なんでやねん (nandeyanen): Meaning, Usage and Examples

Definition

なんでやねん (nandeyanen) is probably one of the most important phrases in the Kansai dialect, especially, in Osaka. It basically means ‘No way” or “What the heck?” and is usually used when you react to someone’s silly, goofy and/or unreasonable remark/behaviour (which can be said/done intentionally or unintentionally).

Usage

なんでやねん is particularly used by people in Kansai when they feel that something is not quire right and want to correct them. For instance, if you (jokingly or accidentally) say “This year, you’re turning 30 , right?” to your friend, who is from Osaka and actually still 28 years old, he/she might say “なんでやねん 、まだ28やわ”, meaning “What the heck? I’m still 28!”.

In fact, this way of communication plays a pivotal role in Japanese humour, i.e. “ボケ (boke)” and  “ツッコミ (tsukkomi)”. ボケ means to do or say something silly as a joke, and the role of ツッコミ is to correct them; and なんでやねん is the most essential phrase that is used as a starter expression to make ツッコミ. When someone does ボケ in front of their friends (especially in Osaka),  he/she expects that someone will react to him/her, as shown in the following example.

Example 

Situation 1: Both speakers (Taro and Hanako) are from Osaka

* In this conversation, 花子 (Hanako) and 太郎 (Taro) speak Kansai-ben (the Kansai dialect); see the related posts at the bottom to learn its vocabulary and grammar

太郎：今日きょうの昼ひる、何なに食たべたい？
Taro: What do you wanna eat for lunch today?
花子：今日は和食わしょくって気分きぶんやなー
Hanako: I feel like washoku (Japanese food) today.
太郎：ほなマクドでええか
Taro: OK then, let’s go to McDonald’s (= ボケ (boke): an intentional foolish comment)
花子：なんでやねん！全然ぜんぜん和食ちゃうやん！
Hanako: What the heck? That’s not Japanese food at all!!! (ツッコミ (tsukkomi): correct ボケ)

Situation 2: Taro is from Osaka and Hanako from Tokyo

太郎：今日きょうの昼ひる、何なに食たべたい？
Taro: What do you wanna eat for lunch today?
花子：今日は和食わしょくって気分きぶんかなー
Hanako: I feel like washoku (Japanese food) today.
太郎：ほなマクドでええか
Taro: OK then, let’s go to McDonald’s
花子：え、マック？私わたし和食が良いいって言いったんだけど。
Hanako:  Huh, McDonald’s? I said I want to eat Japanese food. (react to Taro’s ボケ in a serious tone: a fiasco!)

* In fact, a plethora of people from Osaka complain that people in Tokyo do no understand their ボケ and can’t do ツッコミ properly.

** As you can see, マクドナルド (McDonald’s) is abbreviated as マクド in Kansai, but as マック in the other areas. Learn more Japanese abbreviated words at:

List of Japanese Abbreviated Words and Phrases

Related Book (In Japanese)

「なんでやねん」を英語で言えますか? 知らんとヤバいめっちゃ使う50のフレーズ+α Let’s speak in Kansai dialect

I highly recommend this Japanese (paper/kindle) book for those who are Japanese or advanced Japanese learners and want to learn very deep Kansai dialect words. The following is cited from the introduction written by the author 川合 亮平 (Ryohei Kawai), who is a famous Japanese-English translator/interpreter from Kansai):

関西人なら知らんとあかんで! 関西人による関西人のための英会話入門書。
ムダに関西弁と英語の音声ダウンロード付きで、発音もバッチリ!

For those who want to learn authentic Japanese Kansai-dialect phrases, this one-of-a-kind bilingual book is for you.
From “How much is it?” to “I’ll kick your arse.”, you can learn day-to-day essential Kansai phrases through manga and comical dialogues.

[Note that this is an affiliate link, meaning I may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link (without any cost to you). However, my recommendation is unbiased and I can recommend this amusing book with complete confidence.]

Related Song: なんでやねんねん

“なんでやねんねん” is a humorous Japanese song sung by 浜田ばみゅばみゅ (Hamada Bamyu Bamyu), a fictitious “idol” played by the Japanese comedian 浜田雅功 (Masatoshi Hamada) as a parody of きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ (Kyary Pamyu Pamyu).

Related Words

Synonym

なんで: why

Antonym

なるほど: I see

Related Posts

9 Essential Words in Kansai-ben with Detailed Usage Examples

9 Essential Words in Kansai-ben with Detailed Usage Examples

Essential Grammar in Kansai Dialect (関西弁, Kansai ben)

Essential Grammar in Kansai Dialect (関西弁, Kansai ben)