からかう

Japanese

Alternative forms

Etymology

Attested in The Tale of the Heike (c. 1330).

The kara portion is likely cognate with 絡む (karamu, to become entangled; start a fight with, to pick a quarrel), 絡める (karameru, to entangle, to entwine), and 絡げる (karageru, to tie together in a sheave or bunch; to hitch up the hem of a robe or skirt); with an apparent underlying meaning of entanglement, bunch. The kau portion may be 交う (kau, to exchange; to mix).[1]

Pronunciation

  • (Tokyo) らか [kàrákáꜜù] (Nakadaka – [3])[2]
  • IPA(key): [ka̠ɾa̠ka̠ɯ̟ᵝ]

Verb

からかう (transitive and intransitive, godan conjugation, rōmaji karakau, historical hiragana からかふ)

  1. (transitive) to make fun of, to tease, to kid
    からかい (じょう) () (たか) ()さん
    Karakai Jōzu no Takagi-san
    Skilled Teaser Takagi-san
    Synonyms: 嬲る (naburu), 揶揄する (yayu suru)
  2. (transitive, archaic) to resist
    Synonyms: 争う (arasou), 抵抗する (teikō suru)
  3. (intransitive, archaic) to be irresolute
    Synonyms: うじうじする (ujiuji suru), 揺蕩う (tayutau)
  4. (intransitive, archaic) to quarrel
    Synonym: 喧嘩する (kenka suru)

Conjugation

References

  1. 1988, 国語大辞典(新装版) (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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