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This trope's patron saint.
Honto ni anta tte Mattaku anta tte
You're really— You're totally—
Tonikaku anta tte Baka ne, baka baka
By all means you're stupid, stupid stupid
— Akane Tendo (Hidaka Noriko), "Yasashii, Ii Ko ni Narenai (I Can't Become A Gentle, Good Girl)"
Japanese word for "idiot", "imbecile", "fool" or any other similar term; also frequently translated as "jerk". This is an all-purpose insult applied to persons who have done anything stupid, insensitive or thoughtless. Usually seen in the idiomatic phrase "<name> no baka!", which is a favorite of Tsunderes across Japan.
Occasionally used as an insulting honorific: Kuno-baka.
Also employed as an endearment between couples, but the delivery differs — when used affectionately, the word is drawn out instead of spat sharply. Being called "baka" by a new boyfriend/girlfriend while receiving a playful smack on the top of the head is considered a comforting sign of how well things are going.
Not to be confused with Dakka. See also Idiot Crows. Pretty much a given when the series involves an Idiot Hero or two.
Written with kanji characters meaning "horse-deer", which puzzles everybody, Japanese or not. (Folk etymologies trace this to someone who can't tell the two apart, or possibly to a test to find yes-men.) Though it's not a loanword, you'll often see it written in katakana for emphasis. Also means "cow" in Tagalog, not that it's terribly relevant. (Incidentally, vaca is Latin and Spanish for "cow". Not that that's relevant, either. ( It also means "valley" in Hebrew and is the name of an upscale neighborhood of Jerusalem, not that that's relevant, either.))
"Baka" is a staple of Fangirl Japanese. More and more, along with various honorifics, it appears untranslated in English language manga.
This word can sometimes take various forms:
- baka "Baka"
- o-baka "Great Baka"
- origami-tsuki no baka "Acknowledged (ie Got A Degree In) Baka"
- shosin shomei no baka "Down-right baka"
- sokonuke no baka "Botomless (ie Down And Out) Baka"
- akireta baka "Hopeless Baka"
- kamaboko-baka "Fish Cake Baka"
- tanjun-baka "Simple Baka"
- usura-baka "Dumb Baka"
- o-baka Santaro "Great Baka Santaro"
Examples:
- The best known instance — at least among anime fandom — comes from Lum in Urusei Yatsura, who was fond of expressing her displeasure with Ataru by shouting "Darling no BAKA!" and jolting him with a lightning bolt.
- Similarly, in Ranma 1/2, Akane's frequent cry of "Ranma no baka!" (rendered in Viz' dubs as "Ranma, you jerk!") was practically her Catch Phrase, often delivered with a Hyperspace Mallet for emphasis. In fact, Akane's original Japanese voice actress recorded an Image Song that consisted almost entirely
 of calling Ranma "baka" over and over again for two minutes and thirty-eight seconds at a rate that made her sound like a machine gun.
- So... More Baka instead of More Dakka?
- And yet another Image Song has her singing about "Obaka-san", just in case it didn't get through the first thousand times.
- Inu Yasha also has frequent arguments (Inuyasha and usually Kagome) consisting of nothing but calling other "Baka!". Goes straight into Large Ham territory when it does this.
- Neon Genesis Evangelion gives us Asuka's "Baka-Shinji", and "Anta BAKA!?" (Approximately, "Are you stupid?!", translated in the Mexican dub as "Ahhhhh, you idiot!")
- Don't forget her nicknaming Shinji, Kensuke and Touji something along the lines of "san-baka-gumi" (literally "trio of idiots", but it's been rendered as "Three Stooges" by official translators).
- In Martian Successor Nadesico, Ruri Hoshino gave us her Catch Phrase "Baka bakka" ("I'm Surrounded By Idiots").
- Quite appropriately, "baka" is the last word spoken in the last episode of Excel Saga.
- Mahou Sensei Negima: The five girls with the lowest grades in Negi's class call themselves the "Baka Rangers", in obvious parody of Super Sentai. Just to drive the point home, in the anime they sometimes actually wear the costumes.
- they even claim that being a baka is a power source during the dodgeball game arc in the manga. BAKA-POWER!
