Someone recently posted about using the Kansai dialect as a non-native speaker, and it reminded me of my experience in Osaka.
Do you know what Ochi is? If you expect to spend any extended time in Osaka, I think it’s a concept you should be at least aware of when participating in, or listening to conversations with Osaka natives.
Ochi is kind of like a punchline or an amusing conclusion to a thought or section of a conversation. It’s a way to carry on a conversation about even mundane things.
e.g:
“I went to that Ramen shop the other day”
“How was it?”
“Pretty bad”
“How bad?”
“So bad I thought my eyes would fall out, but I think I might go back next week”
-> Insert generic ツッコミ
Splitting up your thoughts in into short phrases, and allowing the person you’re talking to to interject with a ツッコミ is somewhat a part of the culture in Osaka.
The video below, in Japanese, does a great job of explaining the potential frustration of someone used to this type of conversation can have when speaking to someone who isn’t. It seems like the other person doesn’t want to carry on a conversation with you.
On the other hand, if you’re NOT used to this kind of conversation, it can be annoying or tedious. Why do I have to come up with something funny to say, I’m not a comedian.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8CqOkP-ZHI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8CqOkP-ZHI)
As I’ve tagged this as discussion, let me ask these questions:
Is this something you’ve noticed studying or speaking Japanese?
Is it something you’ve thought about before?
If you’re Japanese, is this something that you look for in a conversation?
Is it intimidating?
1 comment
Video made perfect sense and so did the ballthrowing analogy. Didn’t know this was particular to Osaka though.
I don’t think ochi has to be a joke or comedy, it’s a punchline or a hook for the other party to respond and keep the rhythm of the conversation going.
In English we often respond to rambling without a point with ‘cool story bro’ so this feels a bit similar.