Hakata speech is associated with the Hakata area of Fukuoka. Listen for regional forms alongside the standard sentences below.

The idea

In some Hakata speech, 〜と？ can mark a question, 〜とる can describe an ongoing action, and 〜ん can express a negative. For example, 食べとる corresponds to standard 食べている, while 行かん corresponds to 行かない.

Patterns to compare
FormMeaning
〜と？question marker
〜とるongoing action
〜んnegative

Examples

  • 今いま、何なにを食たべていますか。What are you eating now?
  • 昼ひるご飯はんを食たべています。I am eating lunch.
  • 友達ともだちは駅えきで待まっています。My friend is waiting at the station.
  • 今日きょうは学校がっこうに行いきません。I am not going to school today.
  • 明日あした、一緒いっしょに行いきますか。Will you go with me tomorrow?
  • 雨あめが降ふっているので、家いえにいます。I am at home because it is raining.

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 speaker, locality and situation; these features are not used by everyone or confined to Hakata. In particular, 〜とる can also express a resulting state, so context matters.

Try it yourself

  1. 「質問」：〜と？／〜ん

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    と

    〜と？ can mark a question; 〜ん is a negative.

  2. 「食べている」：食べとる／行かん

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    食べとる

    食べとる corresponds here to 食べている, an ongoing action.

  3. 「行かない」：行かん／食べとる

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    行かん

    行かん corresponds to 行かない; 〜ん expresses negation.

Use it today

Compare a standard ongoing action and a negative sentence, then identify the regional forms.