Spoken Japanese — Fillers, Pronouns & Kansai Dialect
Conversation devices, pronouns, Kansai dialect, word order, and foundational spoken patterns.
Conversation Devices
| Expression | Usage |
|---|---|
| あのう | "Excuse me." (getting someone's attention) |
| えと（え） | (before asking a question) |
| あのさ（ぁ） | (before informing listener of something) |
| あのさ | (before asking listener to do something) |
| え | (hesitation: trying to remember something) |
| へえ | "Oh, really?" (that's interesting) |
| えっ | "Oh, really?" (that's surprising) |
| まじ | (speaker is surprised/puzzled by something) |
| ほう（ほお） | (speaker is surprised/puzzled by something) |
| おい | "Hey" (getting someone's attention) |
| なに | "What's going on here?" / "Hold on a second." |
| ちょっと | (speaker is distressed by something) |
| もう | (speaker is upset with the listener) |
| やだ | "Look at this!" or "Hurry up already!" |
| まあ | "Whatever." "Oh, fine, have it your way." |
| さあ | (hesitation: deciding how to answer) |
| まあまあ | (attempting to settle someone down) |
| いやあ | "Oh, my goodness." |
| おお（おぉ） | "Oh, no." (when something unfortunate happens) |
| じゃ | "Well, then." (changing to new topic) |
| はい | "Alright then." (finishing/deciding something) |
| まあ | "there, there" (comforting someone) |
| よし | "I did it!" (an exclamation of triumph) |
| ふう | (with brief exertions of physical energy) |
| ちぇ（ちぇっ） | "Ugh!" (disgust) |
| えい | (exclamation when exerting effort or taking action) |
| こら | "Hey!" (scolding/reprimanding) |
"I/me" Words
| Pronoun | Gender | Register |
|---|---|---|
| 私 | M / F | Polite (default) |
| 私 | M / F | Very formal |
| 僕 | M | Casual |
| 俺 | M | Rough / casual |
| あたし | F | Casual |
| あたくし | F | Very formal |
| うち | F | Casual / Kansai |
| わし | M | Elderly / dialectal |
| 自分 | M / F | Humble / neutral |
- 私 is the safest default for all speakers and situations.
- 僕 is the most common casual pronoun for males.
- 俺 is rough but very common among male friends. Perceived differently in Kansai.
- わたし often sounds feminine. Men should use 僕 with も.
- Rare forms: 吾輩 (archaic), 小生 (old-fashioned male), 拙者 (samurai).
- Dialectal: おいら, あたい, わい.
"You" Words
Stage Note
"You" information is regularly omitted in Japanese. When included, it is most common to refer to people by their name or title.
| Pronoun | Gender | Register |
|---|---|---|
| あなた [2] | M / F | Polite (default) |
| 君 | M | Casual |
| お前 | M | Rough / casual |
| あんた | M / F | Rough / casual |
- [2] あなた is a term of endearment when used among couples ("darling/sweetie").
- Avoid あなた with superiors — use their name or title instead.
- お前 can sound confrontational; use with care.
Kansai Dialect
Kyoto Sub-dialect
Entries marked with ● indicate Kyoto-specific variants within the broader Kansai dialect. Kyoto speech tends to be softer and more polite-sounding. Note: stress (pitch accent) is often opposite in Kansai dialect compared to standard Tokyo Japanese [1].
| Standard Japanese | Kansai | Kyoto Sub-dialect |
|---|---|---|
| 〜ない | 〜へん | |
| 〜ないといけない | 〜なあかん | |
| 〜ません | 〜まへん | 〜あらへん ● |
| 〜しまった | 〜もうた | |
| 〜ている | 〜とる | 〜てる ● |
| (command) | 〜え | |
| だ (plain form copula) | や | |
| 〜(progressive) | 〜はる (Honorific) | |
| いる (to be) | おる | |
| よ (well/then) | な | |
| いけない / ダメ | あかん | |
| (sentence-ending) | なんぼ | |
| のだ (〜って) | ねん | |
| 面白い | おもろい | |
| 行かない | いかへん | いかん ● |
| しかたない | しゃあない | |
| たくさん | ぎょうさん | |
| なに | なんや | |
| まあまあ | ぼちぼち | |
| 〜さん (Mr./Ms.) | 〜はん | |
| です | だす | どす ● |
- [1] Stress is opposite in Kansai dialect.
- [2] あなた is a term of endearment when used among couples ("darling/sweetie").
あ vs. そ Pronouns
- あの / あれ / あそこ — used when both the speaker and listener share knowledge of the referent.
- その / それ / そこ — used when only one party (usually the speaker) knows about the referent.
When you say あの人, you assume the listener also knows who you mean. When you say その人, you are not making that assumption.
