Is Japan full of fools?―baka ばか（馬鹿）

English: fool, idiot

Spanish: idiota, tonto(a)

Tagalog: gago(a), tanga

At school children are instructed, "Do not say 'fool!' to anybody, or you'll be the one." But they understand that there're many expressions using "baka."

If you speak Spanish, “vaca” will be the most similar pronunciation for this word. The Spanish vaca means cow, but this Japanese baka ばか（馬鹿） literary means “horse and deer” because its kanji consists of horse and deer.

The word baka 馬鹿 ばか includes 'horse' although the horse may be a clever animal.

Horses and deer might get mad when they come to Japan; however, Baka ばか has several meanings:

- Fool or idiot;

- Something without worth talking about seriously, ridiculous, nonsense;

- Something useless, gone bad; and

- In the form of baka-ni ばかに, to be a great extent, tremendously, abnormally, extremely, very

Fool

You need to apply some skill to use some scissors; A foolish person "baka-mono" 馬鹿者 ばかもの wll not be a fool when employed by an adroit leader. Even a fool has a right place.

● 馬鹿(ばか)と鋏(はさみ)は使(つか)いよう。 (Baka-to hasami-wa tsukai-yoo.)

Even fools and blunt scissors can be useful in the hands of a clever person.

N.B. This is a proverb, seemingly already in use in the late Edo Period. It should be addressed to leaders and employers. Someone can use scissors skillfully and others not. You could use fools if they were in the right place.

● 馬鹿(ばか)の一つ(ひとつ)覚え(おぼえ)。 (Baka-no hitotsu oboe.)

One who knows little often repeats it.

N.B. This is also a proverb. It mocks someone who does the same things repeatedly. The person should have made a different decision according to the situation. This has been used since the late Meiji Period.

● 馬鹿(ばか)にしないでよ！ (Baka-ni shinai de-yo!)

Don’t make a fool of me!

Baka-ni shinai-de yo ! 馬鹿（ばか）にしないでよ！

Without worth; ridiculous

● そんな馬鹿げた(ばかげた)話(はなし)があるか！ (Sonna baka-geta hanashi-ga aru-ka!)

You’re talking nonsense!

● 正直者(しょうじきもの)が馬鹿(ばか)を見(み)る。 (Shojiki-mono-ga baka-o miru.)

Honesty doesn’t always pay.

● 彼(かれ)の言った(いった)ことは馬鹿馬鹿しく(ばかばかしく)聞こえた(きこえた)。 (Kare-no itta-koto-wa baka-baka-shiku kikoe-ta.)

What he said sounded nonsensical.

Useless

● ねじが馬鹿(ばか)になった。 (Neji-ga baka-ni natta.)

The screw is gone stripped.

To be a great extent

● 今朝(けさ)は馬鹿(ばか)に冷える(ひえる)ね。 (Kesa-wa baka-ni hieru-ne.)

It’s terribly cold this morning.

● 彼(かれ)は馬鹿正直(ばかしょうじき)だ。 (Kare-wa baka-shoojiki-da.)

He’s honest to a fault.

● 彼女(かのじょ)は馬鹿丁寧(ばかていねい)にお辞儀(おじぎ)をした。 (Kanojo-wa baka-teinei-ni ojigi-o shita.)

She bowed down excessively polite.

● 静か(しずか)だったパーティーは、突然(とつぜん)馬鹿(ばか)騒ぎ(さわぎ)になった。 (Shizuka-datta paati-wa, totsuzen baka-sawagi-ni natta.)

What began as a quiet party, suddenly turned into a brouhaha.