As is the case with most languages, there are so many types of slangs and abbreviations in Japanese that there is no way to categorize them in a unified manner. Trying to learn slang by memorizing rules is probably close to impossible because of the inumerous number of inconsistencies.<\/p>\n
Here, I’m just going to go over a couple of common types of slang so that you can get an idea of how it works. Like I mentioned previously, it is impossible to fully and comprehensively explain these types of things but it can still be useful to get familiar with the general idea.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, slang is very easy to pick up by speaking and listening because they naturally come about from people finding easier ways to say something.<\/p>\n
In short, the driving force behind Japanese slang is to make things easier to say. There are two cardinal rules that go along with this idea.<\/p>\n
1) Make it shorter.
\n2) Be lazy.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nSince \u300c\u3093\u300d is the only letter that lacks a syllable, it is the shortest sound in the Japanese language. As a result, it is often used to substitute for other longer letters that require more energy to pronounce; in particular the tongue rolling \u300c\u3089\u3001\u308a\u3001\u308b\u3001\u308c\u3001\u308d\u300d sounds.<\/p>\n
One of the most common example of this is the substition of \u300c\u3089\u300d in \u300c\u308f\u304b\u3089<\/u>\u306a\u3044\u300d.<\/p>\n
\u307f\u3055\u3061\u3083\u3093\u306f\u3069\u3053\u306b\u884c\u3063\u305f\u304b\u3001\u308f\u304b\u308b\uff1f
\n– [Do you] know where Misa-chan went?<\/p>\n\u308f\u304b\u3093<\/u>\u306a\u3044\u3002
\n– Dunno.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nIn fact, you can do the same type of substitution for any \u300c\uff5e\u3089\u306a\u3044\u300d negative verbs.<\/p>\n
\uff11\uff09\u306a\u3093\u304b\u77e5\u3093<\/u>\u306a\u3044\u3051\u3069\u3001\u307f\u3093\u306a\u304c\u3059\u3054\u304f\u3044\u3044\u3068\u8a00\u3063\u3066\u3063\u305f\u3002
\n– Don’t really know but everybody said it was really great.<\/p>\n\uff12\uff09\u305a\u3063\u3068\u6697\u3044\u90e8\u5c4b\u3067\u672c\u3092\u8aad\u3093\u3067\u3044\u308b\u3068\u3001\u982d\u304c\u75db\u304f\u306a\u3093<\/u>\u306a\u3044\uff1f
\n– Doesn’t [your] head become hurting when you read a book in dark room for a long time?<\/p><\/blockquote>\nAnother common substitution is the \u300c\u3044\u308b\u300d from the \u300c\uff5e\u3066\u3044\u308b\u300d enduring state form<\/a>.<\/p>\n
This one’s a bit tricky because you can’t actually end a sentence with just \u300c\u3093\u300d, you always need something to come after it.<\/p>\n
\uff11\uff09\u4f55\u3057\u3066\u3093<\/u>\u306e\uff1f
\n-Whatcha doing?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\u8aa4\uff09
\u4eca\u3001\u6620\u753b\u3092\u898b\u3066\u3093<\/strike>\u3002
\n– [We need something to come after \u898b\u3066\u3093]<\/p>\n\uff12\uff09\u3046\u3093\uff1f\u4eca\u3001\u6620\u753b\u3092\u898b\u3066\u3093\u3060\u3051\u3069<\/u>\uff1f
\n-Hm? Well, [I’m] watching movie now, but?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\u300c\u3093\u300d is sometimes even substituted for letters in regular words such as \u300c\u3064\u307e\u3089\u306a\u3044\u300d.<\/p>\n
\u3053\u3053\u306f\u3001\u3064\u307e\u3093<\/u>\u306a\u3044\u304b\u3089\u3001\u3069\u3063\u304b\u884c\u3053\u3046\u3088\u3002
\n– It’s boring here so let’s go somewhere.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nThere are many more examples of \u300c\u3093\u300d substitution for abbreviations. One of the most common examples is the subsitution for \u300c\u306e\u3060\u300d as seen here<\/a>. Another example is the \u300c\u3093\u300d substitution for the \u300c\u306a\u3044\u300d in negative verb conjugations as seen here<\/a>. If you spend quite a large amount of time speaking Japanese, you might find yourself making these substitutions yourself unconsciously.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As is the case with most languages, there are so many types of slangs and abbreviations in Japanese that there is no way to categorize them in a unified manner. Trying to learn slang by memorizing rules is probably close … Continue reading