ぼけ
also: ヴォケ
Meanings
Casual term for a foolish or slow-witted person. Often used playfully or in self-deprecation.
You forgot again? You really are an idiot.
Don't say stupid things.
Colloquial term for age-related mental decline. In medical contexts, 認知症 is preferred.
My grandfather's senility has been progressing lately.
I do puzzles to prevent dementia.
-induced haze; out of it (from); sluggish (from)
Suffix attached to nouns indicating a cause (e.g., 時差ぼけ, 寝ぼけ) to mean a dazed or sluggish state resulting from it.
See also: 時差ぼけ
I always suffer from jet lag after traveling abroad.
I was half-asleep in the morning and don't remember what I said.
funny man; straight man (comedy duo)
In manzai comedy, the ぼけ is the partner who makes silly mistakes or absurd remarks, setting up the つっこみ (straight man) to retort.
That duo has an exquisite balance between the funny man and the straight man.
Usage patterns
- ぼけをかますto say or do something deliberately silly (as a joke)
My friend cracked a silly joke and everyone laughed.
- 〈人〉がぼけ役をやるfor someone to play the funny-man role (in a comedy duo)
He always plays the funny-man role in their manzai act.
- ぼけが始まるfor senility/dementia to set in
My grandfather seems to be showing the first signs of senility these days.