T'anks!

Visiting Kyôto last month, it didn’t take long before I heard one of the more commonly known regionalisms: Ôkini. The singsong way the people of Kyôto say, thank you, made me wonder if there were other ways in Japan of expressing one’s gratitude. I was surprised by what I discovered. I have put together a list of some of these local sayings.

Incidentally, the original meaning of arigatô (有り難う) conveyed the sense that the thing you were thanking a person for had been difficult for them to do (有るものが難しい) and you felt bad for having them do it. Dômo (どうも) comes from dôshite-mo (どうしても), and emphasizes the feeling of gratitude or regret.

  Hokkaidô

1. Hokkaidô

Hokkaidô-ben

  どうも!

    Dômo!

(Common among friends.)

  どうもね!

    Dômo-ne!

(Same as saying dômo.)

有り難う

  Arigatô!

(Standard Japanese.)

なんも、なんも

  Nanmo, nanmo!

(Includes the feeling of sorry, don’t worry about it.)

  Tôhoku 

2. Aomori

Tsugaru-ben

  ありがどごしてす

    Arigadogoshidesu!

(This is the polite form.)

  めやぐだの～

    Meyagudanoh!

(Similar to saying meiwaku-o kakemashite sumimasen, sorry for causing you trouble.)

  どうも

    Dômo!

(Same as Aomori.)

3. Iwate

4. Miyage

5. Akita

ぶじょほーだんし

  Bujohohdanshi!

(Originates from the word buchôhô, meaning carelessness or blunder, sorry about that.)

どんも、おぎぃなぁ

  Donmo, ogi-nâ!

おぎぃ

  Ogi!

(Southern Akita prefecture, i is shortened with falling accent.)

6. Yamagata

Yonezawa-ben

  おしょうしな

    Oshôshina!

(Not commonly used among youths.)

Shônai-ben (northwestern Yamagata)

  もっけだ

    Mokkeda!

(Can be used to mean arigatô, gomen, dômô, and so on.)

7. Fukushima

  Kantô

8. Ibaraki

Ibaragi-ben

  どーもね

    Dômo-ne!

9. Tochigi

すいません

  Suimasen!

(Used when receiving something.)

10. Gunma

11. Saitama

Chichibu Region

  わりぃねぇー

    Warine~!

(Saying warui-ne but including the feeling of gratitude.)

12. Chiba

13. Tôkyô

Arigatô!

14. Kanagawa

  Chûbu

15. Niigata

いかったいね

  Ikattaine!

あんがとの

  Angatono!

(Means arigatô-ne.)

おーぎにはや

  Ôginihaya!

(North-central Niigata prefecture. Nearly extinct saying.)

いやいやいやいや、ど～もっス

  Iya iya iya iya, dômossu!

    (May be a personal tick.)

16. Toyama

あんがとう

Angatô!

(Seems to be falling into disuse.)

Toyama-ben

  気の毒な

    Kinodoku-na!

(Expresses regret at having troubled someone by doing something for you.)

  だいてやっちゃ

    Daiteyaccha!

(Used when someone treats you to dinner or drinks.)

17. Ishikawa

Kanazawa-ben

  あんやとごぜえみす

    Anyato gozêmisu!

  あんやと

    Anyato!

18. Fukui

19. Yamanashi

20. Nagano

Shinshû-ben

  あいとうですぁ

    Aitô desu-a!

(Intonation similar to Kansai dialect. Desu-a is a contraction of Desu-wa.)

Îda-ben

かんな

    Kanna!

(Kaniya is also said.)

  おかたしけ

    Okatashike!

(May be a corruption of katajikenai, which means to be grateful.)

  おしょーしー

    Oshôshî!

(Second and third syllables are extended. Includes the feeling of obligation and gratefulness.)

  うれしいに

    Ureshi-ni!

(Means one is happy/delighted, but conveys the same meaning as arigatô.)

  ありがとや

    Arigatoya!

(Arigato-na! is also possible.)

