Speak Osaka Today: Nandeyanen(なんでやねん)

Osaka, the third biggest city in Japan, has such a unique vibe that you cannot experience in any other cities in Japan. It is a vivid city full of charms, from food to comedies. I know some of you are having difficulty understanding what the city feels like. So, here is an analogy for you.

"Osaka is Japanese Texas or Birmingham."

What I mean by this is that people are rough but in a good way, have a distinct culture from others in the country, and they have got their own strong "accent". (Do not talk about the crime rates or safety of the cities okay? it is also pretty bad here too) Anyway, I will start the series of articles which introduces you to our Osakan accent in the language Japanese with a bit of cultural background of the word.

Our first pickup is "Nandeyanen(なんでやねん)."
This is definitely the most iconic phrase in Osakan accent. This phrase is often used as a reply to a joke and means a lot. It can mean "Why the heck?" "How the heck?" "What the heck?" "No freaking way!" "Come on, mate!" and "Have you gone nuts?". Okay, it surely sounds rough, but that is what it is.

Let's use it in a real-life situation.
A: "It's getting colder every day, mate. It's still November, you know. I just can't imagine how cold it's gonna be in next August."

B: "Nandeyanen, you fool."(Have you gone nuts? is an appropriate translation in this case.)

In a different case...(this is the most frequent joke Osakan people love to use)

A: "Can I get a bill, please?"

B: "Sure! One bowl of ramen and a bowl of fried rice... That'll be 1 million yen."

A: "Okay, 1 million yen, right? Let me just... Nandeyanen! !"

Why this phrase is so important?
Well, Osaka has been the centre of comedies in Japan since the 16th century. Even renowned Samurais, such as Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, had comedian subordinates. This earlier type of comedy was more of a story-telling, called "Rakugo". Since then, as Osaka was a city of merchants, people started to put an emphasis on humour and attract their customers by using a bit of it. Later, in Showa period, Osaka had a huge boom of comedy. Throughout history, comedy has played an important role in the daily life of Osakan people.

The most stereotypical style you would expect in the current Japanese comedy culture is a duo comedy which requires two roles: Boke and Tukkomi. Boke is a funny person who jokes as rapidly as a machine-gun shoots bullets, while Tukkomi replies to jokes as Superman catches every bullet. In short, it goes Boke sets up gags and Tukkomi replies and makes sense out of it. This type of comedy is called "Manzai." In Manzai, "Nandeyanen" has been the most classical Tukkomi phrase used towards Boke. Now, are you interested in Japanese comedies? Hit "ダウンタウン(Downtown)" on YouTube, one of the most famous comedy duos. They are classic but simply great!

This phrase "Nandeyanen" truly sums up Osaka's comedy culture.

Use The Phrase and Be Osakan
In this article, I covered one of the most iconic and important phrases in Osaka Accent of all time, "Nandeyanen". You can use it anytime just to show off how cultured you are, or to reply to your dad's stupidly old-fashioned joke which does not fit in the morals of the current era.

Of course, you can try to use it in your time at Osaka. But, here is my warning. DO PRONOUNCE IT PERFECTLY. If you caught pronounce it wrongly by Osakan people, they will be offended and kick your ass. There is a need for you to perfect the phrase before trying it out here in Osaka.

So, now, you would like to come down to Osaka, wouldn't you? No?

"Nandeyanen!"