Akita-ben

Akita-ben (秋田弁) is the dialect of the locals of Akita Prefecture. It is a part of the Eastern Japanese dialects in the Northern Tōhoku subgroup, making it close to the dialects found in Aomori, Iwate and Yamagata Prefectures.

Many Japanese people from outside Akita have a difficult time understanding Akita-ben, mostly due to lack of exposure to it. This lack of exposure is due to the low prestige of the dialect—speakers of Tōhoku dialects are stereotypically seen as culture-less country bumpkins. This, in turn, has led to decline in the number of white-collar workers speaking it and the tendency for parents to raise their children with Standard Japanese instead. In modern times, pure Akita-ben is usually spoken only by older generations as more and more people convert to Standard Japanese, but its influence can still be felt among many people in Akita. Because of this, you may find it useful to learn a few phrases or grammar points of Akita-ben to better understand your Japanese colleagues.

However, be warned that Akita-ben is EXTREMELY regional. Something that is said in Ōdate might not be understood in Yokote or Honjō. Keep this in mind when traveling to other parts of the prefecture. The rules given here give just a general overview of common features of the many varieties of Akita-ben.

Despite being seen as rustic and the "corrupted" speech of unintelligent farmers, Akita-ben actually preserves several aspects from Middle and Old Japanese that have been lost in modern Standard Japanese, most notably the nasalization of voiced consonants. It also has a handful of words apparently borrowed from the Eastern Old Japanese language (distinct from Western Old Japanese from which all modern mainland Japanese varieties descend) once spoken in ancient Kantō.

Pronunciation

Note: In this section, there are several phonetic symbols used that may be unfamiliar to the general reader. These are:

• ɨ – a vowel in between /i/ and /u/. Not present in English, but somewhat close to the vowel found in sit, tin, flip.
• ɛ – the vowel of English set, kept, next; close to but slightly more forward in the mouth than Japanese /e/, which is more like the starting vowel of say, great, ape.
• ɔ – the vowel of English oar, bore, nor; close to but slightly deeper in the mouth than Japanese /o/.
• ɕ – the Japanese sh-sound present in し shi, しゃ sha, しゅ, shu, しょ sho
• tɕ – the Japanese ch-sound present in ち chi, ちゃ cha, ちゅ, chu, ちょ cho
• dʑ – the Japanese j-sound present in じ／ぢ ji, じゃ／ぢゃ ja, じゅ／ぢゅ, ju, じょ／ぢょ jo.
• ŋ – the nasal ng-sound found in English bring, sang.
• ɸ – the Japanese f- sound present in ふ fu, made with both lips instead of the teeth & lips

The Sounds of Akita-ben

Akita-ben has most of the same sounds as Standard Japanese, along with some additional ones.

There are seven vowels: a, ɨ, u, e, o, ɛ, and ɔ,
and 16+ consonants (depending on how you count them): k, g, s, ɕ, t~ts, d, dz, dʑ, n, h~ɸ, p, b, m, r, y, w, N
(Here, N means the consonant represented by ん.)

It's also important to note that the sounds g, d, dz, dʑ, b can be made "prenasalized," where the vowel preceding them is made slightly nasal. It sounds like a very light N, but it is not the same. The real N is much more distinct than the nasal sound of prenasalized consonants. For this article, prenasalized g, d, dz, dʑ, b will be represented as ^ŋg, ⁿd, ⁿdz, ⁿdʑ, ^mb.

If a prenasalized consonant is ever preceded by N, then the prenasalization is replaced by the stronger N. Finally, the prenasalized consonant ^ŋg is essentially interchangeable with just ŋ in pronunciation.

Converting from Standard Japanese

Despite being stereotypically incomprehensible to speakers of Standard Japanese, you can convert Standard Japanese pronunciation to Akita-ben pronunciation very reliably by following these steps in order:

