SumiWhy baka is written horse + deer (馬鹿)
Baka (馬鹿) means fool or idiot, and it’s written 馬, horse, and 鹿, deer. That looks like a joke about someone who can’t tell a horse from a deer, and there’s a famous Chinese story to go with it. But the kanji were picked mainly for their sound, and the word baka itself probably came from somewhere else entirely.
What the kanji say
馬 (uma, or ba) is a horse, drawn standing on end: the top is its head and flowing mane, and the four dots at the bottom were once its legs. They have nothing to do with fire.
鹿 (shika, or roku) is a deer, another picture: the antlers and mouth turned into the 广 shape at the top, and the legs into 比 at the bottom.
In 馬鹿, the kanji are read ba and ka, two short readings that happen to spell the word.
The deer that was called a horse
The best-known version of the story is in the Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian), China’s great history, written more than 2,000 years ago. Zhao Gao, a powerful official at the court of the Second Emperor of Qin, wanted to see which officials would go along with him. He brought a deer before the emperor and called it a horse. The emperor laughed and asked his court. Some kept quiet, some said “horse” to please Zhao Gao, and some said “deer”. Zhao Gao later had the ones who said “deer” put to death.
The story gave Chinese the idiom 指鹿為馬, “to point at a deer and call it a horse”: to twist right and wrong on purpose.
Notice that nobody in the story is fooled. Everyone could see it was a deer; the test was who would dare to say so. “Can’t tell a horse from a deer? You’re a fool” is a handy way to remember the kanji, but it isn’t what the story says.
Where baka really comes from
Japanese dictionaries agree that 馬鹿 is ateji (当て字): kanji chosen to spell a word that already existed. The leading theory is that baka comes from Sanskrit moha, “delusion, folly”, said to have been used as slang among Buddhist monks. Over the centuries it has also been written 莫迦 and 破家, other spellings chosen for their sound. Another idea links it to old Japanese をこ (woko), foolishness, though the sounds are hard to match.
Why horse and deer, then? Wiktionary suggests the spelling was probably chosen as a nod to the Zhao Gao story. So the story didn’t create the word, but it may well have given it its kanji.
How to use it
バカだなあ。
Baka da naa.
You silly thing. (teasing a friend)
人をバカにしないで。
Hito o baka ni shinaide.
Don't make fun of me.
バカなこと言わないで。
Baka na koto iwanaide.
Don't be ridiculous.
うちの夫は親バカです。
Uchi no otto wa oyabaka desu.
My husband dotes on our kids.
- Mind the tone. Between friends, バカ can be teasing, even affectionate. Said to a stranger or a colleague, it’s a real insult.
- Osaka is different. In the Kansai region, アホ (aho) is the everyday, softer word, and バカ can sound harsh. In Tokyo it tends to be the other way round.
- It’s often written in kana, バカ or ばか, as well as 馬鹿.
- It can mean “crazy about”. A 釣りバカ (tsuribaka) is a fishing nut.
Words with the same kanji
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 馬 | uma | horse |
| 競馬 | keiba | horse racing |
| 乗馬 | jouba | horse riding |
| 鹿 | shika | deer |
| 馬鹿馬鹿しい | bakabakashii | absurd, ridiculous |
| 親馬鹿 | oyabaka | doting parent |
Remember it
Picture a deer standing in a palace hall while the whole court nods and agrees that it’s a horse. Horse (馬) plus deer (鹿): baka.
The kanji in this lesson
Tap Draw it to watch the stroke order. Numbers show where each stroke starts.