Informal or slightly derogatory term for an elderly woman; can be used affectionately or pejoratively depending on context. Usually written in kana.
That old woman always feeds the cats in the park.
In the card game 'old maid' (ババ抜き), the joker card that players try to avoid. Often written in katakana.
See also: ババ抜き
In Old Maid, the person left holding the joker loses.
In the end, he was the one who drew the old maid card.
婆ちゃん is a warm, affectionate way to refer to an old woman or grandmother, whereas 婆 alone often carries a blunt or slightly rude tone.
婆 is the female counterpart meaning 'old woman', paired with 爺 which means 'old man'.
お婆さん is the polite, respectful way to refer to an elderly woman, while 婆 is the blunt, casual (often derogatory) term for the same person.
姥 is a more literary, older-fashioned kanji for 'old woman' used in classical or folkloric contexts, unlike the everyday, informal 婆.
counter for people
hag; witch; bitch; spiteful old woman
slime flounder
evil old hag
midwife (archaic, derogatory)
old woman ghost from the Kanto region
brothel madam; procuress
Kanji form; commonly used in compounds and written contexts.
Kana form is usual for the 'old woman' sense.
Katakana form is common in card game contexts, especially for 'old maid'.
Derived from a reduplication of 婆 (ば), an old woman. The card game sense comes from the game 'old maid' where the losing card is called ババ.