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It is said by the old man to a group of children about going to see a boy who
is in a jail.

> _Old man:_ おめえら そんなかっこうであそんでいていいのか ジョーにあいにいくしたくを **せん** でもいいのか
>
> _Child:_ あたいたちもつれてってくれるの？

I noticed that there is a blank space between 「を」 and the word 「せん」. I then
think that 「せん」 would not be a transitive verb but a noun followed by an
expression 「でもいい」 to be translated like "would...be good?". In my guess, it
would relate to something like travelling by train or 「線」.

If I am correct, I am still further curious why the writer did not use the
Kanji instead of Hiragana so that it would be more easier to catch the
meaning.

Here is the screenshot.

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/G1yev.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/G1yev.jpg)
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2016-07-18T06:06:14.290
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2017-04-04T06:14:32.483
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
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question
words manga role-language
What does the word 「せん」 mean in this sentence?
In this phrase, せん is not 線。 せん is しない (don't do) in some dialects.

I think the blank between したくを and せん makes it difficult for you to
understand.

したくをせん means "don't prepare". したく (支度 in kanji) is preparation.

So the phrase ジョーにあいにいくしたくを せんでもいいのか means "Would it be okay for you to be not
prepared to meet Joe?"
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2016-07-18T06:29:31.320
36750
2016-07-19T05:24:29.913
2016-07-19T05:24:29.913
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answer
* 「 **せんでも** いいのか」 ＝ 「 **しなくて** もいいのか」 
  * 「せん」 ＝ 「しない」

せん・せぇへん is a common way to say しない especially in Kansai.  
You can see something similar in the Standard Japanese「すみま **せん** 」

In 時代劇 on TV, they often say せぬ which is a literary equivalent of せん.
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2016-07-19T05:53:27.260
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2016-07-20T04:51:29.843
2016-07-20T04:51:29.843
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answer