ぼける
ぼける
verb (ichidan)
to become senile
1.
to become senile
to become senile; to have one's mental faculties decline with age
祖父は最近ぼけてきた。
My grandfather has been becoming senile lately.
年をとってもぼけないように頭を使おう。
Let's keep our minds active so we don't become senile even as we age.
ぼけ防止のために毎日パズルを解いている。
I solve puzzles every day to prevent senility.
2.
to be blurred
for an image or photo to be out of focus or blurred
写真がぼけている。
The photo is blurry.
背景をぼけさせると被写体が引き立つ。
Blurring the background makes the subject stand out.
ピントがぼけてうまく撮れなかった。
The focus was off and I couldn't get a good shot.
3.
to play dumb
to play dumb; to feign ignorance; to act confused (often in comedy)
ぼけないでちゃんと答えて。
Don't play dumb, answer properly.
漫才でぼけを担当する。
To play the funny man role in manzai comedy.
ぼけとツッコミの掛け合いが面白い。
The back-and-forth between the funny man and straight man is entertaining.
ぼける is an intransitive ichidan verb with distinct meanings related to mental decline, visual blur, and comedic behavior.
TRANSITIVITY: Intransitive (自動詞). The transitive form is ぼかす (to blur, to obscure).
KANJI:
- Can be written as 惚ける or 呆ける, but hiragana is most common
SENSE 1 - SENILITY:
- Describes age-related mental decline
- ぼけ防止 (senility prevention) is a common phrase
SENSE 2 - PHOTOGRAPHY:
- Describes out-of-focus images
- "Bokeh" in photography terminology comes from this word
- Can be intentional (artistic blur) or unintentional (failed focus)
SENSE 3 - COMEDY:
- In 漫才 (manzai), the ぼけ says absurd things while the ツッコミ reacts
- Also means to feign ignorance in general conversation
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- ぼけが進む (senility progresses)
- 写真がぼける (photo is blurry)
- ぼけとツッコミ (funny man and straight man)
REGISTER: Neutral. Sense 1 may be considered somewhat direct when referring to actual senility.