愚か
Meaning in Englishfoolish, stupid
Animated kanji stroke order
Word context
What it means
愚か means foolish or stupid; used to describe actions or thoughts that show poor judgment; can be formal or literary.
Main meanings
- foolish or stupid in everyday use
- unwise or lacking common sense in decision making
- absurd or ridiculous in tone; sometimes harsh or emphatic
- used in literary or formal contexts to describe character or behavior
How to use it
In daily use,愚か is more formal or literary; casual speech favors 愚かな or ばかだ for 'foolish'; describes actions, thoughts, or decisions as lacking judgment; commonly appears in warnings or admonitions, with examples like 彼は愚かな判断をした; 愚かな行為を止めろ.
Variants and close terms
- 愚鈍な（ぐどんな）
- 愚昧な（ぐまいな）
- ばかげた（bakageta）
- 賢明な（けんめいな）
- 賢い（かしこい）
Composition
- 愚: meaning fool, folly; represents the core concept of lack of judgment
- か: grammatical suffix forming an i-adjective; together they create 愚か meaning foolish
Etymology
愚 gu on'yomi from Chinese; oroka(i) is kun'yomi meaning foolish; the adjective 愚か is formed by attaching the kana か to the base and is read as oroka(i) in modern Japanese.
Origin
Origin: classical Japanese formation; attested in Heian period literature; the noun 愚 indicated lack of judgment and the suffix -ka turned it into an i-adjective, a pattern that continues in modern usage.
Word class
adjective (i-adjective) (形容詞, イ形容詞)