この前田中さんに会ったんだ。**あの**人、名古屋に転勤になるんだって。
I met Tanaka the other day. He said he's being transferred to Nagoya. (both speaker and listener know Tanaka — use あ)
クラスに田中って男がいるんだけど、**その**男がすごくうるさいんだ。
There's a guy named Tanaka in my class, and that guy is really loud. (listener doesn't know him — use そ)
Tip
If the speaker and listener both directly know the person or thing, use あ-series pronouns. If either the speaker or the listener does not directly know the person or thing, use そ-series and こ-series pronouns.
だろう Expressions
- Expresses frustration or annoyance. The speaker acknowledges a fact but is upset about it.
言っただろうが！
I told you, didn't I! (upset)
- Expresses regret or disappointment about an outcome.
もっと早く言えばよかっただろうに。
It would have been better if you had said so sooner.
- Used as a rhetorical question or to confirm something the speaker expects to be true.
分かるだろう？
You understand, don't you?
- Pairs two contrasting options to express indifference.
無料だろうが有料だろうが関係ない。絶対に買わない。
I don't care if it's free or not. There's absolutely no way I'm buying.
られる → れる
- In informal speech, ら is often dropped from 〜られる to form the potential of RU-verbs.
- Only applies to potential meaning — cannot drop ら from passive or respectful forms.
- (Note: some people consider this bad Japanese.)
食べられる → 食べれる
can eat (spoken form)
見られる → 見れる
can see (spoken form)
出られる → 出れる
can leave / can go out (spoken form)
もったいないけど、こんなに食べ**れ**ない。
It feels like such a waste, but I can't eat this much.
Caution
ら cannot be dropped from the 〜られる passive form. 食べられる as passive ("was eaten") or respectful ("ate" — honorific) keeps the ら.
Word Order
Topic(は) + Setting(に) + Subject(が) + Time(に) + Object(を) + Verb
凧揚げは田中さんが公園で子供に教えます。
As for kite-flying, Mr. Tanaka will teach the children at the park.
Remarks
Particles other than は / が / の and adverbs can appear flexibly. TIME AND PLACE can be used in either the Setting or Details position, depending on the information's relationship to the sentence.
In informal spoken Japanese, normal word order is broken in order to:
- Move obvious or less relevant information to the back of the sentence.
- Emphasize important information by bringing it to the front (= treating the information like a topic).
- Move complex elements (quotes) to the front for grammatical clarity.
先週広島に行ったよ、新幹線で。
Last week I went to Hiroshima for a vacation, by bullet train.
Afterthought
In the example above, 新幹線で is added as an afterthought after the main sentence — a common spoken pattern for providing supplementary details.
ねん is a Kansai-dialect sentence ending particle that softens a sentence by "revealing" the speaker's emotion.
ごっつ簡単やねん。子供でもできるで。
It's really simple. Even a child could do it.
Particle Omission
- Can be omitted: が は を へ
- Cannot be omitted: で と か まで より
- に can be omitted when marking directions/destinations (へ〜).
- に cannot be omitted when marking indirect objects/times.
- は is omitted in order to avoid implying contrast.
- は should not be omitted if creating contrast is intentional.
田中さん、明日パーティーに来るって。
Mr. Tanaka said he would come to the party tomorrow. (は omitted — neutral topic)
田中さん**は**明日パーティーに来るって。
Mr. Tanaka said he would come to the party tomorrow. (は kept — implies contrast, e.g. but maybe not others)
Topic Assumption
Nouns with no particle at the beginning of a sentence are assumed to be topics (は).
映画、昨日見に行った。
Yesterday I went to see a movie. (topic: the movie)
Syllable Stress Differences
Pitch Accent
Japanese uses pitch accent rather than stress accent. The same sequence of sounds can have different meanings depending on which syllables are high or low in pitch.
| Reading | Word A | Meaning | Word B | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| あめ | 雨 | rain | 飴 | candy |
| はし | 箸 | chopsticks | 橋 | bridge |
| かき | 柿 | persimmon | 牡蠣 | oyster |
| くも | 雲 | cloud | 蜘蛛 | spider |
| さけ | 酒 | sake (alcohol) | 鮭 | salmon |
| はな | 花 | flower | 鼻 | nose |
| かみ | 紙 | paper | 髪 | hair |
| きる | 着る | to wear | 切る | to cut |
| いし | 石 | stone | 意志 | will |
| かぜ | 風 | wind | 風邪 | cold (illness) |
| あき | 秋 | autumn | 空き | empty / vacant |
| しろ | 城 | castle | 白 | white |
| あさ | 朝 | morning | 麻 | hemp |
| まつ | 松 | pine | 待つ | to wait |
| のり | 海苔 | seaweed | 糊 | glue |
| ひ | 日 | day / sun | 火 | fire |
| は | 歯 | tooth | 葉 | leaf |
| はち | 八 | eight | 蜂 | bee |
| すむ | 住む | to live | 済む | to finish |
| かう | 買う | to buy | 飼う | to keep (pet) |
| つく | 着く | to arrive | 付く | to attach |
| き | 木 | tree | 気 | spirit / mind |
| め | 目 | eye | 芽 | bud / sprout |
| かた | 型 | type / mold | 肩 | shoulder |
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