• The vowel sequences /ai, ae/ → /ɛɛ/
• The vowel sequences /oi, ue, oe/ → /ee/
• The vowel sequence /ui/ → /ii/
• The vowel sequence /oo/ (written おう) → /ɔɔ/ when derived from Middle Japanese /au/ or /aɸu/ (only some speakers)
• /z/ → /dz/
• /i, ii/ → /ɨ, ɨɨ/
  • /kɨ, gɨ/ → /k^sɨ, g^zɨ/ (with only a very slight /s/ or /z/ sound)
  • /ɕɨ, ʑɨ/ → /sɨ, dzɨ/
  • /tɕɨ/ → /tsɨ/
• /su, tsu, dzu/ → /sɨ, tsɨ, dzɨ/
• /ka, ga/ → /kwa, gwa/ when derived from Middle Japanese /kwa, gwa/ (only some speakers)
• /hi, he/ → /ɸi, ɸe/ (only some speakers)
• Depending on the speaker, sometimes /se, ze/ → /ɕe, dʑe/
• Except at the start of a word, /re/ → /e/ (majority of speakers)
• Except at the start of a word, /g, d, b, dz, dʑ/ → /^ŋg, ⁿd, ^mb, ⁿdz, ⁿdʑ/, causing nasalization of the preceding vowel
• Except at the start of a word, /k, t, p, ts, tɕ/ → /g, d, b, dz, dʑ/ except when doubled by a preceding っ
  • These last two rules also include the copular verb /da/ → /ⁿda/ and all particles

Taking all this information together, we can get this table:

Standard Japanese	Akita-ben: Start of Word	Akita-ben: Not Start of Word
ka, ki, ku, ke, ko, ky_	ka, ksɨ, ku, ke, ko, ky_	ga, gzɨ, gu, ge, go, gy_
ga, gi, gu, ge, go, gy_	ga, gzɨ, gu, ge, go, gy_	ŋga, ŋgzɨ, ŋgu, ŋge, ŋgo, ŋgy_
sa, ɕi, su, se, so, ɕ_	sa, sɨ, sɨ, se~ɕe, so, ɕ_
za, dʑi, zu, ze, zo, dʑ_	dza, dzɨ, dzɨ, dze~dʑe, dzo, dʑ_	ndza, ndzɨ, ndzɨ, ndze~ndʑe, ndzo, ndʑ_
ta, tɕi, tsu, te, to, tɕ_	ta, tsɨ, tsɨ, te, to, tɕ_	da, dzɨ, dzɨ, de, do, dʑ_
da, (dʑi), (zu), de, do, (dʑ_)	da, (dzɨ), (dzɨ), de, do, (dʑ_)	nda, (ndzɨ), (ndzɨ), nde, ndo, (ndʑ_)
na, ni, nu, ne, no, ny_	na, nɨ, nu, ne, no, ny_
ha, hi, ɸu, he, ho, hy_	ha, ɸɨ, ɸu, ɸe, ho, hy_
pa, pi, pu, pe, po, py_	pa, pɨ, pu, pe, po	ba, bɨ, bu, be, bo
ba, bi, bu, be, bo, by_	ba, bɨ, bu, be, bo	mba, mbɨ, mbu, mbe, mbo
ma, mi, mu, me, mo, my_	ma, mɨ, mu, me, mo, my_
ya, yu, yo	ya, yu, yo
ra, ri, ru, re, ro, ry_	ra, rɨ, ru, e, ro, ry_
wa	wa
n'	n'
ai, ui, oi	ɛɛ, ɨɨ, ee
ae, ie, ue, oe	ɛɛ, ee, ee, ee
(au, ou >) ou	ɔɔ, oo
a, i, u, e, o	a, ɨ, u, e, o

Finally, while these are less common, some speakers may also exhibit these changes:

• fusion of /h/ and /ɕ/
  • For example: /se/ → /he/ instead of /se/ → /ɕe/ (does not feed into /he/ → /ɸe/)
  • For example: /hya/ → /ɕa/

Example Conversions

Note: From this point on, Akita-ben will always be written phonetically in red-orange text.

Let's apply these rules to some Standard Japanese words:

Standard Japanese	Akita-ben	Meaning
漫画 manga /maŋga/	maŋga ~ maŋgwa	manga, comics
近い chikai /tɕikai/	tsɨgɛɛ	close, nearby
寿司 sushi /suɕi/	sɨsɨ	sushi
秋田 Akita /akita/	aksɨta	Akita
行きたい ikitai /ikitai/	ɨgzɨdɛɛ	want to go
数える kazoeru /kazoeru/	kandzeeru ~ kannʑeeru	to count, to enumerate
真心 magokoro /magokoro/	maŋgogoro	sincerity
地図 chizu /tɕizu/	tsɨndzɨ	map

Like in Standard Japanese, many instances of ɨ and u are whispered or simply dropped in pronunciation, such as in 秋田 Ak^sɨta→Aksta. Generally, all the same rules apply for when to do this.

