5 Phrases in Kansai Dialect You Should Start Using In Conversations NOW (The Way of the Househusband)

The Way of the Househusband



みなさん、こんにちは!In today’s article, I want to talk about Kansai Dialect from The Way of the Househusband (極主婦道 Gokushufudō) which you can use in conversations. Once you read this article, you will learn 5 expressions in Kansai dialect.

The Way of the Househusband

The Way of the Househusband is a comedy anime series that follows Tatsu, an ex-yakuza who became a househusband to support his wife, Miku. Tatsu’s intimidating appearance and personality add an comedic twist to the otherwise banal domestic work as a househusband. The series was adapted into a live-action TV drama and anime series was released on Netflix.

InThe Way of the Househusband, Tatsu speaks the Kansai dialect. Kansai people are generally perceived as friendly, outgoing and humorous, however, Kansai dialect, as it deviates from the more standard Kanto dialect, can be perceived as informal and unsophisticated in some cases.

Akan – あかん

あかん is a Kansai version of いけません (you may not / it is not OK). You can use this phrase on it’s own, or combine with a た form verb plus ら. Let’s look at the example.

みく「これ買(か)っても良(い)い?」

Miku – kore katte mo ii?

Miku ‘Can we buy this?’

たつ「あかん」 

Tatsu – Akan

Tatsu ‘No’

バーゲンは戦場(せんじょう)や。主夫(しゅふ)なめとったらあかんぞ。

bāgen wa senjō ya. shuhu nametottara akan zo.

Sales is a battlefield. Being a househusband is a no joke.



なめとったらあかんぞ is a very kansai version of なめていたらいけませんよ. While なめる・なめます literally means to lick, it can also mean to disrespect or to underestimate.

Ya – や

や in Kansai dialect is the same as だ or です。Using the above example again, Tatsu says:

バーゲンは戦場(せんじょう)や。

bāgen wa senjō ya.

Sales is a battlefield.

Here you can swap the や for だ without changing the meaning of the whole sentence. While だ is casual yet still the standard Japanese, や creates an effect that make the sentence sound rather outlaw.

Eeka – ええか

ええか is a Kansai version of いいですか (Is it OK). You can use this with a verb て form plus も. However this も can be sometimes omitted.

試(ため)してええか。

tameshite eeka

Is it OK if I try?

You can also use this phrase at the very start of a sentence to get listeners’ attention, in the same way as ‘Listen!’.

Mamore hen – 守れへん

In Kansai dialect, the plain negative form (the ない form) is expressed using this ending へん, instead of ない. For example, where speakers of non-kansai dialect would say 食べない、飲まない、書かない, Kansai dialect speakers would say 食べへん、飲まへん、書かへん. When there is only one vowel in the verb stem, they extend the vowel from the preceding hiragana (見ない becomes 見いへん and 寝ない becomes 寝えへん). With Japanese irregular verbs, する and 来る,

暴力(ぼうりょく)では大切(たいせつ)なもんは守(まも)れへん。

bouryoku dewa taisetsu na mon wa mamore hen.

You cannot protect what’s important to you with violence.

Iutotta – 言うとった

In Kansai dialect, the past continuous form …ていた is expressed とった instead. For example, when 食べていた becomes 食べとった, 見ていた becomes 見とった and 話していた becomes 話しとった. However, there are some exceptions. Some exceptions include 言っていた, which becomes 言っとった, 買っていた, which becomes 買(こ)うとった or 買っとった.

うちの組長(おやじ)もよう言(い)うとった。

Uchino oyaji mo you iutotta.

My boss used to say this often.

Here, 組長 (くみちょう), which is the word for a Yakuza boss comes with a furigana, おやじ, which is a familiar term for father. This is a nickname often used in the yazuka world for their bosses.

Summary – まとめ

In this article, we explored quotes fromThe Way of the Househusband (極主婦道 Gokushufudō), with a particular focus on the kansai dialect. You can remember some of them as phrases, and you can also try applying them to suit your context! I hope you found this article helpful and enjoyed learning kansai ben!



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