, commonly called , is a dialect of Japanese spoken in Ōita Prefecture in Kyushu, Japan. Even within the prefecture, regional differences are still prevalent; for example, vocabulary within the Hita and Nakatsu regions tends to differ from that used in other regions of Ōita.
Outline Ōita-ben has been strongly influenced by dialects from the Chūgoku region of Japan. For example, compared to other dialects within Kyushu, the sentence-final particle , the contradictory conjunction , and the secondary substantive particle are rarely used. However, the word endings (emphasizing) and (explanatory) are frequently used.
Grammar Potential forms of verbs Apart from the younger generation's tendency to skip the ra when forming some standard Japanese potential verbs ("ra"-removed words), the Ōita-ben usage is considered a fairly old custom. For example: The potential form of miru being pronounced mireru instead of mirareru.
In addition, there are three forms of potential verbs in Ōita-ben, depending on whether the potential is objective, subjective, or related to personal ability.
taberaruru – An objective potential form; for example, because something hasn’t gone rotten, you can eat it. The negative potential is taberaren. tabereru – A subjective potential form; for example, because you aren’t full yet, you can eat it. The negative potential is taberen. tabekiru – A potential form that relates to personal ability; for example, others might not be able to eat it because they dislike it, but you can eat it. The negative potential is tabekiran.
-yoru and -choru In general, -yoru refers to the progression or continuation of an action or occurrence, while -choru refers to the completion, continuation, or result of a condition or status. They are common in many western Japanese dialects. -yoru can change to -yon, while -choru can change to -chon as well.
“Sakki kara ame ga furiyoru naa.” – For some time, it has been (and is still currently) raining. “Itsun ma ni ka ame ga futchoru naa.” - I wasn't aware it had been raining (it is already clearing up).
Word endings and connectives -tcha – attached to the ends of words for emphasis. For example, “Chigau tcha! Ore wa yatchoran ccha!” which becomes “Chigau tte! Ore wa yatte nai tte!” in standard Japanese, means “No! I didn't do it!” -tchi – equivalent to the standard Japanese word ending -tte, it is used to quote something that was said or that you heard from someone else. Sometimes sounds like -tchie. For example, “Ano futari kekkon shita tchie”, which becomes “Ano futari kekkon shita tte yo” in standard Japanese, means “I heard those two got married.” -tchi is used not only in Ōita-ben, but is also heard in the Kitakyushu and Kurume regions. However, in Ōita-ben there is a strong trend for other te sounds (aside from the conjunctive particle te) to change to a chi sound. “Chotto kiichi kuri”, which becomes “Chotto kiite kure” in standard Japanese, roughly translates to “Listen to me.” “Matchi kuri”, which becomes “Matte kure” in standard Japanese, translates to “Wait for me.” -ni – similar to the da yo found in standard Japanese. For example, “Mada shukudai shite nai ni”, which becomes “Mada shukudai shite nain da yo” in standard Japanese, means “I haven’t done my homework yet.” -ya ni – almost the same as the plain -ni. For example, “Anta no koto ga suki ya ni”, which becomes “Anata no koto ga suki nan da yo” in standard Japanese, means “I like you.” -ken – equivalent to the standard kara meaning “because”, this is widely used across Kyushu. sogee, dogee, kogee, agee – the Ōita-ben equivalents of sonna, donna, konna, anna -kae – can be either the standard Japanese question particle kai or a substitute for the “Please do...” / ...shinasai form. However, this ending is falling out of use with the younger generation. ”Genki kae?” which becomes “Genki kai?” in standard Japanese, translates to “Are you well?” ”Tsukattara chanto naosan kae”, which becomes “Tsukattara chanto katazukenasai” in standard Japanese, translates roughly to “If you use it, clean up properly when you’re done.”
Usage Verbs Irregular conjugation of verbs ending in -nu remains in Ōita-ben. This table shows the conjugations for different tenses of the verbs and . Inu is not used in standard Japanese.