Grammar

For the most part, the grammar of Akita-ben is the same as Standard Japanese (as long as one takes into account the sound differences). The examples given below have Standard Japanese in regular Japanese script, while the Akita-ben equivalent is given phonetically.

Verb and Adjective Conjugation

Verb and adjective stems can be determined using the following chart:

	Quintigrade (-u Verbs) ex.: 歩く arug-u "walk"	Quintigrade (-u Verbs) ex.: 食う ku-u "eat"	Monograde (-ru Verbs) ex.:見る mɨ-ru "see"	Adjective (-i Adjectives) ex.:赤い aga-ɨ "red"	Irregular (suru) する s-ɨru "do"	Irregular (kuru) 来る k-uru "come"
Negative Stem (-a)	aruga-	kuwa-	mɨ-	agagu-	sɨ-	ko-
Volitional Form (-ou)	arugau → arugɔɔ	kuɔɔ	mɨyoo	agagarɔɔ	sɨyoo	koyo
Continuative Stem (-i)	arugzɨ-	kuɨ- → kɨɨ-	mɨ-	agagu-	sɨ-	ksɨ-
Conclusive-Attributive Form (-u)	arugu	kuu	mɨru	agaɨ → agɛɛ	sɨru	kuru
Provisional Stem (-e)	aruge-	kue- → kee-	mɨre-, mɨe-	agage-	sɨre-, sɨe-	kure-, kue-
Imperative Form (-e)	aruge	kue → kee	mɨro	agagare	sɨro	koɨ → kee
Conjunctive Form (-te)	aruɨnde → arɨɨnde	kutte	mɨde	agagude, agɛɛnde	sɨde	ksɨde
Past Tense Form (-ta)	aruɨnda → arɨɨnda	kutta	mɨda	agagatta	sɨda	ksɨda

Conjugational endings can be added to these stems just as in Standard Japanese. For example, Provisional Stem + ^mba gives the provisional -eba form of a verb in Akita-ben: 歩けば aruge^mba "If (someone) were to walk..."

Note, however, that the volitional forms given above are essentially unused in Akita-ben, as seen in the following section:

Volitional & Presumptive -be

Instead of forming the volitional like 飲む nomu "I drink" → 飲もう nomou "Let's drink," Akita-ben forms the volitional by adding the ending -be(sɨ) (from Middle Japanese -beki/-besi "ought to, able to") to the base form of a verb: 飲む nomu "[I] drink" → nomube(sɨ) "Let's drink." The final -sɨ on -be(sɨ) is completely optional. Perhaps the most common use of the be-volitional can be heard in Ɨgube! "Let's go!"

• コンビニに行って帰ろう。 Kombɨnɨ sa ɨtte kɛɛrube. "Let's head to a convenience store and then go home."
• 早く行こう。 Hayagu ɨgubesɨ. "Let's go quickly." / "Let's hurry up and go."

The ending -be is also used for the presumptive form: Standard Japanese would have 飲む nomu "I drink" → 飲むだろう nomu darou "I will probably drink," while Akita-ben uses nomube for this as well. This is most often heard combined with the copular verb だ in ⁿda be, used for emphasis in statements or to check for agreement in questions.

• どうせまた雨だろう？ Doose mada ame ⁿda be? "Anyhow, it's going to rain again, right?"
• 明日は晴れるだろう。 Asɨta wa haerube. "It'll [probably] be clear tomorrow."

For the presumptive, you may also hear the ending -byon. This is a contraction of -be with the word mono "thing" afterward, and it gives a sense of trailing off or leaving the rest of the sentence implied:

• 落ちるだろう... Otsɨrubyon... "It'll probably fall..."

Polite Present Tense: ssɨ

Like Standard Japanese ます, in order to show politeness to the person you are talking to, speakers of Akita-ben will add ssɨ (often with a silent/whispered ɨ as ss') to the end of the plain form of verbs.

• どこに行きますか。 Do sa ɨgu ssɨ ga? "Where are you going?"

Being a contraction of です, it can also be used with adjectives easily:

• 寒いですね。 Sa^mbɨɨ ssɨ na. "It is cold, isn't it?"

And it can also be used with the regular copular verb ⁿda:

• これはいくらですか。 Koe nambo ⁿda ssɨ ga? "How much does this cost?"