21. Gifu

22. Shizuoka

Enshû-ben

  ありがとね

    Arigato-ne.

23. Aichi

Nagoya-ben

  ありがと

    Arigáto!

(Accent on the ga, shortened to.)

  ありがとさん

    Arigato-san!

(A casual way to say thanks.)

  Kansai

Ôkini!

Maido ôkini!

24. Mie

おおきにいー

  Ôkinî!

(Accent on the final syllable.)

25. Shiga

26. Kyôto

おおきに

  Ôkini!

(More common among the elderly. Intonation is important.)

27. Ôsaka

おおきに

  Ôkini!

ありがとー

  Arigatoh!

(Intonation is key, rising on last syllable.)

ありがとさん

  Arigato-san!

まいどおおきに

  Maido Ôkini!

(Used when, for example, thanking someone for their continued patronage.)

28. Hyôgo

Yura-ben (Awaji-shima)

  おおきによ

    Ôkiniyo!

29. Nara

30. Wakayama

  Chûgoku

31. Tottori

Yonago-ben

  だんだん

    Dandan!

(Not common with younger residents of Yonago City.)

ようこそ

  Yôkoso!

(In standard Japanese this phrase is said when expressing the gratitude felt when someone visits you.)

32. Shimane

33. Okayama

ごめんよぉ

  Gomenyô!

(Used by women. Accent on go.)

わりいなぁ

  Wariinâ!

すまんなぁ

  Sumannâ!

(These two are used by men.)

34. Hiroshima

ありがとね

  Arigato-ne!

(Accent placed on the ga and ne.)

すまんのう

  Sumannô!

(Similar to sumimasen in meaning. More common among the elderly.)

35. Yamaguchi

ありがとうあります

  Arigatô arimasu!

すまんのう

  Sumannô!

(Meaning is closer to arigatô (thanks) than sumimasen (sorry).)

Iwaguni

  すまだったねー

    Sumadatta-nê!

(Strong accent on the final nê.)

  Shikoku

36. Tokushima

Awa-ben (Northern central Tokushima prefecture.)

  あんとー

    Antô!

(May be nothing more than baby talk.)

  おおけに

    Ôkeni!

  ありがとぐわした

    Arigato guwashita!

37. Kagawa

ど～～も

  Do~~mo.

(Be sure to let the word fall languidly from your lips.)

38. Ehime

39. Kôchi

  Kyûshû

40. Fukuoka

ありがとー

  Arigatô!

(Intonation and accent, like many of these is key. Spoken in a quick staccato, with an accent on the end.)

だんだん

  Dandan!

    (Apparently, this saying is fairly common among elderly women, but in all my years living in Fukuoka, I’ve never heard it. Means thanks so much.)

41. Saga

すんまっせん

  Sunmassen

あんがとー

  Angatô!

あんがちょー

  Angachô!

おおきに

  Ôkini!

(Same as Kyôto. Another person from Saga told me that no one says this.)

42. Nagasaki

Iki-ben (Islands in Nagasaki prefecture, west of Fukuoka prefecture.)

  おおきん

    Ôkin!

(Similar to ôkini.)

43. Kumamoto

すんまっせん

  Sunmassen

    (Also means excuse me, as in sumimasen.)

しょうじょう

  Shôjô!

(An elegant way of saying thanks.)

44. Ôita

45. Miyazaki

あいがと

  Arigato!

(Said with rising inflection.)

46. Kagoshima

あいがとごわした

  Aigato gowashita!

おおきに

  Ôkini

(Common among those born before 1955.)

あいがとさげもした

  Aigato sagemoshita!

(Original Satsuma-ben. A polite expression)

あいがともしゃげもした

  Aigato moshagemoshita!

(Polite form.)

Amami Ôshima (an island halfway between Kyûshû and Okinawa)

  ありがっさまありょうた

    Arigassama aryôta!

  Okinawa

47. Okinawa

にへーでーびる

  Nihêdêbiru!

Miyako-jima-ben

  タンディガータンディ

    Tandigâtandi!