- Nanami frequently says "Shine, baka!" ("die, you idiot!") to Yano, whom she loves, before the two of them start dating in Bokura Ga Ita.
- Makoto uses the word to insult Yuuichi in Kanon.
- Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle includes an exchange on whether it is proper to use "baka" or "aho".
- In Cardcaptor Sakura, Syaoran Li calls Sakura both "baka" and "aho" numerous times, especially at the begining.
- The second opening theme to Bobobobo Bobobo is "Baka Survivor".
- Alti in Simoun always called Kaimu this as a child, because she couldn't think of any more clever insult to use.
- Tomari in Kashimashi Girl Meets Girl often calls Hazumu a "baka", both in a loving and annoyed fashion, indicating her confused feelings about her.
- In the instruction manual for the ninth Touhou Project game, Phantasmagoria of Flower View, in a screenshot◊ pointing out what each item was (i.e. ① Player character, ② Score, etc), The Ditz Cirno is labelled as "⑨ Baka". The circle nine (or "nineball") symbol was quickly and widely adopted by the fanbase as both a synonym for "baka" and her nickname.
- Tomo in Azumanga Daioh is frequently referred to this by her more sensible friend Yomi. In one episode, Yomi calls her this, sending Tomo off on a tangent where she says "baka" over and over again in drawn-out, obnoxious tones. Eventually, Yomi grabs her face to shut her up and shouts "Baka no omae da!" ("You're the stupid one!")
- D Gray Man has "Baka Bak."
- Don't forget: "Baka moyashi" ("Stupid beansprout"), "Baka usagi" ("Stupid rabbit"), "Bakanda" ("Stupid Kanda"), and "Baka Lavi" ("Stupid Lavi").
- Sonic X uses this a bit, most notably in the last episode where Chris gets called it, repeatedly, for choosing to go home rather than stay in Sonic's world even though it may mean he never sees them again.
- Weird thing? It's actually kinda cute.
- Amy has a few "baka" scenes with Sonic, herself.
- Hakufu from Ikki Tousen hates being called baka, even though it happens a lot with good reason. She usually responds by shouting "baka" back repeatedly.
- Video game example: Franziska von Karma from Phoenix Wright essentially says "baka" over and over in the Japanese version of the series when irritated. In the English version, she says "fool" instead ("You foolishly foolish fool with your foolish ideas of foolish tomfoolery. You're so foolish, you made even me sound like a foolhardy fool...").
- "Baka" is essentially Fakir's Catch Phrase in Princess Tutu. Both Mytho and Ahiru get called this by him constantly.
- In Pretear the word is usually used by Mayune or Hayate towards Himeno, or by Himeno towards Hayate. One particular scene has Himeno and Hayate trading whole strings of "baka"s, with the three younger Knights standing nearby and just watching, unable to comment on the situation. This isn't always done for laughs — in the last episode, Hayate calls Himeno this when she refuses to run away, while he is dying in her arms, mortally injured in his attempt to protect her; her reply is that she is fine with being a "baka", because she doesn't want to lose him and other people she cares for. Near the end, Mayune calls her "baka" again, accusing Himeno of being the only person to die.
- Aoba Tsubaki of Jinki Extend is nicknamed "Ahobaka" by Ryouhei. "Aho" is another word for "stupid" (it's sometimes translated as "jackass").
- In a Chobits Post Episode Trailer, Hideki is expounding on the significance of the "o-" prefix in Japanese, to which Chii adds "obaka-san!".
- A few villagers say this about Kamina after his hot-blooded speech in episode 1: "Baka da... O-baka da... O-baka da...". Yoko also calls him "baka" quite a few times, understandably.eer.
- In Sailor Moon, Usagi's younger brother Shingo calls her "Baka Usagi".
- In a rare Western example, in 6teen, one of the catchphrases of the (presumably) Japanese owners of the mall's Super Terrific Sushi restaurant is "Baka no teenager".
- Teana of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha tends to use this term when addressing her partner Subaru, particularly when the Genki Girl does something that annoys her. Given Teana's personality, this happens quite often...
- This Troper remembers the Nickelodeon I Carly movie, iGo to Japan, featured a scene in which a couple of Japanese characters were arguing while one was driving a car. "Baka!" "Baka!" "Baka!"