The Directional Particle sa

In several cases, the directional particle に nɨ can be replaced by the Akita-ben particle sa (from Middle Japanese さま sama "way, means"). Consider the following sentences:

Standard Japanese	Akita-ben	Translation	Use of に
家に帰る。 Ie ni kaeru.	Ee sa kɛɛru.	I will go home.	destination
鉛筆は机の上にある。 Enpitsu wa tsukue no ue ni aru.	Embɨdzɨ wa tsɨgee no ee sa aru.	The pencil is on the table.	location
六時に会おう。 Rokuji ni aou.	Rogundzɨ nɨ ɔɔbe.	Let's meet at 6 o'clock.	time
犬を見に行った。 Inu wo mi ni itta.	Ɨnu o mɨ nɨ ɨtta.	I went to see the dog.	result; purpose
静かに歩いた。 Shizuka ni aruita.	Sɨndzɨga nɨ arɨɨda.	I walked quietly.	adverbial

As you can see, sa replaces nɨ when it represents a physical location or destination, while it cannot replace nɨ with reference to time or for other grammatical uses. In addition, sa cannot replace nɨ in compound particles like (な)のに (na) no nɨ or までに maⁿde nɨ.

Adjectival -kkoi, -kkee

This ending can be pronounced either as -kkoɨ (older) or -kkee (newer). It has the function of turning various words and word roots into adjectives:

• 軽 (karu-) karu- "lightness" → karukkoɨ, karukkee "lightweight"
• 酸 (su) sɨ "sourness" → sɨkkoɨ, sɨkkee "sour"
• 冷 (hiya) ɕa "coldness" → ɕakkoɨ, ɕakkee "cold"

Familiar -kko

Originally derived from Middle Japanese 事 koto "thing," this suffix can show a wide range of familiarity or other connection with the noun to which it is attached. It can also refer to an event involving that particular noun. Phonetically, it also shortens any long vowel that precedes it:

• 泥鰌（どじょう） doⁿdʑɔɔ "loach (fish)" → doⁿdʑɔkko "(cute) loach"
• 机（つくえ） tsɨgee "table" → tsɨgekko "(one's own) table"
• 鍋（なべ） na^mbe "cooking pot" → na^mbekko "cooking pot event" = "an event for making group hot-pot dishes"
• お茶（おちゃ） odʑa "tea" → odʑakko "tea event" = "house visit (with a friend)"

Direct Object Marker dogo

Instead of relative o of the the Standard Japanese を, you may sometimes hear dogo in Akita-ben, which is a mish-mashed form of のことを no-kodo-o. Because を o is often dropped anyway, saying dogo emphasizes the particle.

Notes on Other Particles

When applying the rules of changing from Standard to Akita-ben, particles are treated as though they are part of the preceding word. Because of this, the following particles look significantly different:

• が ga → ^ŋga — Marks the subject (or sometimes, object) of a sentence
• か ka → ga/gya — Marks the sentence as a questions
• と to → do — Means "and" or "with"

Vocabulary

Note: The "Standard Japanese Equivalents" given in these tables are not always natural Standard Japanese; rather, they are the exact relatives (cognates) to the Akita-ben word. For example, 顔の毛 kao-no-ke means "hair of the face" in Standard Japanese, but its Akita-ben equivalent koonoge means "eyebrow."

Pronouns

Standard Japanese Equivalent	Akita-ben	Translation
俺 ore 俺ら orera	oe ~ ore ~ ora oera	I, me, myself we, us, ourselves
貴方 anata	ada ~ anda	you, yourself (polite)
お前 omae	mɛɛ ~ mmɛɛ ~ omɛɛ	you, yourself (familiar/rude)
?	ŋga	you, yourself (rude/confrontational)
これ kore	kore ~ koe	this person, that person (someone present)
あれ are	are ~ ae	that person (someone not present)
こちら kochira そちら sochira あちら achira どちら dochira	kottsɨ ~ kottɕa ~ koo sa sottsɨ ~ sottɕa ~ soo sa attsɨ ~ attɕa ~ aa sa dottsɨ ~ dottɕa ~ doo sa	this way that way yonder way which way
これ kore それ sore あれ are どれ dore	koe soe ae doe	this that (near you) that (yonder) which

Generally, pronouns and many other words can be optionally emphasized as plural by adding the suffix 方 -gada, as in 子供方 koⁿdomo-gada "children".

