Kansai dialect quiz roundup: origins and example sentences included!

Brand new

In Kansai, new things are called “sara,” and “sarapin” likewise refers to brand-new items. “Sara” is written with the character for “renewed” (更) and conveys the sense of “completely new.” Also, just as a roll of ones is called “pinzoro,” “pin” represents the number 1. So “sarapin” means “something new that hasn’t been used even once.” Example sentence: “Yappa sarapin no sheets wa kimochi ee na!!” (Man, brand-new sheets feel great!!)

short-tempered person

“Iratchi” refers to someone who is quick-tempered or impatient and easily irritated. It seems to derive from the verb “iratsu” (to be irritated). Example sentence: “My dad is super irritable/short-tempered.”

to touch

“Irau” means “to touch” or “to fiddle with.” Beyond simply touching, saying “kami o irau” (to irau one’s hair) can also refer to things like dyeing or getting a perm. Example sentence: “Don’t pick at your scab!!”

dead end

At first glance, some people might have misunderstood it to mean “to punch,” perhaps because it evokes the image of “socking” someone. In reality, it means “dead end” and comes from the idea of “running straight into” something. It was originally used mainly in Kyoto and is now used as part of the Kansai dialect. Example sentence: “That shop is there if you turn right at the dead end.”

Iced coffee

Reikō is written as “冷コー” and refers to iced coffee. Some people say “Reiko” without elongating the ending vowel. The term has apparently been in use since around the late 1950s to 1960s, and even in the Kansai region it’s not commonly used among younger generations. Example sentence (in a café): “I’ll have an iced coffee.”