How to Learn Fukuoka Japanese With Comprehensible Input

Fukuoka's Hakata-ben uses the same kana and kanji as standard Japanese, but it ends questions and statements its own way. A list of dialect endings can explain each one. Hearing them often, in scenes you already follow, is what lets you recognize them as people talk. Comprehensible input is Hakata-ben like that: Japanese from Fukuoka you mostly understand, where the scene tells you what each ending is doing.

What Comprehensible Input Looks Like

The picture shows Hakata-ben lines as rows, one bar per word. Gray bars are words you already know, and the purple bar is a new one.

About one unfamiliar word per sentence, while you still follow the meaning.

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With the rest of a line familiar, the scene shows what the new word or ending means. At first, that's a two-line chat at a ramen stall. Later, a full conversation with a tutor gives you enough context to work out a phrase yourself. If you get lost in most lines, go back to shorter scenes for a while.

Your Roadmap by Level

Bubblegum's six levels each come with a line a learner might say about their reading. Pick the nearest, and treat the videos and lessons as a rough fit, since they use no levels.

1. First Steps

   I can't read hiragana yet.

   Learn hiragana, then katakana, and listen to easy Japanese while you do.

   Bubblegum's free Hiragana course →
2. Level 1

   I can sound out words but not much else

   Read short Hakata scenes with furigana, and try the line further down this page. Then skim MATCHA's English guide to Hakata phrases.

   MATCHA's Hakata Dialect Guide →
3. Level 2

   I can handle simple exchanges

   Watch a short English video on everyday Hakata words, then find those words in your next lesson.

   5 Hakata Ben Everyday Words →
4. Level 3

   I follow conversations on familiar topics

   Genki Japanese and Culture School, a school in Fukuoka City, has free blog lessons on Hakata endings. Read the one on ったい, then listen for it.

   Genki's Hakata-ben lessons →
5. Level 4

   I understand most content but miss some nuance

   Watch a full Hakata-ben course video on YouTube, and repeat each phrase after the hosts.

   Hakata Dialect Course with Chien Chien and Emily →
6. Level 5

   I read complex topics but rare words slow me down

   Find a language partner in Fukuoka and chat about your week. Ask them to use Hakata-ben with you.

   Tandem partners in Fukuoka →
7. Level 6

   I read at near-native level

   Follow local TV and conversations in Fukuoka, and notice when speakers switch from Hakata-ben to standard Japanese.

Step to the next row once this one needs little help. Step back if most lines send you to the dictionary.

Try It on a Sentence

Wikipedia's article on the Hakata dialect gives a short question: 帰ると? It asks "Are you going home?", using 帰る (go home) plus と, the Hakata question ending, with the pitch rising at the end. Once you know 帰る, the と and the rising voice tell you it's a question.

Bubblegum, a language app, gives you your own AI tutor, Poppy, who writes Hakata-ben lessons at your level on topics you choose. Each comes with furigana and audio, and the words you save return in later lessons through Regenerative Review™.

Frequently Asked Questions About Comprehensible Input