りゃ(あ）& じゃ(あ） =rya(a) & ja(a) – Casual contraction
「ねむ〜い！」
= Nemuuui!
= I’m soooo sleepy!
「じゃあ、もう寝りゃいいじゃない!」
= Jaa mou nerya iijanai!
= Then why don’t you go to bed already!
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Hi everyone! Before I hit the sack, I want to give you a lesson.
Today’s lesson is about casual suffixes. Here’s one of them that you don’t usually learn at school but you do hear a lot in daily conversation.
I have made
*ちゃう＋ちゃった(=chau+chatta)
lesson in the past.
I got requests a long time ago to make more lessons of this type of casual contraction.
So today let’s learn
じゃ(あ）(=ja(a)) and りゃ（あ）(=rya)/ りゃ(あ) (=rya(a)
Let’s start from じゃ(=ja) / じゃあ（=jaa)
Have you ever seen the following expressions?
Ex. じゃ(あ)またね！
= Ja(a) matane!
= OK, see you! / Bye now!
Ex. じゃ(あ)お元気で！
= Ja(a) ogenki de
= OK, take care of yourself!
Or simply.
じゃ(あ)ね！= ja(a)ne! (female speech )
or
じゃ(あ)！(=ja(a))
It means, “See you!”, “I am off!”"
じゃ(あ)(=ja(a) is from では(=dewa)
Ex. それでは、また明日！
= Soredewa mata ashita!
= OK, then I will see you tomorrow!
→それじゃ(あ)、また明日！
= Soreja(a) mata ashita!
Ex. それではお元気で！
= Soredewa ogenki de! (formal)
= OK, then, please take care of yourself!
→それじゃあ、元気で(ね)！
= Sorejaa genki de(ne)!
= OK, then, take care! (This is more casual.)
Note: じゃあ(=jaa) or じゃ(=ja) are almost the same. じゃ（=jaa) is a bit lighter than じゃあ(=jaa)It means, OK/ Then/ In that case/ if you say so, or you say that when you suggest something.
では(=dewa) →じゃ（あ）(=ja(a))
Ex. では、ここで失礼します。
= Dewa koko de shitsurei shimasu.
= Then, I’ll excuse myself here.
じゃ(あ)、ここで失礼します。
= Ja(a) koko de shitsurei shimasu.
Ex. では、私は、どうしたらいいの？
= Dewa, doushitara iino?
= Then, what should I do?
じゃ(あ)、私はどうしたらいいの？
= Ja(a) watashi wa doushitara iino?
Ex. では、そんなに言うんだったらもうちょっとだけつきあうよ。
= Dewa sonnani iun dattara mou chotto dake tsukiauyo.
= Well, if you really insist, I’ll hang out with you just a little longer.
じゃ(あ)、そんなに言うんだったらもうちょっとだけつきあうよ。
= Jaa sonnani iundattara mou chotto dake tsukiauyo.
Ex.マギー行かないの？では私もやめとく。
= Maggie ikanai no? Dewa watashi mo yametoku.
= You are not going, Maggie? Well then (in that case), I won’t go either.
マギー行かないの？じゃ(あ)私もやめとく。
= Maggie ikanai no? Ja(a) watashi mo yametoku.
Note : ~ とく(~toku) is another casual contraction of ~ておく (= ~ te oku)
Ex. 犬ではなくて猫が欲しい。
= Inu dewa nakute neko ga hoshii.
= I want a cat, not a dog.
犬じゃなくて猫が欲しい。
= Inu janakute neko ga hoshii.
Ex. 来週では遅過ぎる。
= Raishuu dewa ososugiru
= If it is next week, it is going to be too late.
来週じゃ(あ)遅過ぎる。
= Raishuu ja(a) ososugiru
*******************
りゃ(あ） = rya(a)
In my opinion じゃ(あ) (=ja(a)) is a casual — yet cute — contraction, りゃ(あ）= rya(a) is even more casual.
1) 〜れは(= rewa ) →りゃ (=rya) or りゃあ (=ryaa)
We have learned こそあど言葉(=kosoado kotoba), demonstrative adjective
When you use これ(=kore) = this 、それ(=sore) =it, this, that、あれ(=are) = that and a subject marker, は(= rewa ) with a surprised feeling or with more emotion, it will be
★それは(=sore wa) →そりゃ(あ) (=sorya(a))
★これは(=kore wa) →こりゃ(あ) (=korya(a))
★あれは (= are wa) →ありゃ(あ) (=arya(a))
Ex. そりゃ（あ）ひょっとして風邪じゃない？
= Sorya(a) hyotto shite kaze janai?
