Table of Contents
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：今日の昼、何食べたい？
Taro: What do you wanna eat for lunch today?
花子：今日は和食って気分やなー
Hanako: I feel like washoku (Japanese food) today.
太郎：ほなマクド行こか
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：今日の昼、何食べたい？
Taro: What do you wanna eat for lunch today?
花子：今日は和食って気分かなー
Hanako: I feel like washoku (Japanese food) today.
太郎：ほなマクド行こか
Taro: OK then, let’s go to McDonald’s
花子：え、マック？私和食が良いって言ったんだけど。
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 myriad 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:
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
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