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Grammar detail: colloquial variations of Japanese

colloquial variations of Japanese
373 words
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In daily use, many Japanese constructions are contracted or simplified, especially in the spoken language. For example:
てしまう ➜ ちゃう
さいこう
最高
わら
っちゃう

That's great! That makes me laugh.
ては ➜ ちゃ
っちゃ
イヤだって
I begged her not to go.
ている ➜ てる (colloquial progressive)
かのじょ
彼女
たいへん
大変
よく
ははおや
母親
てます

She reminds me very much of her mother.
ている・ておる ➜ 〜ちょる (regional colloquial progressive)
The form ちょる is used instead of ている. Usually it is added to the stem (つけちょる), but in historical dialect it was sometimes added to the plain form (いうちょる). This form is actually a contraction of ておる, which is a colloquial form of ている used most commonly in various western regions (such as Kansai, Nagoya and Kyushu).
〜ていない ➜ 〜てない (negative colloquial progressive)
ひょうじょう
表情
ということまるでできてない
It’s as though you’re unable to show any expression.
〜られる ➜ 〜れる (ら
ことば
言葉
- ranuki kotoba, used in potential forms)
きみ
なま
カキ
べれます

Can you eat raw oysters?
なくてはいけない ➜ なくちゃ
なければ ➜ なきゃ or なけりゃ
かもしれない ➜ かも
The common word かもしれない (meaning 'probably is', or 'is probably the case') is often shortened to just かも colloquially.
という ➜ って
は ➜ って
って can also be used as a substitute for は (or というのは) at the end of a sentence. For example:
みき
美希
ちゃんって
Who's Miki?
よろい
って
What is 'armor'?
の to indicate a question
れは, れば, りは, りや ➜ りゃ
な as shortened imperative
Sometimes なさい is shortened to simply な as a rough (but not rude) imperative.
よく
おぼ
えておき

Remember it well!
Particle omission
In colloquial Japanese, particles such as は and が are often left out. For example:
そんなことない
わたし
こういう
だいす
大好

That's not true at all. I love things like this.
In standard Japanese, the second sentence would be
わたし
はこういうのが
だいす
大好
き。
うち
➜ んち
まえ
んち
きたい
なぁ
I wanna go to your place ...
Sometimes the ん will also be omitted:
かれ
その
よる
かとう
加藤
さんとまった
He lodged at Mr Kato's for the night.
ていって ➜ てって
The て form of the ていく construction is often shortened to てって. See:
ていく ➜ てく
More generally, any form of the ていく construction can be shortened colloquially to the equivalent form without the い, eg てく. See:
 ておく ➜ とく
The おく form of a verb (put in place) is sometimes contracted to とく.
うまーくまとまってるブログのっけときますんで
んでみて
ください
I've put up a blog post that summarizes it really well so try reading that.
In the past form, 〜ておいた would become 〜といた.
 ておいてくれる ➜ とくれ
The ておく (put in place) form together with the てくれる form is sometimes shortened even further. This is a colloquial way to make a casual request, as in for example:
ちゃ
れとくれ

Put the kettle on, would you.
This form is very abrupt, and could easily be considered rude, so it is generally best avoided in your own speech!
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Kanji used in this grammar

なかぐろ middle dot   
バツ   ぬ to extract, pull out   ぬける to come / fall out; be omitted   ぬかす to omit   ぬかる to make a blunder   
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ゲン   ゴン   say; word   こと word, saying   い to say   
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ヨウ   leaf   は leaves   
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シ   わたくし    わたし I, myself   
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ダイ   タイ   おおきい big   おおいに very much   おお-    
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コウ   この    す to like   
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カ   ケ   house   いえ    や    
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サイ   もっと most   
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コウ   expensive; high   たか    たか expensive, tall, high   たかまる to be elevated   たかめる to promote, heighten   
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ショウ   わら to laugh   え to smile   
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コウ   ギョウ   アン   ゆ    い to go   おこな to take place   
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ヒ   かれ he   
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ジョ   ニョ   ニョウ   woman; female   おんな woman   め woman   
ヘン   unusual   かえる to alter, change   かわる to change   
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ボ   はは mother   
シン   おや parent   したしい close, intimate   したしむ to befriend, grow close to   
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ジ   similar   に to be similar to   
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ヒョウ   おもて surface, front   あらわ to show, to represent   あらわれる to be present, to appear   
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ジョウ   セイ   なさ emotion; circumstances   
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クン   きみ you   
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セイ   ショウ    life   なま raw   いかす to enliven   いきる to live   いける to arrange flowers   うまれる to be born   う to give birth to   き pure, undiluted   お to grow, to sprout   はえる to grow, to sprout   はやす to grow, cultivate   
ショク   ジキ    food   たべる to eat   く to eat   
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ビ   うつくしい beautiful   
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キ   rare
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ガイ   よろい armor   よろ to put on armor   
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カク   おぼえる to remember   さめる to awake   さます to rouse, awaken   
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ゼン   まえ before   
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ヤ   よる    よ night   
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カ   くわえる to add to   くわわる to join, to be added to   
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トウ   ふじ wisteria   
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ドク   トク   トウ   よ to read   
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チャ   サ    tea   
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ニュウ   い to enter   はい to enter   いれる to put in   
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