= (Maybe you have a cold.) → Don’t you have a cold?
Ex. そりゃ(あ)おかしいよ
= Sorya(a) okashiiyo.
= It’s strange!
Ex. そりゃ(あ)そうだ
= Sorya(a) souda.
= You’re right.
Ex. そりゃ（あ）大変だね。
= Sorya(a) taihen dane.
= It’s tough, isn’t it?
Ex. そりゃないよ！
= Sorya naiyo!
= You can’t do that to me! / No way! / It can’t be true! / You must be kidding me!
Ex. こりゃ（あ）ありがたい (a kind of old fashioned.)
= Korya(a) arigatai!
= Thank heavens!
Ex. こりゃ（あ）すごい！
= Korya sugoi!
= This is great!
Ex.こりゃ（あ）高すぎる！
= Korya takasugiru!
= This is way too expensive!
Ex.なんだこりゃ(あ)！
= Nanda korya(a)!
= What is this??
Ex.ありゃ（あ）ひどい
= Arya hidoi.
= That’s horrible.
Ex.駄目だ、こりゃ！
= Dame da, korya!
= This is bad.
Note : りゃ(=rya) and りゃあ（=rya) means the same but りゃあ(=ryaa) stresses the feeling more.
１）verb + れば(=reba) → りゃ(=rya) or りゃあ(=ryaa)
れば(=reba)→ りゃ（あ）(=rya(a)) is used when you suggest something or make a hypothetical situation.
You might think this is slang but this contraction is not new at all. Some of you might have heard an old saying,
坊主憎けりゃ袈裟まで憎い。
= Bouzu nikukerya kesa made nikui.
= to hate everything about that person
•坊主= bouzu = a Buddhist priest, bonze
•憎い = nikui = to hate
(憎ければ = nikukereba → 憎けりゃ = nikukerya = If you hate ~ )
•まで = made = even
•袈裟 = kesa= a robe for Buddhist priests
This literally means if you hate a Buddhist priest, you even hate his robe.
Ex. いい点数を取りたければ勉強すればいいではないですか。
= Ii tensuu wo toritakereba benkyou sureba ii de wa nai desuka?
= If you want to get a good score, why don’t you just study?
いい点数を取りたけりゃ勉強すりゃ（あ）いいじゃない。(casual)
= Iitensuu wo toritakerya benkyou surya(a) iijanai.
Ex. A :「今、忙しい？」
= Ima isogashii?
= Are you busy now?
B ; 「見ればわかるでしょ！。」
= Mireba wakaru desho!
= Can’t you tell?/ Isn’t it obvious? (If you see something/somebody you will know what it is/who they are.)
見りゃ(あ）わかるでしょ！(casual)
= Mirya(a) wakaru desho!
Ex. どうすればいいのだろう。
= Dousureba iinodarou.
= I don’t know what to do.
どうすりゃ(あ）いいんだろう。（casual)
= Dousurya(a) iindarou
Ex.マギーのスッピンなんて見なければよかった。
= Maggie no suppin nante minakereba yokatta
= I wish I hadn’t seen Maggie’s face without make-up on.
マギーのスッピンなんて見なけりゃよかった。
= Maggie no suppin nante minakerya yokatta.
Ex. どんなに難しいかやってみればわかるよ。
= Donna ni muzukashii ka yatte mireba wakaruyo.
= If you try, you will see how hard it is.
どんなに難しいかやってみりゃわかるよ。
= Donnani muzukashii ka yatte mirya wakaru yo.
2) ありは(=riwa) ＋しない→ありゃ(あ）(=arya(a) + しない(=shinai) = There is not~
Ex. いいことばかりありはしない。
= iikoto bakari ari wa shinai.
= You’re not always lucky.
いいことばかりありゃしない。
= iikoto bakari aryashinai.
Special expression :
〜ったらない(= ~ttara nai)＝There is nothing more than ~
adjective + ったらありゃしない(=~ ttara aryashinai)
= It is very ~/ It is so ~ (emphasize)
Ex. 面白いったらない。
= Omoshiroittara nai
= It is very interesting. It is so much fun. (There is nothing more fun than this.)
