Hiroshima-ben 101
Quick fix
Japanese classes do not cover the Hiroshima variant of Japanese. Here is a quick fix 1.1.
Know how to say BUCHI, something you can do immediately
We have a very distinct way of emphasizing adjectives. BUCHI is the one that you can start using immediately.
Very great --> buchi sugoi ぶち すごい (or sugee すげえ)
Very cold --> buchi samui ぶち さむい (or samee さみー)
Very good --> buchi ee ぶち ええ ("ii いい"
in standard Japanese)
Very boring --> buchi tsumaran ぶち つまらん ("tsumaranai つまらない"
in standard Japanese)
Examples:
Today's weather is very nice.
きょうは てんきが ぶち ええ
This is very delicious
ぶち うまい（うまー）
I am very glad
ぶち うれしー
If you want to impress Hiroshima natives, memorize how Buchi transforms:
Tasty --> うまー
Very tasty --> Buchi uma- ぶち うまー
Very very tasty --> Bachi uma- ばち うまー
Very very very tasty --> Kachi uma- かち うまー
If you hit your head accidentaly, say this depending on the intensity of a pain:
It hurts --> ita- いたー（いたい）
It hurts badly --> buchi ita- ぶち いたー
It feels like my head is chopped off --> bachi ita- ばち いたー
I am dying --> kachi ita- かち いたー
People's names
This is something that people in Hiroshima may not be aware of. They read people's names with different
intonation from people living in other regions. For example, in standard Japanese, a name like HIROKO is said with a
pitch like HIroko. But in Hiroshima we say hiROko. AKIRA (equal pictch in Tokyo) is read like aKIra. I guess
we tend to have a stress on the second syllabuls. So what you can do is to listen to people's name carefully and
imitate the exact pitch. But again this is so subtle even to people living in Hiroshima.
End a sentence with JAKEN instead of DA or DESU.
Technically JA corresponds to "-- da," a assertive form of "--desu," which means "is." KEN is "kara"
or "because." Put together, "Ja-ken" means "dakara," which roughly means "is... because." Now technicalty ends
here. Just say JAKEN at the end of a sentence instead of DESU.
Examples:
Standard Japanese: Watashi wa American jin desu (I am an American). 私はアメリカ人です
Hiroshima-ben: (Watashi-wa) American jin jaken. 私はアメリカ人じゃけん
Why "jaken" whose "ken" part suggests some kind of stating a reason. I don't know. But
even in English people often say "'cause" for no reason. Example:
"Why do you want money?'
"Cause..."
"''cause" here means nothing really.
Pronouns
In Hiroshima we refer to ourselves differently. People think we sound like grandpa or granma talking.
It feels old.
Watashi (I)
Male: wa-shi わし (ta part is deleted)
Female: uchi うち (which literally means "home" or "house"
Examples:
Standard Japanese: Watashi wa America-jin desu.
Hiroshima-ben: Male: Washi wa America-jin Jaken. わしはアメリカ人じゃけん
Female: Uchi wa America-jin Jaken. うちはアメリカ人じゃけん
Contraction of pronouns when used with "wa"
Washi-wa and Uchi-wa change in this way when people are speaking casually and fast
Washi wa America jin jaken --> Washa- America jin jaken. わしゃーアメリカ人じゃけん
Uchi wa America jin jaken --> Ucha- America jin jaken. うちゃーアメリカ人じゃけん
Note this sort of contraction happens in English also.
I am an American --> I mana merican.
I am going to go to a store --> I mana go to a store.
The same happens in Hiroshima-ben.
We and they
To refer to a group of individuals, we put "ra-" at the end of a pronoun or nouns
We --> Washi ra- わしらー
You guys --> Anta ra- あんたらー
Those guys --> Aitsu ra- あいつらー
The teachers --> sensei ra- 先生（せんせい）らー
Examples:
How are you guys doing? --> Antara- do shoru-n? あんたらー、どーしょーるん？
What are the teachers doing? --> Sensei-ra nani shoru-n? せんせいらー、何しょーるん？
SHORU しょーる as a present progressive
SHORU-N しょーるん as a question
shoru しょーる means SHITEIRU (-- be doing). Examples:
Standard Japanese --> Hiroshima ben
--shiteiru --> shoru しょーる
--yatteiru --> yaryoru やりょーる
Benkyo shiteiru (I am studying) --> Benkyo shoru べんきょー しょーる
Benkyo shiteiru no? (Are you studying?) --> Benkyo shoru-n? べんきょー しょーるん
Terebi de nanika yatteiru (there is something on TV) --> terebi de nanika yaryoru テレビでなんか やりょーる
Terebi de nanika yatteru? (Is there something on TV?)--> terebi de nanika yaryoru-n?テレビでなんかやりょーるん？
Like ... You know .. what can I say
American people say "you know," "like," "you know what I mean" to fill the gaps in betwen utterances.
In Hiroshima, say these:
Jaken じゃけん (roughly means "because")
Jaken-no じゃけんのー (if male)
Jaken-ne じゃけんねー (if female)
Do yu-n どーゆーん (what can I say)
Do yu-n kano- どーゆーんかの？(What can I say I wonder)
