からかう

か

ら

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う

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

からかう · godan verb (-u)

Meanings

godan verb (-u), transitive verb

usually written using kana alone

Light-hearted teasing or playful joking, often among friends. Can also be used for mild provocation or testing someone's reaction.

〈人ひと〉をからかうto tease/make fun of someone
弟おとうとはいつも妹いもうとをからかっている。
The younger brother is always teasing his little sister.
〈人ひと〉をからかって笑わらうto tease someone and laugh about it
友とも達だちは私わたしの失しっ敗ぱいをからかって笑わらった。
My friend teased me about my mistake and laughed.
〈事こと〉のことでからかうto tease someone about a particular thing
彼かれは新あたらしい髪かみ型がたのことでからかわれた。
He was teased about his new haircut.

弄いじるN1
いじる often implies playful teasing that includes physical touching or fiddling, while からかう is purely verbal or behavioral teasing.
馬ば鹿かにするN2
馬鹿にする is stronger and more derogatory, meaning to look down on or ridicule someone, whereas からかう is usually light-hearted teasing.
冷ひやかすN1
冷やかす means to tease or kid someone lightly, often with a hint of sarcasm, similar in tone to からかう but slightly more mocking.
茶ちゃ化かす
茶化す means to turn something serious into a joke or brush it off with humor, while からかう focuses on teasing a person directly.

Show 7 more

嘲あざけるN1
嘲る means to mock or scorn someone with contempt, a much harsher act than the playful teasing of からかう.
いじめるN4
からかう means to tease someone lightly and playfully, while 苛める implies more persistent or harmful bullying.
ふざけるN2
からかう directly teases a specific person with を, while ふざける is broader and basically intransitive, describing playful or joking behavior in general.
揶や揄ゆ
からかう is a common everyday verb for playful teasing, whereas 揶揄 is more literary and typically appears in written or formal contexts.
担かつぐN2
からかう means to tease or joke at someone's expense, close to the playful trickery sense of 担ぐ but without necessarily making them believe something false.
弄もてあそぶ
からかう means to tease someone playfully and is lighter in tone than 弄ぶ, which implies genuinely careless or cruel manipulation of feelings.
構かまうN3
からかう specifically means to tease or make fun of someone, a narrower meaning than 構う's broader sense 5 of playfully bothering someone.

絡からむN1
からむ (to get entangled, or to pick a fight/nag) sounds similar to からかう but means something quite different—getting tangled or being aggressively persistent rather than playful teasing.

からかうUsage100%
Usually written in kana; the kanji form 揶揄う is rare.
揶揄からかうUsage<1%
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form; learners should recognize it but use kana.

The origin is uncertain. It may be related to classical Japanese からく (to provoke) or からかし (teasing), but the exact derivation is unclear.