nageru<\/em>)<\/td> \u6368\u3066\u308b (suteru<\/em>)<\/td> To throw away<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nPractice Sentences<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
(\u3055\u3080\u3044\u304b\u3089\u3001\u306f\u3084\u304f\u3044\u3048\u306b\u304b\u3048\u308d\u3046, Samui kara, hayaku ie ni kaerou.<\/em>)
Tohoku:<\/strong> \u3055\u307f\u3043\u304c\u3089\u3001\u306f\u3084\u3050\u5bb6\u3055\u5e30\u3063\u307a\u3002
(\u3055\u307f\u3043\u304c\u3089\u3001\u306f\u3084\u3050\u3044\u3048\u3055\u304b\u3048\u3063\u307a, Samii gara, hayagu ie sa kaeppe.<\/em>)
Translation: “It\u2019s cold, so let\u2019s hurry home.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(\u304d\u3087\u3046\u3082\u3057\u3054\u3068\u304c\u3093\u3070\u3089\u306a\u3044\u3068\u3044\u3051\u306a\u3044, Kyou mo shigoto ganbaranai to ikenai.<\/em>)
Tohoku:<\/strong> \u4eca\u65e5\u3082\u4ed5\u4e8b\u3001\u3051\u3063\u3071\u3089\u306d\u3070\u306a\u3093\u306d\u3002
(\u304d\u3087\u3046\u3082\u3057\u3054\u3068\u3001\u3051\u3063\u3071\u3089\u306d\u3070\u306a\u3093\u306d, Kyou mo shigoto, kepparane ba nan ne.<\/em>)
Translation: “I need to work hard again today.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nTips for Learning Tohoku-ben<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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