🌏 Region(s): Ryukyu (Okinawa)

はなし【話】 : hanashi | define meaning

hanashi

Pronunciation: [hanaɕi]

Definition

Noun

Talk; discussion; conversation; speech; story
1. はなしすん【話すん】
  hanashi sun
  "To have a conversation", "To tell a story"
2. どぅしんちゃーとぅはなしそーん【同士んちゃーとぅ話そーん】
  dushinchaa tu hanashi soon
  "(She) is having a conversation with friends", "(She) is talking to some friends"
3. ちくいばなし【作話】
  chikuibanashi
  "Fictional story"

Etymology

Cognate with standard Japanese はなし【話・話し】 hanashi "talk".

Historical Ryukyuan attestations

Essay in Aid of a Grammmar and Dictionary of the Luchuan Language (1895), by Basil Hall Chamberlain, records "Hanashi, conversation, a story: hanashi shun, to tell, to say. (Jap. hanashi.)".
沖縄語典 Okinawa goten (Okinawan language dictionary) (1896), by Masayo Nakamoto, records "「はなし」話（ハナシ）、噺、咄".

Notes

Variant:

はなしー hanashii

Spelling

Orthography	Form
Kanji	話
Kana	はなし
Romanization	hanashi
Pronunciation (IPA)	[hanaɕi]

意味：はなし【話・話し・咄・噺】

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話

Tags: Okinawan Language, Uchinaaguchi, Ryukyuan Languages, 沖縄方言, 沖縄語, うちなーぐち, 沖縄口, 琉球方言, 琉球語...

Cite this entry: Read, Zachary. (2026, May 16). はなし【話】 : hanashi | define meaning. JLect: Japonic Languages and Dialects Database. Retrieved 2026, May 19, from https://www.jlect.com/entry/8679/hanashi/.