さかい／Sakai (Because)

“Sakai” is a word meaning “because.” Nowadays, “nanode” is more commonly used. You can use “sakai” in expressions like “Hayo-iku-sakai, mattete-ya (Please wait for me because I will come soon)”. This is a word representative of Osaka, as in the old saying that “sakai,” “dosue” and “nanzoiya” are typical sentence endings of Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe (Hyogo), respectively. If you use this word naturally, you can be considered to be an Osakan.
Words play an important part in the storyteller’s art. Both performers and scriptwriters were interested in old words in Osaka, which are also essential knowledge in appreciating classic rakugo (comic storytelling). There were some famous plays on words in Osaka.