Kansai や and standard Japanese だ

The idea

In some Kansai speech, 学生や corresponds to standard 学生だ, and 静かや to 静かだ. The six examples use standard plain Japanese. The polite standard equivalent of 学生だ is 学生です.

Examples

• 私わたしは学生がくせいだ。I am a student.
• これは友達ともだちの本ほんだ。This is my friend’s book.
• 今日きょうは休やすみだ。Today is a day off.
• あの町まちは静しずかだ。That town is quiet.
• あの人ひとは先生せんせいだ。That person is a teacher.
• この道みちは広ひろい。This road is wide.

Watch out

This is not a blanket substitution for every だ: forms vary by grammar and speaker. Do not add や after an い-adjective such as 広い.

Try it yourself

1. Choose the Japanese term for “Kansai: is a student”: （学生がくせいや／学生がくせいだ）

   Show answer or example answer

   学生や

   学生や means “Kansai: is a student”; 学生だ means “standard: is a student”.

2. Choose the Japanese term for “standard: is a student”: （学生がくせいだ／静しずかや）

   Show answer or example answer

   学生だ

   学生だ means “standard: is a student”; 静かや means “Kansai: is quiet”.

3. Choose the Japanese term for “Kansai: is quiet”: （静しずかや／学生がくせいや）

   Show answer or example answer

   静かや

   静かや means “Kansai: is quiet”; 学生や means “Kansai: is a student”.

Use it today

Match the regional forms to their standard counterparts, then describe two things in standard Japanese.