Baka (word)

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For other uses, see Baka.

Baka (馬鹿, ばか, or バカ) means "idiot", "stupid", "fool", or (as an adjectival noun) "foolish" and is the most frequently used pejorative term in the Japanese language.[1] This word baka has a long history, an uncertain etymology (possibly from Sanskrit or Classical Chinese), and linguistic complexities.


The modern Japanese writing system transcribes the insult baka "fool; idiot" 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]


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 Taiheiki historical epic records bakamono 馬鹿者 being used as an insult in 1342.[3] The Ashikaga commander Toki Yoritō 土岐頼遠 refuses to pay obeisance to retired Emperor Kōgon (r. 1313-1364), "Yoritō, probably inebriated, loudly demands to know what kind of fool (bakamono) has the temerity to order him to dismount." According to Carr, "Shinmura found that the original editions (fourteenth century) of the Taiheiki had baka written バカ; [while] later movable-type editions (c. 1600) had the characters 馬鹿."[4][5]

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) Kōyō Gunkan military chronicle transcribed baka as 馬嫁. Ihara Saikaku's (1682) Kōshoku Ichidai Otoko 好色一代男 "The Life of an Amorous Man", which was a classic of the Ukiyozōshi genre, wrote baka with the modern kanji 馬鹿.


Although the origins of baka are uncertain, Japanese scholars have proposed various etymologies and folk etymologies. The two most widely cited are a Classical Chinese idiom and a loanword from Sanskrit.

First, the oldest hypothesis suggests that baka originated as a Chinese literary "allusion to a historical fool", the Qin Dynasty traitor Zhao Gao (d. 207 BCE).[4] This etymology first appears in the (c. 1548) Unbo irohashu 運歩色葉集 dictionary, which glosses baka 馬鹿 as meaning "指鹿曰馬" "point at a deer and say horse".[6] Namely, the Chinese idiom zhi lu wei ma 指鹿為馬 (lit. "point at a deer and call it a horse", Japanese shika o sashite uma to nasu) meaning "call a deer a horse; deliberate misrepresentation for ulterior purposes"; which refers to the (c. 109-91 BCE) Shiji Chinese historical account of Zhao Gao. Zhao was an infamous eunuch who served the first emperor Qin Shi Huang (r. 246-221 BCE) and forced the second Qin Er Shi (r. 210-207 BCE) to commit suicide.


The Japanese idiom first appears in the 11th-century novel The Tale of Genji.


Second, the most linguistically sound etymology is that baka derives from a Sanskrit word meaning "fool".[2][4] According to the Japanese linguist and lexicographer Shinmura Izuru,[6] the Edo Period scholar Amano Sadakage 天野信景 (1663–1733) originally suggested that Japanese Buddhist priests coined the word baka "fool" from Sanskrit.[6] Modern reference works give two possible Sanskrit sources for the word, moha (transcribed 慕何) "foolish" and mahallaka (摩訶羅) "stupid".[2][6][9] Sanskrit moha मोह means "bewilderment, loss of consciousness, delusion, folly" and comes from the root muh "bewildered, perplexed, confused". Sanskrit mahallaka means "senile, feeble minded, stupid, decrepit" and comes from mūrkha मोह "dull, stupid, foolish, inexperienced; fool".[10]

Other proposed etymologies for baka are less reliable. Two Edo-era 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 hiki 松屋筆記).[4][6]

Related words[edit]

Mumashika 馬鹿 depiction from the 1832 Hyakki Yakō Emaki

The same 馬鹿 "horse deer" characters that transcribe baka are also used for names in Chinese zoological nomenclature and Japanese mythology.

In the Chinese language, malu 馬鹿 refers to the common "Red Deer; Cervus elaphus", which has a Japanese name of akashika 赤鹿 (lit. "red deer").

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 Yakō Emaki 百鬼夜行絵巻 "100 Demons' Night Parade Picture Scroll" depicts it with one eye, horse mouth and ears, and deer horn and hooves.


Based on semantic analyses of baka 馬鹿 entries in Japanese dictionaries and thesauruses, the lexicographer Michael Carr differentiates eight interrelated meanings.[4]





Baka, which originated as a 14th-century literary insult, has become "the most commonly used" swearword in contemporary Japanese.[11] Usages of this term can be discussed in terms of pragmatic depth, dialectal variation, and proper names.






Japanese dialects show regional variations between using baka in Kantō dialect and ahō 阿呆 or あほ "fool; idiot; jackass" in Kansai dialect. In addition, the insult ahō has more of a slang connotation than baka. Many Japanese dictionaries treat the words baka and ahō 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[edit]



During World War II, baka was American military slang for the Japanese Ohka 櫻花 (lit. "Cherry Blossom") 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]


  1. ^ "ばか 【馬鹿／莫迦】". デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen dictionary]. Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2001. 
  2. ^ 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. 
  3. ^ Varley, Paul (1994). Warriors of Japan: As Portrayed in the War Tales. University of Hawaii Press. p. 210. ISBN 978-0-8248-1601-8. Retrieved 19 April 2013. 
  4. ^ a b c d e f Carr, Michael (1982). "Baka and Fool". The Review of Liberal Arts 63: 1–18. Retrieved 2013-04-19. 
  5. ^ Shinmura Izuru 新村出 (1971). "馬鹿考 [Baka ko]". 新村出全集 [Shinmura Izuru zenshū]. Chikuma. pp. 100–104. 
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ Qian Sima (1993). Records of the Grand Historian. Translated by Burton Watson (3 ed.). Renditions. p. 70. ISBN 9780231081696. 
  8. ^ Murasaki Shikibu (1976). The Tale of Genji. Translated by Edward G. Seidensticker. Knopf. p. 268. 
  9. ^ "ばか". 広辞苑 (Koujien). Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten. 2008. 
  10. ^ Macdonell, Arthur Anthony (1924). A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary: With Transliteration, Accentuation, and Etymological Analysis Throughout. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-2000-5. 
  11. ^ a b Bernabe, Marc; Niimura, Ken; March, Guillermo (2004). Japanese in MangaLand: Learning the Basics. Japan Publications Trading. p. 151. 
  12. ^ Seward, Jack (1972). The Japanese. New York: William Morrow. p. 167. 
  13. ^ Evans, Toshie M. (1997). A Dictionary of Japanese Loanwords. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 11–12. 
  14. ^ Russell, I. Willis (1947). "Among the New Words". American Speech 22 (3): 113–114. 

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