からかう
からかう
verb (godan, transitive)
to tease; to make fun of; to kid
1.
to tease; to make fun of; to kid
To playfully mock or joke with someone, often in a good-natured way but sometimes crossing into mean-spirited territory.
友達をからかって遊んでいた。
I was playing around teasing my friend.
からかわないでよ、本気なんだから。
Don't tease me - I'm being serious!
彼は新人をからかうのが好きだ。
He likes to make fun of new employees.
TRANSITIVITY:
Transitive verb (他動詞). Takes を to mark the person being teased.
USAGE:
からかう ranges from playful teasing between friends to more malicious mocking. Context and tone determine whether it's friendly or unkind.
COMMON PATTERNS:
- 人をからかう (to tease someone)
- からかい半分に (half-jokingly)
- からかわれる (passive: to be teased)
REGISTER:
Casual to neutral.
SIMILAR WORDS:
- いじる - to tease/poke fun at (often in comedy contexts)
- ふざける - to fool around/joke (focuses on the joking behavior itself)
- ひやかす - to tease/jeer (often about romantic interests)
- 冷やかす - to make fun of, to jeer