東京の旅館に北海道からの旅行客が泊まりました。部屋まで案内すると、客たちは口々に「あぁ、こわい」「こわい、こわい」と言うではありませんか。案内してきた仲居さんは驚いて、慌てて洗面所の鏡をのぞき込みました。しかし、そこに映っていたのは普段と変わらない自分の顔。

厨房に行って、同僚に「ねぇ、私の顔って怖い？」とたずねました。「え？　別に…。いつもと同じ顔よ」「さっき案内したお客さんが、私の顔を見て『こわい、こわい』って言ったのよ」。

その会話を聞いていた板前さんが、「どこから来たお客さんだい？」と尋ねます。「確か北海道からのお客さんだったわ」と仲居さん。「そりゃ、方言だよ。北海道では『怖い』というのは『疲れた』って意味だぜ」。

こうして仲居さんの謎は解けました。「こわい」という単語を「恐ろしい」という意味だけだと思っていたので、このような誤解が生じたのです。

北関東から北の地域では、「こわい」を「疲れた」という意味でも使います。さらに、西日本や中部地方では「食べ物が硬い」という意味での「こわい」の用法があります。ですから、「このご飯、こわいねぇ」という文章は、ご飯がおそいかかってくるわけではありませんのでご注意を！

=====
Fright :

Travelers from Hokkaido stayed in a Ryokan (Japanese style inn) in Tokyo. When shown to their room they were all saying “Ah, kowai,” (Oh, how scary) and “Kowai, kowai” (Frightening, frightening.)

The woman showing them the rooms, the “nakai-san” (person who serves the guests)  began wiping down the mirror above the washbasin in a panic, but all she saw reflected in the mirror was her same old face she saw everyday.

“Nakai-san” went to the kitchen and asked one of her coworkers, “Hey, does my face look scary to you?” But her coworker replied, “Huh? Not really… You look the same as you always do.”

The guests I showed in just now looked me in the face and said ‘Frightening, frightening,’ ” said “nakai-san”.

A chef who had been listening to the conversation asked, “Where were these guests from?”  “I’m pretty sure they came from Hokkaido,” answered “nakai-san”.  “Oh, that’s a dialect,” said the chef. “In Hokkaido, the word ‘Kowai’ (scary) means the same thing as ‘to be tired.’ ”
This answered the riddle that had been puzzling “nakai-san”.  She had thought that the word “Kowai” only meant something that was dreadful or frightening, and that’s what lead to the misunderstanding.

In Northern Kanto and other regions further to the north the word “Kowai” (scary) is used to mean “Tsukareta” (to be tired).  And in Western Japan’s Chubu region “Kowai” is used to mean that “food is tough / hard.” So be careful, the sentence “Kono go-han, kowai ne” doesn’t mean that the food is out to get you.