- Sakura calls Naruto "Baka" at times.
- As does Sasuke.
- Hidan once used "BA-KA!" in battle.
- The Western live-action movie 3 Ninjas Kick Back has a Japanese character repeatedly call Mooks "Baka bouzu!"
- The Rurouni Kenshin version of Saitou favors "Ahou" (moron), a much more insulting version since it implies actual mental retardation.
- Jun-kun from Windy Tales often bears the brunt from both Miki and Nao, who call him "baka" lots of times throughout the series. Sure, he is not the brightest bulb in the box, but you would expect that at least Miki would use the word lovingly, since she is his girlfriend — but usually she doesn't.
- Death Note has L's "Matsuda no baka", or "Matsuda, you idiot!" after he discovers that Matsuda's plan to expose the Yotsuba Kira has gotten him into hot water.
- Echoed in the final episode, when Light screams something similar ("Baka yarou, Matsuda!" — "You stupid bastard, Matsuda!") at Matsuda after being shot by him.
- The Tsundere Reo uses this a lot in the Girls Love Eroge Sono Hanabira Ni Kuchizuke Wo. She even uses this during the love scenes!
- Excalibur from Soul Eater likes to shout this at anyone, anytime, whether it makes sense or not.
- Shizuku from Candy Boy calls her older sister Kanade "baka neechan". She never calls Kanade's twin sister Yukino this way, which kind of gives away how Shizuku feels about either of them.
- Winry calls both Ed and Al "Baka" at times, and usually hits the insultee in the head with a wrench at the same time.
- It actually goes both ways with Ed and Winry. He calls her "Baka" plenty!
- In Axis Powers Hetalia, England uses this often, including a time when he was drunk, shouting "baka, baka, America no baka!" in tears (referred to in an Image Song of his with the last segment being somewhat similar to Akane's Image Song mentioned above). Austria uses "obaka-san".
- Louise from Zero No Tsukaima has the titular character call her familiar, among other things, baka.
- Chiaki from Minami-ke almost never calls her sister, Kana, by her name. Instead, she calls her 'Baka' or 'Baka Yarou.' For that matter, she calls almost all her friends 'Baka.'
- In Toei's Yu-Gi-Oh! series, Miho slaps Honda and repeatedly calls him "baka" after he gets her super rare watch pickpocketed.
- In Pandora Hearts, Gilbert constantly calls Alice 'Baka-usagi', due to her transformed appearance being a huge rabbit with a scythe.
- Ponyo On A Cliff By The Sea had Lisa firing off a barrage of bakas at Kōichi using an Aldis Lamp in the original Japanese.
- The eternally cheery Freddy from Ghastlys Ghastly Comic speaks odd pseudo-Japanese, with "baka" making up about 30% of "her" vocabulary.
- The epic, pulse-pounding finale of Gun X Sword features banter between Van and Michael wherein they pretty much call each other "baka" over, and over, and over... and then there's The Claw Man's mini-epiphany when he talks to/fights Van: "I see, you're what they call a fool! (read: baka) I never knew fools could be so much fun!"
- This seems to be Noel Vermilion's favorite word at times. One of her lines in the True Ending is just yelling it at Ragna repeatedly.
Real Life
- The WW 2 Japanese Ohka (Cherry Blossom) anti-ship missile (basically a piloted rocket-propelled bomb) was referred to by the Americans as the "Baka" largely because it turned out to be much less effective than the Kamikaze Corps' conventional airplanes. (The key word here is "piloted". As in, the missiles had people inside of them in order to steer them.) Ironically, the Ohka's ineffectiveness was not due to its own capabilities (they were nearly impossible to shoot down and devastating when they actually hit) since most were lost when their mother planes were shot down well short of their launch points. (Naturally pilot training presented certain issues as well.)
- Don't be too fooled, a large impetus behind the "Baka" name was fear-effacing bravado. American sailors were genuinely terrified by the things.
- There's a story somewhere of a Marine who distracted a Japanese machine gun crew during the Battle of Guadalcanal by yelling "BAKA!" repeatedly (he'd heard it from a translator in the US) to distract them while another squad went and flanked the crew.
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