面白いったらありゃしない！
= Omoshiroittara aryashinai
Ex. ばかばかしいといったらない。
= Bakabakashii toittaranai.
= This is so ridiculous. / There is nothing more stupid than this.
ばかばかしいったらありゃしない。
= Bakabakashittara aryashinai.
マギー先生より = Maggie Snese yori = From Maggie Sensei
ねむたいったらありゃしない！じゃあ、もう寝ますね。お休みなさい… 
= Nemutaittara aryashinai! Jaa mou nemasune. Oyasumi nasai…
= I am so sleepy! Well, then I’ll will go to bed now. Good night!
17 Responses to “りゃ(あ）& じゃ(あ） =rya(a) & ja(a) – Casual contraction”
Leave a Reply
@maggiesensei 
glenn on March 4th, 2012
Ex. ばかばかしいといったらない
マギー先生、もう一度説明してくれてくださいませんか？
「ばかばかしいったらない」の言うことが理解できる。
しかし「 ばかばかしいといったらない」の言うことを理解するな。
有り難う御座います、 ご苦労様でした。
Maggie on March 4th, 2012
@glenn
First,
~といったらない is the most formal form.
*i-adjective+ といったらない
*na-adjective+ といったらない
*verb (dictionary form) + といったらない
Ex. ばかばかしいといったらない = It is extremely ridiculous
And if you want to make it sound more casual, we say
↓
ばかばかしいったらない
more casual↓
ばかばかしいったらありゃしない
How’s that?
glenn on March 5th, 2012
はい、全部分かりました。
いつもお世話に。
Ron on January 12th, 2012
I would like this to recommend to my other fellow Japanese language learners. Maggie you’re so good I want to marry you..haha.
冗談だ。やばいだ！
Maggie on January 12th, 2012
@Ron
What!? You are not going to marry me???
Ron on January 13th, 2012
If its ok to you! Wjy not. I like people who really help other people.
Cygnus on October 19th, 2011
Maggie, why not mentioning that famous 落ち from those Japanese comedians? They always ended up saying ダメだこりゃ！ I would like to know about them actually, hah.
I’d also buy your books, hehe.
Maggie on October 19th, 2011
@Cygnus
Wow! I’m impressed that you know the line ダメだこりゃ! www
You’re right. It is a famous line of いかりや長介, a leader of a comedian group, ドリフターズ.
It is a kind of old show but it used to be very popular.
There is a series of the skit in their show called,
もしもこんな〜がいたら/あったら What if there is a person like this in ~ / What if there is a place/shop/ like this.
Ex.もしもこんな先生がいたら…Ex. もしもこんな病院があったら
Here’s a link! “もしもシリーズ”
They show a very extreme situational comedy skit. And it always finish with a line of the leader, ダメだこりゃ!
Good! Now I can sell at least “5″ books!
WolfHavenXIII on October 19th, 2011
先生、ちょっとまちがいましたかもしれない。
この辺：
B ; 「見ればわかるでしょ！。」
= Mireba wakaru dewa nai desuka.
= Can’t you tell?/ Isn’t it obvious? (If you see something/somebody you will know what it is/who they are.)
見りゃ(あ）わかるでしょ！(casual)
= Mirya(a) wakaru janai ka.
Maggie on October 19th, 2011
@WolfHavenXIII
Ooops!! ほんとだ〜！
途中で文章変えたんですがローマ字を変えるのを忘れていました。ありがとう！！
andre on October 17th, 2011
really cool, yeah that´s right we don´t learn these sentences at the school… Thanx… Jya…
Maggie on October 17th, 2011
@andre
Thank you for your comment!
じゃあ、またね！
applezoid on October 14th, 2011
このレーソンは面白いったらありゃしない！Awesome lesson. Have you ever thought about writing some kind of book? I would definitely buy a copy, and probably one for a couple friends of mine learning Japanese too.
とにがく、それじゃ；）
Maggie on October 14th, 2011
@aookezoid
Haha, you can use them perfectly!
Yes, I’d love to publish a book someday. じゃあ、本を作ったら２、３冊は確実に売れますね！
applezoid on October 16th, 2011
もちろん！
Claudia on October 19th, 2011
本を書いて下さい！ブログを読んだら、いつもたくさん学びますよ！
ありがとうございます〜ミ☆
Maggie on October 19th, 2011
@Claudia
ありがとう、Claudia!! それじゃあいつか本が出たらよろしくね！