[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)
Shimane Dialect Quiz
Here’s a dialect quiz from Shimane Prefecture in the Chugoku region, known for Izumo Taisha, Matsue Castle, and the Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine.
Shimane has three dialects—Izumo-ben, Oki-ben, and Iwami-ben—so depending on the area, even people from Shimane might not arrive at the right answer, which makes it all the more exciting.
Let’s start with words used across the whole prefecture and gradually move on to those used only in limited areas.
If you incorporate dialect words into sentences in standard Japanese, it seems possible to infer the answers from the surrounding context.
Hiroshima Dialect Quiz
Hiroshima Prefecture is a popular tourist destination, known for places like Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima—one of Japan’s Three Most Scenic Spots.
Let’s take a look at the dialect spoken in Hiroshima.
The well-known features are the sentence-ending and connective particles “ja” and “jakee,” which are used by people of all genders and often draw attention.
It’s recommended to start with these short, iconic Hiroshima-ben expressions and then build up to more difficult words and sentences.
Also, Hiroshima-ben is said to feature elongated sentence endings that are hard to capture in writing, so listening to actual pronunciation while considering your responses can make it even more engaging.
Yamagata Dialect Quiz
Yamagata Prefecture in the Tohoku region is famous for places like Ginzan Onsen, which is said to have inspired the film Spirited Away.
We’ll present some Yamagata dialect and think through the answers together.
Let’s start with simple questions where you give the meaning of a word, and then move on to longer sentences.
Intonation is also a major feature of the Yamagata dialect, so if you know someone from there or someone who can speak it, it’s a great idea to have them host the quiz.
The unique intonation will make the quiz more challenging, and it could also serve as a hint to help you find the answer.
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.