Regional speech can express the same negative idea in different ways.

The idea

The standard plain negative 行かない can correspond to 行かへん in Kansai speech; 食べない can be 食べへん. A negative ん also appears in western varieties, as in 読まん for 読まない. These are examples, not a universal conjugation chart. The sentences above use standard Japanese.

Patterns to compare
StandardRegional example
行かない行かへん
読まない読まん
食べない食べへん

Examples

  • 今日きょうは学校がっこうへ行いかない。I am not going to school today.
  • この本ほんはまだ読よまない。I will not read this book yet.
  • 朝あさはパンを食たべない。I do not eat bread in the morning.
  • 彼かれは明日あしたは来こない。He is not coming tomorrow.
  • 今いまは買かい物ものをしない。I am not shopping now.
  • 時間じかんがないので、待またない。I do not wait because there is no time.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

Forms vary by place, speaker and situation. Do not assume that everyone in Kansai uses へん, or that ん belongs to only one region.

Try it yourself

  1. In Kansai speech, which form can correspond to 行かない? （行かへん／行く）

    Show answer or example answer

    行かへん

    行かへん can mean 行かない; 行く is affirmative.

  2. Choose the standard equivalent of 読まん. （読まない／読んだ）

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    読まない

    読まん corresponds to 読まない; 読んだ is past affirmative.

  3. In the example comparison, which Kansai form corresponds to 食べない? （食べへん／食べる）

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    食べへん

    食べへん can mean 食べない; 食べる is affirmative.

Use it today

Match each regional form to its standard equivalent and notice the verb stem.