Credit: TikTok/@masaebation
Article by Emerald Pellot
The word “baka” has been all over TikTok with many people confused about its real meaning.
But for once, this isn’t a case of new TikTok slang so much as it is just a mere language barrier. Here’s what the Japanese word actually means.
What does ‘baka’ mean?
@areshimo About the word: Baka (馬鹿) #baka #etymology #japanese #language #edutok
♬ One Summer’s Day – Smyang Piano
It turns out thatbakais a Japanese word for “fool” or “idiot,” according to the TikToker @areshimo.
Luckily, @areshimoschooled his followers on the origins of the word — and did so with some very beautiful Japanese calligraphy.
He explained thatbakacombines two Japanese characters: the character for “horse” — which reads as “ba” — and the character for “deer,” which reads as “ka.”
According to @areshimo, the term is derived from a Chinese story in which an emperor tested the loyalty of royal officials by presenting them with a deer while calling it a horse. Those who referred to the deer as a horse were considered “loyal fools” who would always side with him. Thus, the phrase horse-deer — orbaka— was formed to describe fools. Pretty cool.
So why is ‘baka’ all over TikTok these days?
@ianboggs Did you know this? 😂 #japan #japanese #japaneseboy #日本
♬ original sound – IAN
The word is being used by a lot of anime and manga fans. In fact, the hashtag #baka has over1.2 billionviews on TikTok at the time of writing.
InfluencerIan Boggsgave a quick rundown on how to use the phrase correctly, lest you want to end up offending someone.
Boggs said depending on your tone, it can mean “idiot, stupid or dumb” and it never, ever means “cute” as some have been led to believe.
Some more ‘baka’ tutorials
@masaebation Who need this training?? #baka #acting #japanese #otaku #weeb
♬ オリジナル楽曲 – ✨👾Masae👾✨ – ✨👾Masae👾✨
User @masaebationgave a step-by-step tutorial on how to actually use the expression. It included making the most annoying face possible and using the word to irritate people.
@showsuzuki How to say, BAKA! #japanese101 #weeb #anime
♬ original sound – Show Suzuki – Show Suzuki
TikToker @showsuzukialso showed how to saybakain different ways. They demonstrated shocked, sad and flirty versions.
@yurieoh Reply to @madarauchihatdog4 there u go #baka #anime #japanese
♬ 水たまり – Fumihisa Tanaka
For the polyglots out there,@yurieohgave a tutorial on how to saybaka multiple ways in Japanese.
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