Basic formDialectConjugated formImperfectiveContinuativePredicativeAttributiveHypotheticalImperativeshinu, inuStandard Japanese-na-ni-nu-nu-ne-neŌita-ben-na-ni-nuru-nuru-nura-ne, -niyoOld Japanese-na-ni-nu-nuru-nure-ne
The conjugation of verbs from Old Japanese still remains in Ōita-ben. However, the predicative takes the same form as the attributive. This table shows the conjugations for the verbs , (, old Japanese only), , and (, old Japanese only).
Basic formDialectConjugated formImperfectiveContinuativePredicativeAttributiveHypotheticalImperativemieruStandard Japanese-e-e-eru-eru-ere-ero, -eyoŌita-ben-e-e-yuru-yuru-yure-ero, -eyomiyuOld Japanese-e-e-yu-yuru-yure-eyoreruStandard Japanesererererurerurererero, reyoŌita-benrererurururururerero, reyoruOld Japaneserererururururereyo
The conjugation of verbs from standard Japanese has become mixed with the conjugation of verbs in Ōita-ben. This table shows the conjugation for the verb .
Basic formDialectConjugated formImperfectiveContinuativePredicativeAttributiveHypotheticalImperativemiruStandard Japanesemimimirumirumiremire, miyoŌita-benmiramimirumirumiramire, miyo
Adjectives Keiyōshi change form depending on the vowel before the final i. The two vowels combine into one elongated sound.
ai → ee; for example, karai (spicy) → karee ui → ii; for example, akarui (bright) → akarii oi → ii or ee; for example, kuroi (black) → kurii or kuree
Sounds and phonemes In contrast to standard Japanese, there are no velar nasal sounds in Ōita-ben. Like the -to itte → -chi iuchi → -chuchi transformation, it is common for words to contract and become palatised sounds for ease when speaking quickly. toshi wo totte → toshu totchi nani wo itte iru no → nan, iiyon no kae, nan iiyon no ka nou, or nanyou iiyon no kae Liaison of consonants is common, for example mikan wa → mikanna.
Euphonic changes Oita-ben employs euphonic changes often during rapid speech.
Euphonic changes that differ from standard Japanese u euphonic changes -u verbs: omotta (thought) → omoota; sorotta (gathered) → soroota. When the vowel preceding the u is an a, it changes to an o: katta (bought) → koota; moratta (received) → moroota -bu and -mu verbs: asonda (played) → asooda; yonda (read) → yooda. This change is falling out of use with the younger generation. Keiyōshi: akakute (red) → akoote; takakute (high, expensive) → takoote i euphonic changes -su verbs: sashita (raised, pointed) → saita; kashita (lent) → kaita. When the vowel preceding the su is an o, it changes to an i: nokoshita (left over) → nokiita; modoshita → mojiita (returned). This change is also falling out of use with the younger generation.
Accent Words in Ōita-ben are accented according to a slight variation of the Tokyo dialect’s pitch accent. The western Hita region, while still considered to utilize the pitch accent of the Tokyo dialect, has some minor differences in intonation, while areas close to the inland Kumamoto and Miyazaki Prefectures sometimes utilize the “no accent” pitch that is characteristic of those prefectures.NHK. "NHK". NHK Publication, 1998.
