Baka (馬鹿,ばか inhiragana, orバカ inkatakana) means "fool", or (as anadjectival noun) "foolish" and is the most frequently usedpejorative term in theJapanese language.[1] The wordbaka has a long history, an uncertain etymology (possibly fromSanskrit orClassical Chinese), and sociolinguistic complexities.
The modernJapanese writing system transcribes theinsultbaka asバカ inkatakana,ばか inhiragana, or馬鹿 (lit. "horse deer") inateji phonetickanji transcription; earlierateji renderings included莫迦,母嫁,馬嫁, or破家.[2]
The first written usages ofbaka were during theNanboku-chō period (1336–1392), when the "Northern and Southern Courts" battled.
In the earliest example, theTaiheiki historical epic recordsbakamono (馬鹿者) being used as an insult in 1342.[3] TheAshikaga commander Toki Yoritō (土岐頼遠) refused to pay obeisance to retiredEmperor 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 [Izuru] found that the original editions (fourteenth century) of theTaiheiki hadbaka writtenバカ; [while] latermovable-type editions (c. 1600) had the characters馬鹿."[4][5]
ABunmei-era (1469–1487) edition of theSetsuyōshū dictionary notesbaka馬鹿, which was also written母嫁 (lit. "mother bride"),馬嫁 (lit. "horse bride"), or破家 (lit. "break family"), meansrōzeki狼藉 "disorder; confusion".[6]
Many classical Japanese texts usedbaka. For instance, the (c. 1616)Kōyō Gunkan military chronicle transcribedbaka 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 theUkiyozōshi genre, wrotebaka with the modern kanji馬鹿.
Although the origins ofbaka are uncertain, Japanese scholars have proposed variousetymologies andfolk etymologies. The two most widely cited are aClassical Chinese idiom and aloanword fromSanskrit.
First, the oldest hypothesis suggests thatbaka originated as a Chinese literary "allusion to a historical fool", theQin dynasty traitorZhao Gao (d. 207 BCE) from theRecords of the Grand Historian.[4] This etymology first appears in the (c. 1548)Unbo Irohashū (運歩色葉集) dictionary, which glossesbaka馬鹿 as meaning "point at a deer and say horse" (指鹿曰馬).[6] Namely, theChinese idiomzhǐlù-wéimǎ (指鹿為馬; lit. "point at a deer and call it a horse", Japanese鹿を指して馬となすShika o Sashite Uma to Nasu) meaning "deliberate misrepresentation for ulterior purposes". Zhao was an infamous minister who served the first emperorQin Shi Huang (r. 246–221 BCE) and forced the secondQin Er Shi (r. 210–207 BCE) to commit suicide.
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 novelThe 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 thatbaka derives from aSanskrit word meaning "fool".[2][4] According to the Japanese linguist and lexicographerShinmura Izuru,[6] theEdo-period scholar Amano Sadakage (天野信景; 1663–1733) originally suggested thatJapanese Buddhist priests coined the wordbaka fromSanskrit.[6] Modern reference works give two possible Sanskrit sources for the word,moha (transcribed 慕何) "foolish" andmahallaka (摩訶羅) "stupid".[2][6][9] Sanskritmoha (मोह) means "bewilderment, loss of consciousness, delusion, folly" and comes from the rootmuh meaning "bewildered, perplexed, confused". Sanskritmahallaka means "senile, feeble minded, stupid, decrepit" and comes frommūrkha (मूर्ख), meaning "dull, stupid, foolish, inexperienced; fool".[10]
Other proposed etymologies forbaka are less reliable. Two Edo-period dictionaries proposed thatbaka derived from:ōmaka大まか "generous; unsparing" (Rigen Shūran俚言集覧) orbokeru惚ける "grow senile; dote; become feeble-minded" (Matsuya Hikki松屋筆記).[4][6]
The same 馬鹿 "horse deer" characters that transcribebaka are also used for names in Chinese zoologicalnomenclature andJapanese mythology.
In Chinese,mǎlù (馬鹿) refers to thered deer (Cervus elaphus), Japaneseakashika赤鹿.
Mumashika is a rare alternate Japanese reading of馬鹿 that names ayōkai demon with a horse's head and deer's body. The c. 1832Hyakki Yagyō Emaki (百鬼夜行絵巻; "Hyakki Yagyōemakimono") depicts it with one eye, a horse's mouth and ears, and deer horn and hooves.
