馬鹿 – What does Baka in Japanese mean?
Baka in Japanse means, dumb, foolish, or silly. It is a popular catch-all phrase when you want to insult someone. However, the meaning of baka in Japanese does not stop there. So, if you want to know the full story of what does baka in Japanese mean really, keep reading.
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The Origins of Baka
Baka in Japanese actually comes from a Buddhist Pali or Sanskrit word, moha. Originally moha was transcribed in Japanese as 莫迦 which says, of course, baka in Japanese pronunciation. This word means ignorance, delusion, or confusion. So the meaning of moha in Sanskrit is similar but not quite the same for what is baka in Japanese today.
https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/What does Baka in Japanese mean?
莫迦 has become 馬鹿, ばか、or バカ which is how to write baka in Japanese today. We know already that 馬鹿 means stupid, dumb and so on but it has other meanings too and can be used as a noun, adjective, or even a prefix.
For example, as a noun, 馬鹿 would be a dumb or silly person or an idiot. If we want to say the same thing but use 馬鹿 as an adjective we could say the following:
馬鹿な人
a dumb person
Another thing to note about the meaning of baka in Japanese is the level of stupidity or level of insult. 馬鹿 can range from just calling someone silly to calling someone stupid. Some people among friends may use it freely even playfully. But, obviously, be careful since the intention and way you say it, or depending on who you are talking to may not appreciate it.
Anyway, other than calling people stupid, there are other ways to use 馬鹿.
Talking about things that are Excessive
As a prefix, 馬鹿 can attach to nouns or adjectives to say that something is done in excess or which exceeds what is normal.
- 馬鹿正直 – honest to a fault
- 馬鹿力 – great strength
Or it can even be a suffix:
- 親ばか – A parent that is obsessively fond of their child
Ridiculous
馬鹿 is also said to talk about things that are ridiculous, petty, trivial, or unthinkable.
馬鹿を言うな
don’t be ridiculous(literally: don’t say stupid things)
馬鹿な真似をするな
stop making a fool of yourself
そんな馬鹿な
that’s impossible
no way!
