Baka (Japanese word)
Baka (馬鹿, ばか in hiragana, or バカ in katakana) means "fool", or (as an adjectival noun) "foolish" and is the most frequently used pejorative term in the Japanese language.[1] The word baka has a long history, an uncertain etymology (possibly from Sanskrit or Classical Chinese), and linguistic complexities.
Word
The modern Japanese writing system transcribes the insult baka as バカ in katakana, ばか in hiragana, or 馬鹿 (lit. "horse deer") in ateji phonetic kanji transcription; earlier ateji renderings included 莫迦, 母嫁, 馬嫁, or 破家.[2]
History
The first written usages of baka were during the Nanboku-chō period (1336–1392), when the "Northern and Southern Courts" battled.
In the earliest example, the
A Bunmei-era (1469–1487) edition of the Setsuyōshū dictionary notes baka 馬鹿, which was also written 母嫁 (lit. "mother bride"), 馬嫁 (lit. "horse bride"), or 破家 (lit. "break family"), means rōzeki 狼藉 "disorder; confusion".[6]
Many classical Japanese texts used baka. For instance, the (c. 1616)
Etymologies
Although the origins of baka are uncertain, Japanese scholars have proposed various
First, the oldest hypothesis suggests that baka originated as a Chinese literary "allusion to a historical fool", the
Zhao Gao was contemplating treason but was afraid the other officials would not heed his commands, so he decided to test them first. He brought a deer and presented it to the Second Emperor but called it a horse. The Second Emperor laughed and said, "Is the chancellor perhaps mistaken, calling a deer a horse?" Then the emperor questioned those around him. Some remained silent, while some, hoping to ingratiate themselves with Zhao Gao, said it was a horse, and others said it was a deer. Zhao Gao secretly arranged for all those who said it was a deer to be brought before the law. Thereafter the officials were all terrified of Zhao Gao.[7]
The Japanese idiom first appears in the 11th-century novel The Tale of Genji.
Kokiden flew into a rage. "A man out of favor with His Majesty is expected to have trouble feeding himself. And here he is living in a fine stylish house and saying awful things about all of us. No doubt the grovelers around him are assuring him that a deer is a horse."[8]
Second, the most linguistically sound etymology is that baka derives from a
Other proposed etymologies for baka are less reliable. Two Edo-period dictionaries proposed that baka derived from: ōmaka 大まか "generous; unsparing" (Rigen Shūran 俚言集覧) or bokeru 惚ける "grow senile; dote; become feeble-minded" (Matsuya Hikki 松屋筆記).[4][6]
Related words
The same 馬鹿 "horse deer" characters that transcribe baka are also used for names in Chinese zoological nomenclature and Japanese mythology.
In Chinese, mǎlù (馬鹿) refers to the red deer (Cervus elaphus), Japanese akashika 赤鹿.
Mumashika is a rare alternate Japanese reading of 馬鹿 that names a yōkai demon with a horse's head and deer's body. The c. 1832 Hyakki Yagyō Emaki (百鬼夜行絵巻; "Hyakki Yagyō emakimono") depicts it with one eye, a horse's mouth and ears, and deer horn and hooves.
Meanings
Based on
Three basic "fool; foolish" meanings distinguish baka1 "ass; jerk; fool", baka2 "ament; idiot; imbecile; fool" (
Two extended meanings of baka4 "worthless" and baka5 "excess" expand upon "folly; foolishness". Baka4 "worthless; foolish; valueless; trifling; insignificant" is used in expressions such as bakageta 馬鹿げた "foolish; absurd; ridiculous"; bakana 馬鹿な "foolish; silly; stupid"; and bakarashii 馬鹿らしい, bakabakarashii 馬鹿々々らしい, or bakakusai 馬鹿臭い, all meaning "foolish; absurd; ridiculous". It is further used in phrases like baka ie 馬鹿言え "Nonsense!; Go on!", and bakana mane o suru 馬鹿な真似をする "do a foolish thing; act foolishly". Baka5 "excess; foolish; absurd; extreme; extravagant" is found in a number of expressions: bakani 馬鹿に or bakabakashiku 馬鹿々々しく "awfully; terribly; extremely"; bakayasui 馬鹿安い "ridiculously/dirt cheap"; bakane 馬鹿値 or bakadakai 馬鹿高い "ridiculously expensive"; bakateinei 馬鹿丁寧 "excessive politeness"; and bakashōjiki 馬鹿正直 "honest to a fault".
