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I came across this phrase while reading an interview.

そういう時はなんて答えりゃいいんだ。

I think it means "At a time like that, such a reply/response is good."

But I don't understand the usage of りゃ. I couldn't find any reference as a suffix or conjugation.

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    Snailboat has given the correct answer below, so I will just mention the translation mistake that you made. The sentence is a question, not a statement. "How should I/one answer/respond on such an occasion?"
    – user4032
    Nov 13, 2013 at 0:32
  • @TokyoNagoya I see the difference. But how do I know the meaning of なんて, as "What/How" as used in a question as above, or "What" used like 「なんて厄介なんだ！」　"What a headache!" (example from space ALC), where the meaning is more like "such" and not asking a question. (Maybe this should be a new question...)
    – user3169
    Nov 25, 2013 at 5:44

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It's a contraction of 答えれば. More generally, eba contracts to ya:

 kotaereba → kotaerya　　（答えれば　→　答えりゃ）   
     okeba →     okya　　　（おけば　→　　おきゃ）  
      ieba →      iya　　　（言えば　→　　　言や）  
  nakereba →  nakerya　　（なければ　→　なけりゃ）

(As you can see, the pattern is easier to see and describe when romanized.)

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    I thought なければ becomes なきゃ?
    – ithisa
    Nov 14, 2013 at 23:31
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    @user54609 It can!　なければ → なけりゃ → なきゃ
    – user1478
    Nov 15, 2013 at 0:18
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    Just to mention that this also applies to adjectives, as in the example 坊主憎けりゃ袈裟まで憎い, where 憎ければ has become 憎けりゃ.
    – kandyman
    Feb 8, 2018 at 19:50

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