Based onsemantic analyses ofbaka entries inJapanese dictionaries and thesauruses, the lexicographer Michael Carr differentiates eight interrelated meanings.[4]
Three basic "fool; foolish" meanings distinguishbaka1 "ass; jerk; fool",baka2 "ament; idiot; imbecile; fool" (ament is a rare word for "congenitally mentally deficient"), andbaka3 "blockhead; dullard; dimwit; simpleton; dolt; fool". These are found in many frequently-used Japanese expressions. Some more insultinglexemes arebakamono馬鹿者 "stupid,fool,idiot",ōbaka大馬鹿 "big fool damned idiot", andbaka-yarō馬鹿野郎 "stupid jerk, ass, asshole, dumbass". Somecompounds arebaka yoke馬鹿ヨケ "foolproof; idiot-proof",baka warai馬鹿笑い "foolish/horse laugh" andbaka zura馬鹿面 "foolish face; stupid look"; and someverb phrases arebaka ni suru馬鹿にする "make a fool of (someone); treat with contempt",baka yobawarisuru馬鹿よばわりする "call (someone) a fool", andbaka o miru馬鹿を見る "make a fool/ass of (oneself)".
Two extended meanings ofbaka4 "worthless" andbaka5 "excess" expand upon "folly; foolishness".Baka4 "worthless; foolish; valueless; trifling; insignificant" is used in expressions such asbakageta馬鹿げた "foolish; absurd; ridiculous";bakana馬鹿な "foolish; silly; stupid"; andbakarashii馬鹿らしい,bakabakarashii馬鹿々々らしい, orbakakusai馬鹿臭い, all meaning "foolish; absurd; ridiculous". It is further used in phrases likebaka ie馬鹿言え "Nonsense!; Go on!", andbakana 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 orbakabakashiku馬鹿々々しく "awfully; terribly; extremely";bakayasui馬鹿安い "ridiculously/dirt cheap";bakane馬鹿値 orbakadakai馬鹿高い "ridiculously expensive";bakateinei馬鹿丁寧 "excessive politeness"; andbakashōjiki馬鹿正直 "honest to a fault".
Three special meanings are unrelated semantic connections.Baka6 "trough shell" is a truncation ofbakagai馬鹿貝 "trough shell;Mactra chinensis".Baka7 "numbness (of limbs)" is used in the expressionbaka ni naru馬鹿になる, andbaka8 means "(an antique kind of) coin counter".
InJapanese in MangaLand: Learning the Basics, Marc Bernabe listedbaka as "the most commonly used" and the "topswearword" in Japan.[11] Usages of this term can be discussed in terms of pragmatic depth, dialectal variation, and proper names.
The linguisticpragmatics of usinginsults likebaka can be language specific. For instance, Japanese has fewer words for calling someone a "fool" than English.Jack Seward recounts asking his language teacher "to prepare a list of the most stunning and forcible insults, pejoratives, and curses in Japanese", but was surprised that the "short, unimaginative, and seeming ineffectual" list had only two words:baka "fool" andchikushō畜生 "beast".[12]
Carr proposes that intentionalvagueness explains the comparatively smalllexical field of Japanese insults.
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 likesilly goose and at the other end are words likestupid asshole. And in Japanese, at one end are words likekamaboko baka蒲鉾馬鹿 'silly chump' and at the other end are words likebaka-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 astupid son-of-a-bitch, I know exactly what you mean. But if you call me abaka-yarō, I cannot be so sure of what you mean. The expressionbaka-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]
According to Marc Bernabe,Japanese dialects show regional variations between usingbaka inKantō dialect andaho阿呆 orあほ "fool; idiot; jackass" inKansai dialect. In addition, the insultaho has more of a slang connotation thanbaka. Many Japanese dictionaries treat the wordsbaka andaho assynonyms. "However, in Osaka and its surroundings,aho is a rather non-offensive word, whereasbaka 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]
Baka frequently occurs inproper nouns. Examples fromJapanese pop music include albums (Pretty Little Baka Guy,Ai no Baka "Love Fool") and songs ("Suki Sugite Baka Mitai" "To Like [Him] Too Much and Look Like a Fool"). Some titles from modernJapanese literature areTsuribaka Nisshi ("Fishing Fool's Diary"),Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs ("Dog Fool"),Karate Baka Ichidai ("A Karate-Crazy Life"), andBaka to Test to Shōkanjū ("Idiots, Tests, and Summoned Creatures").
DuringWorld War II,baka was Americanmilitary slang for the Imperial JapaneseYokosuka MXY-7 Ohkakamikaze flying bomb.[13] The earliest recorded usage was inNewsweek 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 inanime communities. This has also led to the satirical and ironic use ofbaka to call someone a fool or mock anime communities, especially inInternet meme spaces.[15]