Three special meanings are unrelated semantic connections. Baka6 "trough shell" is a truncation of bakagai 馬鹿貝 "
Usages
In Japanese in MangaLand: Learning the Basics, Marc Bernabe listed baka as "the most commonly used" and the "top
Pragmatics
The linguistic
Carr proposes that intentional
One likely reason for the relatively few Japanese words for 'fool' is vagueness. In both English and Japanese, the words for 'fool' have meanings that vary along scales of friendly–hostile, or joking–serious. In English, at one end of a scale are words like silly goose and at the other end are words like stupid asshole. And in Japanese, at one end are words like kamaboko baka 蒲鉾馬鹿 'silly chump' and at the other end are words like baka-yarō 馬鹿野郎 'damn fool'. The difference is in the degree of lexical diversification along the scales of meaning. English seems to have more 'fool' words with more specificity – Japanese seems to have fewer 'fool' words with more vagueness. There are decided pragmatic and communicative advantages to such lexical vagueness. If you call me a stupid son-of-a-bitch, I know exactly what you mean. But if you call me a baka-yarō, I cannot be so sure of what you mean. The expression baka-yarō 馬鹿野郎 is one of the most insulting terms in the Japanese lexicon, but it is vague and can range in meaning from an affectionate 'silly-willy' to an abusive 'jerk-off fool'. Baka-yarō is so widely used that it has become semantically weak and vague. Such vagueness can serve to conceal hostility and thus to maintain social harmony.[4]
Dialectal
According to Marc Bernabe, Japanese dialects show regional variations between using baka in Kantō dialect and aho 阿呆 or あほ "fool; idiot; jackass" in Kansai dialect. In addition, the insult aho has more of a slang connotation than baka. Many Japanese dictionaries treat the words baka and aho as synonyms. "However, in Osaka and its surroundings, aho is a rather non-offensive word, whereas baka is an explosive word." Nevertheless, "In Tokyo and its surroundings, we find exactly the opposite, so you must be careful with the usage of these words."[11]
Proper names
Baka frequently occurs in
English
During World War II, baka was American military slang for the Imperial Japanese Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka kamikaze flying bomb.[13] The earliest recorded usage was in Newsweek on May 7, 1945, "American forces have officially designated this bomb as 'baka', baka being Japanese for foolish, silly, or stupid."[14] In modern times, baka has often been used in anime communities. This has also led to the satirical and ironic use of baka to call someone a fool or mock anime communities, especially in Internet meme spaces.[15]
See also
References
- ^ "ばか 【馬鹿／莫迦】". デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen dictionary]. Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2001.
- ^ a b c "ばか 【馬鹿・莫迦・破家】". 日本国語大辞典 [Shogakukan Unabridged Dictionary of the Japanese Language]. Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2007.
- ISBN 978-0-8248-1601-8. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
- ^ hdl:10252/2038.
- ^ Shinmura Izuru 新村出 (1971). "馬鹿考 [Baka ko]". 新村出全集 [Shinmura Izuru zenshū]. Chikuma. pp. 100–104.
- ^ a b c d e f Shinmura Izuru 新村出 (1971). "馬鹿考 [Baka ko]". 新村出全集 [Shinmura Izuru zenshū]. Chikuma. pp. 100–104., p.
- ISBN 9780231081696.
- ^ Murasaki Shikibu (1976). The Tale of Genji. Translated by Edward G. Seidensticker. Knopf. p. 268.
- Koujien). Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten. 2008.
- ISBN 978-81-208-2000-5.
- ^ a b Bernabe, Marc; Niimura, Ken; March, Guillermo (2004). Japanese in MangaLand: Learning the Basics. Japan Publications Trading. p. 151.
- ^ Seward, Jack (1972). The Japanese. New York: William Morrow. p. 167.
- ^ Evans, Toshie M. (1997). A Dictionary of Japanese Loanwords. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 11–12.
- JSTOR 487246.
- ^ Pellot, Emerald (31 March 2021). "What does 'baka' mean on TikTok?". In The Know. Yahoo!. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
