Baka! Aho! Understanding Japan’s 2 Most Common Insults
You’re a Horse-Deer. No you’re Mr. Senile. Huh? What do these insults mean?
If you’ve spent any time in Japan, or just enjoy manga/anime, you’ve come across the word, baka, meaning stupid or foolish. Baka is, by far, the most common insult in Japanese.
Like many common Japanese words, baka is eminently flexible. It can be used alone as a noun or adjective to describe a foolish person or a foolish thing. Or it can be combined into compound words to create an entire baka lexicon:
bakarashii 馬鹿らしい— preposterous
baka-bakashii 馬鹿馬鹿しい — ludicrous
bakageta 馬鹿げた— to be stupid
bakamono 馬鹿者— an idiot
baka yarou 馬鹿野郎— nitwit
bakatare 馬鹿垂れ — total moron
baka ni suru 馬鹿にする — to look down on
baka ga utsuru 馬鹿がうつる— stupid by association
baka banashi 馬鹿話— idle talk
In Tokyo and its environs, baka has a playful tone and is often thrown around between friends. If you really want to insult someone, aho is the stronger insult.
However, be careful who you’re insulting. Because in Osaka and the rest of Kansai, aho…