Nouns

Standard Japanese Equivalent	Akita-ben	Translation
?	gakko	pickled daikon radish
Ainu: wakka	akko	water
ベロ bero "tongue"	bɨro	drool
婿 muko Eastern Old Japanese: moko	mogo	son-in-law
蛍 hotaru	hodaro	firefly, lighting bug
顔の毛 kao no ke	koonoge	eyebrow
書物 shomotsu	somodzɨ, ɕomodzɨ	book
面皰 nikibi	negɨmbɨ	pimple, acne
今日 kyou	tɕoo	today

Adjectives

Standard Japanese Equivalent	Akita-ben	Translation
旨い uma-i	mma-ɨ	delicious, tasty
寒い samu-i	sambu-ɨ	cold, chilly
拙い mazui	mundzo-ɨ	pathetic, unfortunate, pitiful
暑い atsu-i	attsɨ-ɨ	hot
冷っこい hiya + kko-i	ɕakko-ɨ	cold (food, drinks)
大きい ooki-i	oggzɨ-ɨ	big, large
甘い ama-i	amma-ɨ	sweet
小さっこい chiisa + kko-i	tɕakko-ɨ	small, little
喧しい yagamashii (archaic)	yaŋgamasɨ-ɨ	annoying, irritating, noisy
魂消た tamageta	tamaŋgeda	surprised, shocked, bewildered

Verbs

Standard Japanese Equivalent	Akita-ben	Translation
です desu	ssɨ (irreg. verb)	be
食う kuu	kuu (-u verb)	eat (used instead of 食べる taberu)
投げる nageru "hurl, throw hard"	naŋgeru (-ru verb)	throw away (used instead of 捨てる sɨteru
遣る yaru	yaru (-u verb)	do, undertake (used alongside the less common する sɨru)
-呉れ　-kure	-kere	please (normal) (used like standard -下さい -kudasai.)
-給え　-tamae	-tammɛɛ	please (polite) (used like standard -下さい -kudasai. Less common than -kere.)

Phrases

Standard Japanese Equivalent	Akita-ben	Translation
だ da (yo) だね da (yo) ne です desu (yo) ですね desu (yo) ne	nda nda naa nda ssɨ nda ssɨ naa	(expresses agreement)
でない de (wa) nai	nde nɛɛ	(expresses disagreement)
?	seba	goodbye
(?)先ず mazu	mandzɨ	goodbye, see you later (先ず means "now then" or "first off" in Standard Japanese)
(?)いやだ iya da	udade	ugh! that's not good! (expresses distaste or disappointment)
何した nani (ga/wo) shita	nan sɨda	what happened? what's the matter?
腹減った hara (ga) hetta	haraɸetta	I'm hungry. (Literally "My belly has diminished.")
腹攣れた hara (ga) tsureta	haratsɨ(r)e	I'm full. (Literally "My belly is pulled tight.")

Akitan Accent: Mixed Akita-ben and Standard Japanese

Adults in their 20s and older will often not speak Akita-ben itself, but rather with an Akitan accent: using certain aspects of Akita-ben while speaking Standard Japanese. This is the kind of "Akita-ben" you are most likely to hear in your everyday life among your coworkers. For example, the familiar -kko, volitional -be, phrases like ⁿda na, and the cognates of various Akita-ben words are all fairly common. Consider this simple exchange, where certain Akita-ben-isms have crept into these people's ways of speaking:

Ａ：「今日は暑いっすね？」 Kyou wa atsui ssu ne? "It's hot today, huh?"
Ｂ：「んだっすなぁ～　私の家さ帰るべ」 Nda ssu naa... Watashi no ie sa kaerube. "Yeah, it is... Let's go back to my house."

Another possible feature of the Akitan accent is to retain the shift of /g, d, b, dz, dʑ/ → /^ŋg, ⁿd, ^mb, ⁿdz, ⁿdʑ/ in the middle of a word. This is less common, as it is more easy for Standard Japanese speakers to point out and "correct."

See also

• Language and culture
• A Short Introduction to Akita-ben by Charlotte Soesanto
• Akita ben video made in Kosaka (Japanese only) For reference and getting used to those sounds ;)
• Japanese Comedians on Akita-ben (Japanese only)
• Akita-ben explained by cute Japanese lady (Japanese only)
• 秋田弁大辞典 (Japanese only)