
 Although found in the native dialects throughout northern and western Germany, the use of 
wat in colloquial standard German is most typical of the West (chiefly 
North Rhine-Westphalia and 
Rhineland-Palatinate). It is also heard in some parts of northern and north-eastern Germany, e.g. in and around 
Berlin. In all these regions, the forms 
wat and 
was are used in free variation.