Japanese with Manga

Ate snacks with 食うた

Grammar Explanation: Grammar in the Kansai dialect

Manga panel from カードキャプターさくら showing example of Ate snacks with 食うた.
カードキャプターさくら » Volume 9 » Page 129

Kero joins Sakura at the spot where she sensed a Clow Card. Seeing Tomoyo and Li, Kero asks why Sakura called them first. Sakura explains she and Tomoyo had stopped by Li’s place, with Tomoyo adding that Sakura tried on a new outfit and they all had snacks.

ケロ:
「…お菓子(かし)食(く)うたんか！？」
“…You ate snacks?!”
桜(さくら):
「う…　うん」
“Y... yeah.”

Key Points

1食(く)うた is the Kansai past form of 食(く)う
  • It means “ate” here, corresponding to standard 食(く)った.
  • 食(く)う is a casual word for “eat”. In くうた, the う sound is long where standard くった has a small っ.
2んか asks for confirmation
  • The ん is shortened explanatory の, followed by the question particle か. 食(く)うたんか corresponds to 食(く)ったのか.
3お菓子(かし) is the object, with を left out
  • Restoring the particle gives お菓子(かし)を食(く)うたんか. The snacks are what Sakura and the others ate.

See Also

カードキャプターさくら © its respective creators. It is used here for educational commentary.