Words with accents that differ from standard Japanese In this list, the left side is the standard intonation, while the right is the Ōita-ben intonation. The accented part is in bold. ya : ya (arrow) ono : ono (axe) kumo : kumo (cloud) fuku : fuku (clothes) nomi : nomi (flea) aida : aida (space, interval) – in the standard intonation, the tone is actually closer to monotone, while Ōita-ben emphasizes the latter half of the word abura : abura (oil) awabi : awabi (abalone) itachi : itachi (weasel) kawara : kawara (roof tile) kimono : kimono (kimono) kinjo : kinjo (neighborhood) senaka : senaka (back) tasuki : tasuki (a sash, or a cord used to tie the strings of a kimono) tabako : tabako (cigarettes/tobacco) Chiyoko : Chiyoko (a girls' name) tsutsuji : tsutsuji (azalea) hashira : hashira (pillar) yuube : yuube (last night, evening) obasan : obasan (“ma’am”, an old lady) – when obasan means aunt instead, the pitch accent is the same as the standard koumori : koumori (bat) saku : saku (to bloom) nuku : nuku (to omit) hairu : hairu (to enter) ooi : ooi (many)
Changes in pronunciation za, zo → da, do; for example, zoukin (dust-cloth) → doukin nou → nyou; for example, kinou (yesterday) → kinyou rada → dara; for example, karada (body) → kadara. However, aside from karada, no other words have this widespread change in pronunciation (though some older Ōita residents may pronounce other words similarly). anna → agena, sonna → sogena, dounimo kounimo → dogen kogen, and other similar instances. Additionally, when speaking rapidly, anna → aina and similar changes are common. tsu → tu; for example tsumaran (boring) → tumaran. This mainly exists in the northern regions of Ōita, especially with people middle-aged or older.
Characteristic vocabulary This section contains some of the typical words and phrases in Ōita-ben. Words are listed according to Japanese alphabetical order with Ōita-ben on the left and standard Japanese on the right. The accented syllable is in bold.
aii/aee : aoi (blue) ataru : sawaru (to touch) ado : kakato (heel [of a foot, shoe, etc.]) abo : mochi ayuru : a verb describing the action when strong winds cause fruits or berries to fall from tree branches arakii/arakenee : arappoi (rough, rude) anshi : ano hito (that person). shi comes from the kanji meaning "people", and anshi is thought to have come from the term . 'iichiko' : ii (good). Used in northern Ōita, especially the Nakatsu area. chiko is an emphasizing suffix. The sake company Sanwa Shurui makes a barley shōchū of the same name. ikazu toukyouben : a term to make fun of someone who tries to hold informal conversations (as opposed to polite speech) in standard Japanese rather than Ōita-ben. ikachii : Used in the northern regions, its meaning is similar to the seikaku ga warui ("bad person") meaning of oroii found below. In two-person conversations it is often used to refer to the other person in a non-serious, joking manner ("Anta ikachii waa!"), but it can also be used to negatively refer to a third-person. issunzuri : a term that refers to heavy traffic, specifically the motion of moving and then stopping, moving and then stopping. icchikacchi : a type of oak nut, specifically the Japanese Stone Oak, that you can eat without having to cook it to get rid of the astringent taste. ido : oshiri (buttocks). Used by women. ibishii/ibishigenee : kitanai, kimochi warui (dirty, creepy) iyari/iari : ari (ant). A corruption of ie ari (house ant), it refers to ants that invade the house in search of food. utachii : kitanai (dirty) eerashii : kawaii (cute). Sometimes pronounced erashii. enoha : yamane (landlocked masu salmon, the name of a fish) oisan, obasan : ojisan ("mister" or "uncle"), obasan ("ma'am" or "aunt"). An intimate term. okudo : kamado (an iron pot or kettle) ojii/odee/ozoi/odoi : kowai (scary) ojami : otedama (beanbag, beanbag juggling game) ossan : oshousan (Bhikkhu) ottoroshii : osoroshii (terrible) ottoroshunakotsu/ottorosshanou : sugoi naa ("Amazing!" "Great!" etc. - an expression of admiration) orabu : sakebu (to shout, to cry out) oroii : In the northern areas and in Hita, it can mean either furui (old) or zurui (unfair). In Kitsuki and some other areas, it means seikaku ga warui ("bad personality" or a bad person). onbo/oppo : onbu (carrying on one's back) kaku : motsu, katsugu (to hold or carry [something large]) kataguru : ninau (to carry [luggage, etc.] over the shoulder) ~surukatade : ~shinagara (while doing~)