Teasing in Japanese: Ijiru, Karakau and How to Take a Joke

Ijiru (いじる) means to tease someone playfully, poking fun at a habit or a slip so the whole group laughs, usually including the target. Karakau (からかう) is broader: to make fun of or to kid someone, which can be gentle or mean. The classic playful comeback is mō! yamete yo, hey, cut it out!

9 min read

Start speaking free Compare plans
What you need to know

Teasing in Japanese: Ijiru, Karakau and How to Take a Joke

Once you make Japanese friends, sooner or later someone will tease you: about your accent, your love of convenience-store desserts, the time you bowed to a vending machine. For many learners this is a confusing moment. Is it friendly? Should I laugh, protest, or tease back? In Japan, playful teasing called ijiri is often a sign that you are part of the group, and there are standard ways to respond that keep the fun going. There is also a line where teasing stops being fun, and Japanese has words for that too. This guide explains ijiru and karakau, the role of the ijirare kyara, a set of comebacks from soft to rough, how to say I don't actually like that, and how to tease back without going too far.

Ijiru is group teasing meant to get a laugh, often with affection

Karakau is to make fun of or kid someone, gentle or mean

Mō! yamete yo, said laughing, is the all-purpose playful comeback

If it stops being fun, say so clearly: sore wa chotto iya ka na

Teasing in four lines

These four lines cover the whole game: the comeback, the role, the protest, and the teaser backing off. Notice that they are all casual. Teasing happens between people who are already close, and the language reflects that.

Four picture cards: a laughing friend pushing someone's arm away, a person in the middle of a laughing group, a mock-offended face, and a friend raising both hands to say just joking.
The comeback, the teased one, the protest and the just-kidding: the four moves of playful teasing.
JapaneseRomajiMeaning
もう！やめてよ。Mō! Yamete yo.Hey, cut it out! (playful)
いじられキャラijirare kyarathe one everyone teases
からかわないで。Karakawanaide.Don't make fun of me.
冗談だってば。Jōdan da tte ba.I said I'm joking!

Ijiru: teasing that includes you

Ijiru's everyday meaning is to fiddle with something, such as your phone or your hair. Applied to people, it means to poke at someone's quirks for laughs: their accent, their clumsiness, their terrible taste in songs at karaoke. The idea is strongly shaped by Japanese comedy, where one performer plays the fool and the others react. In a friend group, being ijirareru, teased, often means you are noticed and accepted.

That does not mean all teasing is welcome. The spirit of ijiri is that the target laughs too and can push back. If that stops being true, the same words can feel very different.

JapaneseRomajiMeaning
またいじられてる。Mata ijirareteru.They're teasing him again.
私、すぐいじられるんだ。Watashi, sugu ijirareru n da.I get teased all the time.
いじるのやめてよ。Ijiru no yamete yo.Stop picking on me. (playful)
スマホいじってないで。Sumaho ijittenaide.Stop fiddling with your phone.

Karakau: making fun and pulling legs

Karakau is the more general verb. It covers a parent teasing a child, classmates making fun of a boy with a crush, and a friend telling you a ridiculous story to see whether you believe it. Karakawanaide, don't tease me, is what you say when you suspect someone is not serious, including when someone praises you too much.

Because karakau can also describe mean teasing, people tend to use ijiru for the affectionate group version and karakau when they want to complain about being made fun of.

JapaneseRomajiMeaning
からかわないでよ。Karakawanaide yo.Stop pulling my leg.
またからかってるでしょ。Mata karakatteru desho.You're teasing me again, aren't you?
またまた。Mata mata.Oh, come on. (brushing off praise)
子供の頃、よくからかわれた。Kodomo no koro, yoku karakawareta.I was often teased as a child.

Comebacks from soft to rough

The best response to friendly teasing is usually a quick, exaggerated protest with a smile. The words matter less than the timing and the grin. Here is a range, from safe with anyone you joke with to rough, for close friends only.

JapaneseRomajiMeaning
ひどい！Hidoi!That's so mean! (playful)
それ言う？Sore iu?You're really going to say that?
そっちこそ！Socchi koso!Look who's talking!
ケンには言われたくないな。Ken ni wa iwaretakunai na.That's rich coming from you, Ken.
ComebackMeaningTone
mō!Hey! / Honestly!Soft, works almost anywhere
yamete yoCut it outPlayful, casual
hidoi!That's so mean!Mock-hurt, playful
sore iu?You're really going to say that?Laughing disbelief
urusai nāOh, be quietCasual, teasing back
urusēShut upRough; close male friends

With a senpai or someone older who teases you, keep the protest polite: kanben shite kudasai yo, give me a break, said with a laugh, is a classic.

Teasing lines you are likely to hear

Learners in Japan tend to be teased about the same few things: small slips in Japanese, an unexpectedly strong love of something very Japanese, and quirks of personality. Tennen (天然), literally natural, is a teasing label for someone who is charmingly spacey and says odd things without meaning to. It is usually affectionate.

A compliment can also be teasing in disguise. Nihonjin yori nihonjin ppoi, more Japanese than the Japanese, is said laughingly to a foreigner who loves natto or bows to the phone. Take it as a sign of warmth, and reply with a smile or a joke of your own.

The teasing often lands on the way you say things rather than what you say. Friends may repeat a word exactly as you pronounced it. This can feel uncomfortable at first, but it is usually an invitation to laugh together, and it is also free pronunciation feedback.

