Nagoya dialect is a dialect mainly used in the western part of Aichi Prefecture.
Words like “dera” and “dagaya” are famous, aren’t they?
It’s a dialect similar to Mikawa-ben from eastern Aichi and Mino-ben from Gifu Prefecture.
This time, I’ll introduce some tongue twisters that people living around Aichi Prefecture can probably say without tripping over their words.
If you’re local, you can probably say them without thinking—but for those unfamiliar with them, they’re tough!
Regional tongue twisters are really fun, so give them a try!
- Tongue twisters that will make you laugh out loud! Super funny
- “Chau chau, anta” — a Kansai-dialect tongue twister. A phrase only Kansai folks can say.
- Can you say them? A collection of Hakata-dialect tongue twisters
- Challenging tongue twisters: Introducing high-difficulty phrases and sentences!
- [Can you understand what they're saying?] Quiz on dialects from various regions
- [Diction Training] A Collection of Tongue Twisters to Improve Articulation
- [Recreation] Challenge! A roundup of tongue twisters recommended for elementary school students
- A collection of long tongue twisters. Also recommended for practicing announcements and narration.
- Chinese tongue twisters: A collection of rao kou ling helpful for learning Chinese
- [For Seniors] Boost Oral Function with Tongue Twisters! Recommended Picks to Try
- Challenge together! A roundup of word games for adults
- Fun quizzes for elementary school kids: a collection of questions everyone can enjoy together
- From surprising to cynical! Funny one-liners that make you laugh
Can you say them? A collection of Nagoya-dialect tongue twisters
Pencils and sharpened points
There’s a tongue twister that uses expressions unique to the Nagoya dialect.
It goes: “Kondon toki wa tokin-tokin no enpitsu motte kan to kan.
Teka chanto kezutto kan to kan tte itto kan to kan.” The first thing that catches your attention is “tokin-tokin,” right? This word describes a pencil tip that’s sharpened to a fine point.
In the tongue twister, it’s basically saying, “Next time, I have to bring a pencil.
Or rather, I really need to make sure it’s properly sharpened, and I should say so too.” Because it includes unfamiliar dialect words, you could say the difficulty level is on the higher side.
I gotta buy some KitKats.
There’s a tongue twister that plays on the KitKat product name: “Kit Kat kattokan to ikankatta noni, anta ga kattokan katta node, ikankatta kanda wa.” It’s pretty confusing, isn’t it? In simple terms, it means something like, “We were supposed to buy a Kit Kat, but you didn’t buy it in advance, so that was no good.” The phrases “katto” and “katta” keep appearing, so pay attention to those and give it a try.
In conclusion
Were you able to say the Nagoya-dialect tongue twisters without stumbling? If you have any information like “Here’s another one,” please let us know via the contact form! We’ll keep updating from time to time, so thanks in advance!