[Can you understand what they're saying?] Quiz on dialects from various regions
When you’re watching TV or scrolling through social media and realize that a word you’ve used since childhood doesn’t make sense in other prefectures—and is actually a dialect—it’s pretty shocking, isn’t it?
I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences, but there are still countless dialects out there that we don’t know yet.
So, in this article, we’ll introduce a quiz related to dialects.
Even in the region where you live, some words may not be understood depending on the generation.
Dialects are truly deep and fascinating—why not take this opportunity to add some of that knowledge to your repertoire?
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Can you understand what they’re saying? Dialect quiz from various regions (1–10)
Kyoto Dialect Quiz
Kyoto is a popular tourist destination even among visitors from overseas, and the Kyoto dialect is also highly regarded, partly thanks to its image of a gentle, softly spoken tone.
This is a quiz that presents Kyoto-specific expressions—slightly different from standard Kansai dialect—and asks you to guess their meanings.
The dialect is known for lengthening vowel sounds, so keep that in mind and use Kansai dialect as a starting point to broaden your image.
While it shares similarities with Kansai speech, Kyoto also has many unique words, letting you feel its layered history and culture through language.
There are also expressions that have gradually fallen out of use depending on the generation, so even people from Kyoto might find questions they can’t answer.
Saitama Dialect Quiz
This is a quiz that focuses on words used in Saitama Prefecture among the many dialects found across Japan.
Because it neighbors Tokyo, many people strongly associate the area with standard Japanese, but let’s explore the subtle differences in wording found there.
Even people from Saitama sometimes use words assuming they’re standard Japanese, which makes it interesting for understanding the relationship with the standard language.
You’ll find everything from terms used elsewhere that you can kind of infer the meaning of, to unique dialect expressions used only in Saitama.
Okayama Dialect Quiz
Okayama Prefecture is located in the Chugoku region, and its dialect, Okayama-ben, like Hiroshima-ben, is strongly associated with the use of “ja.” Thanks to the comedy duo Chidori, who are from Okayama, it feels like we’ve been hearing it more often on TV.
Let’s look at some words and sentences in Okayama-ben and think about their meanings.
It could also be interesting to focus on how, while the sentence endings are similar, the accent and vocabulary differ from Hiroshima-ben and give Okayama-ben a stronger, more distinct flavor.
[Can you understand what they're saying?] Dialect quiz from various regions (11–20)
Gunma Dialect Quiz
In Gunma Prefecture, which is close to Tokyo and Saitama, people speak a dialect known as Gunma-ben or Jōshū-ben.
Let’s explore the roots of Gunma’s language while considering the meanings of its words and sentences.
There are differences in vocabulary—such as saying “katasu” for “katadzukeru” (to tidy up)—but Gunma-ben is said to be especially characterized by its sentence endings.
For example, saying “tōkanbē” instead of “tōi darō” (“it’s probably far”) is particularly striking, using “bē” in contexts where the conjectural “darō” would usually appear.
The intonation is distinctive as well, making it a dialect well worth testing with pronunciation included.
A fairly challenging Kansai/Kinki dialect quiz
Kansai dialect is one of the dialects many people recognize, partly because you often hear it on TV.
Among the areas where Kansai dialect is spoken, let’s take a look at words used only in limited regions.
These can be difficult not only for speakers of standard Japanese, but even for people who use Kansai dialect—differences by region make it tricky.
If you also include a question about which area a word is used in, you might be able to guess the answer from similar expressions.
Subtle differences in pronunciation can also give you a sense of each region’s cultural distinctions and the history of how the language has changed.
Osaka Dialect Quiz That Young People Don’t Know
The phenomenon of old words falling out of use and new words being born exists not only in the standard language but also in dialects.
This quiz focuses on dialect words that have faded from use and asks you to guess their meanings.
Even people from the region may encounter words they don’t know at all due to generational differences.
You might arrive at the answers by recalling expressions your parents’ generation or older people seemed to use.
It’s also a good idea to pool impressions like “I’ve kind of heard that before” and consider up to which generation the words were commonly used.
Kitakyushu Dialect Quiz
The Kitakyushu dialect is a regional dialect mainly used in Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture, and it’s said to have different sentence endings from the Hakata dialect, which is also from Fukuoka.
Let’s get to know the Kitakyushu dialect through a quiz, including how it differs from Hakata-ben.
For example, while Hakata-ben says “Nani shi-yotto?” (“What are you doing?”), Kitakyushu-ben says “Nani shi-yon?”—the question-ending particles are a representative difference.
For people from nearby areas, these subtle differences can be fun to notice, and for everyone else, it’s recommended to enjoy them broadly as Fukuoka dialects.