JapaneseRomajiMeaning
天然だね。Tennen da ne.You're such a space cadet.
またやってる。Mata yatteru.You're doing it again.
日本人より日本人っぽい。Nihonjin yori nihonjin ppoi.More Japanese than the Japanese.
その言い方、かわいい。Sono iikata, kawaii.The way you said that is cute.

Scenario: when friends tease your accent

You are at an izakaya with friends. You order a beer, but you say biru (ビル, building) instead of bīru (ビール, beer), with the long vowel too short. The table bursts out laughing. It is the perfect moment to take the joke and send it back.

Friends around a wooden izakaya table with beer mugs and small plates; a young woman playfully pushes her friend's shoulder while everyone laughs.
Laugh, protest, and get the long vowel right: the best answer to ijiri.
JapaneseRomajiMeaning
すみません、ビルください。Sumimasen, biru kudasai.You: Excuse me, a building, please.
ビル？建物買うの？Biru? Tatemono kau no?Friend: A building? You're buying a building?
もう！いじらないでよ。Mō! Ijiranaide yo.You: Hey! Stop teasing me.
ごめんごめん、冗談だよ。Gomen gomen, jōdan da yo.Friend: Sorry, sorry, just kidding.
じゃあ、ビール！長く言ったよ！Jā, bīru! Nagaku itta yo!You: Then, beer! I said it long this time!

Turning the mistake into the punchline is the most Japanese way out. You have taken the joke, shown you can laugh at yourself, and practised your long vowels at the same time.

When it stops being fun

Ijiri can slide into ijime (いじめ), bullying, when it becomes one-sided, repetitive, or aimed at something a person cannot change or is hurt by, such as appearance, family or nationality. Where exactly the line lies is a frequent topic of discussion in Japan, and people disagree. A simple test is whether the person being teased is still laughing and still free to tease back.

If teasing bothers you, it is fine to say so, and the clearer you are, the better. Japanese often softens refusals, so a gentle line said with a serious face is usually understood. If it continues, be direct.

JapaneseRomajiMeaning
それはちょっと嫌かな。Sore wa chotto iya ka na.I'm not really okay with that one.
それ、あんまり好きじゃない。Sore, anmari suki ja nai.I don't really like that.
本当にやめて。Hontō ni yamete.Seriously, stop.
ごめん、言いすぎた。Gomen, iisugita.Sorry, I went too far.

Teasing back without going too far

JapaneseRomajiMeaning
勘弁してくださいよ。Kanben shite kudasai yo.Give me a break. (to a senpai, laughing)
冗談、冗談。Jōdan, jōdan.Just kidding, just kidding.
  • Tease the moment, not the person: a funny slip is fair game, someone's body or family is not.
  • Tease sideways and downwards with care, and upwards almost never: a senpai or a boss may tease you, but the reverse is risky until you are very close.
  • Watch for the laugh. If the target goes quiet, stop and say gomen, iisugita.
  • Do not copy rough comebacks such as urusē with people you have just met.
  • Remember that a stiff, serious reaction to light ijiri can feel cold to the group. Laughing first, then protesting, keeps everyone comfortable.
Key points

A practical way to improve

Comebacks need timing, so practise them out loud until they come without thinking. First, say mō! yamete yo three ways: laughing, mock-offended and genuinely annoyed, and notice how your voice changes the message. Second, prepare one thing about yourself friends could tease you for, and practise a self-deprecating reply. Third, in Unihongo's immersive 3D classroom, ask your AI Sensei to play a friend at an izakaya who teases you gently about your Japanese, and respond with comebacks; then ask the Sensei to play a senpai and switch to the more polite kanben shite kudasai yo. If you want the full izakaya setting, the First Round at an Izakaya mission is a natural place to try it. The session report afterwards shows where your register drifted.

  1. 1

    Choose one clear goal

    Focus each session on a situation or skill you can actually use.

  2. 2

    Practice actively

    Say complete answers aloud instead of only reading or recognizing Japanese.

  3. 3

    Review and repeat

    Keep useful corrections and revisit the same skill until it feels natural.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What does ijiru mean in Japanese?

Literally, ijiru (いじる) means to fiddle with or touch something, as in sumaho o ijiru, to play with your phone. Socially, it means to tease someone playfully, picking on a quirk or a mistake for laughs in a way that usually includes them. The noun is ijiri, and being teased is ijirareru.

What is the difference between ijiru and karakau?

Ijiru is group teasing in a comedic spirit, often a sign of affection and belonging. Karakau means to make fun of or to kid someone, and covers a wider range: it can be light, as in karakawanaide, stop pulling my leg, or unkind. Karakau is also used for teasing someone by tricking them.

What is an ijirare kyara?

An ijirare kyara (いじられキャラ) is the person in a group who gets teased most, the one everyone jokes about. It is often an affectionate role for a well-liked person, but not everyone enjoys it, and some people find it tiring over time.

What is the difference between ijiri and ijime?

Ijiri is playful teasing that the target can laugh at and push back on. Ijime (いじめ) is bullying: one-sided, repeated, often a group against one person, and the target suffers. Where the line falls is widely discussed in Japan; a good rule is that if the person is not laughing, it is no longer ijiri.

Turn Japanese knowledge into speaking confidence

Practice with Unihongo's AI Sensei in an immersive 3D classroom, with roleplay missions, pronunciation coaching, useful feedback, and learning games that build your vocabulary while you play.

Start speaking free Compare plans