Talk:Baka (Japanese word)

Contested deletion
This page should not be speedily deleted because it provides an explanation of a word in a foreign language. Baka is a word sometimes used in english, (ie, by anime fans) and some people may not understand the term. This article provides not only a translation, but also encyclopaedic information on the word's uses and origin. DarkToonLink (talk) 02:41, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

Inaccurate information?
"is usually written 馬鹿 (lit. "horse deer") in kanji or ばか in hiragana, or occasionally バカ in katakana." I've been studying Japanese for a few years now and I feel that this is inaccurate. Baka is most commonly written as バカ, then less commonly as 馬鹿 and very occasionally as ばか in my experience. I'm not a native speaker or fluent in Japanese so I won't edit the article, but I feel that someone who is should have a look at it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Peeky Chew (talk • contribs) 15:06, 29 December 2012 (UTC)
 * I am Japanese and you are wrong. 240F:74:ABE:1:5521:7AEC:1E1A:BFE9 (talk) 13:38, 25 December 2014 (UTC)
 * I do agree with you on this, and was wondering about this as well, however I too am not fluent in Japanese. The kanji '馬鹿' is the original and most formal variant of the word, so it makes sense for it to come first. However, baka is often used in an informal context, and the kanji is a little complicated, so it might be written phonetically. The default would be the hiragana 'ばか' the direct spelling of it, which is what this article secondly presents. (However, that is not often used because then you mas as well write the kanji if you're still going for formality as the kanji isn't too difficult) Then, you could also write it in katakana, which is also phonetic. What I've just said and the order in the article is sorta the default for writing Japanese. But BAKA is usually different. In most uses it is written with emphasis and ease of writing in katakana 'バカ'. So yes, I agree with you. But I would like to wait for consensus with some advanced Japanese speakers. Sorry, I ramble far too much when I'm talking about Japanese... DarkToonLink (talk) 00:30, 30 December 2012 (UTC)
 * This also accords with my experience. I've just checked ジーニアスモバイル辞書 (Genius mobile dictionary), the dictionary I happen to have handy, and it gives ばか, 馬鹿, and 莫迦 in that order, with no katakana version, however. I don't know that Genius orders variant spellings by frequency, but that is the case with some dictionaries. Bottom line: I think the article is wrong, but want to consult a reliable source stating so, rather than citing my own experience. Cnilep (talk) 01:49, 19 April 2013 (UTC)
 * There may be an additional inaccuracy, or at least an unsupported assertion. The article suggests that the etymology of the word owes to "a Chinese Qin Dynasty literary allusion or Sanskrit argot". The three sources I consulted, 日本国語大辞典 (Great Dictionary of Japanese National Language), デジタル大辞泉 (Digital Dictionary), and Carr (1982) "Baka and Fool", all give the origin as Sanskrit. There are no sources cited for the Chinese origin, though speculation on that point takes up half of the current etymology section. I'm going to remove the suggestions of most-common written form, pare down the comparisons with Chinese, and tag assertions needing reliable sources. Cnilep (talk) 02:42, 19 April 2013 (UTC)

Hi, having started the Baka article in 2009, I'm the guilty culprit for this unclear writing. You have two good points of criticism. First, I don't know which written form is most common, it seems to depend on context, for instance, バカ in manga and ads or 馬鹿 in novels and newspapers. Until someone can find a reliable source on Japanese usage, we can just change the sentence. One idea would be to simplify the current "is usually written 馬鹿 (lit. "horse deer") in kanji or ばか in hiragana, or occasionally バカ in katakana" into "is written 馬鹿 (lit. "horse deer") in kanji, ばか in hiragana, or バカ in katakana." Should we change this "is written" to "can be written"? Second, I think I added all this Shiji-Genji "Chinese origin" information from the 1982 article, but it will be a few day before I have time to double check. Thanks to all for improving this article. Keahapana (talk) 20:23, 19 April 2013 (UTC)

Sorry it took me so long to make revisions. Thanks to a friend in Japan, I was able to access Shinmura's exceptional 馬鹿考, which provided several of the missing references. Two questions remain. Keahapana (talk) 00:22, 23 May 2013 (UTC)
 * How do we restore the original page references that were lost in the citation format change from inline to footnotes?
 * The Japanese interwiki 馬鹿 article lists seven etymologies. Several (including the deleted wakamono) are not referenced, but one ("馬家説") looks interesting. Can anyone find and check this source: Matsumoto Osamu 松本修, 全国アホ・バカ分布考?

Questions on the Music section
I feel like this section is a bit unhelpful and out of place and may be no more than a plug for the mentioned band.

That said, should it be left in, the English is a bit vague and should be clarified. For example, what the hell is "the unbearable lightness of being" supposed to mean? Shallowness and superficiality? The ease of life in a modern first-world culture?

Also, do people still watch TV in 2015? I'd like a citation for that please :D --CALESCiENCE (talk) 18:01, 21 September 2015 (UTC)


 * I've removed the section. Until the band is considered notable enough to justify its own article, it appears to be no more than an attempt to insert the band's Facebook page and promote them. --DAJF (talk) 00:05, 22 September 2015 (UTC)

Etymology of Baka
The Japanese word “Baka” has possibly originated from the Bengali/Odia word “Boka” meaning Stupid. Nishānt Omm (talk) 05:55, 29 October 2021 (UTC)