Ukeru Meaning: ウケる as Slang and 受ける as a Verb

What ukeru means in one minute

Ukeru is a verb whose basic meaning is to receive. With an object, it is the everyday verb for taking an exam, taking a phone call, attending a class or undergoing surgery. Without an object, it means to be well received: a product that sells, a joke that gets a laugh, a show that is popular with young people.

The slang reaction ukeru! grew out of that second meaning. If something gets a laugh from you, it ukeru: it lands. Today the slang simply means that's hilarious.

受ける, the standard verb: receive, take, undergo

The kanji 受 means receive. As a normal ichidan verb, ukeru takes the particle o for what you receive or undergo. It is neutral and fine in any register, and in polite speech it becomes ukemasu. Its passive-looking meaning is important: you take an exam that someone else sets, you receive a call that someone else makes, you undergo treatment that a doctor gives.

Going down well: uketa and ukenakatta

The second meaning is to be well received, to land. A comedian's joke ukeru when the audience laughs. A product ukeru when people like it. Who it lands with comes with the particle ni. In the past tense, uketa means it got a laugh or went down well, and ukenakatta means it flopped. This use is casual to neutral and very common when people talk about speeches, jokes and party games.

Slang ukeru: that's hilarious

Said on its own, ukeru is a quick reaction: that cracks me up. You will hear it from friends reading a message, watching a video, or listening to a story, and you will see it in chats, usually in katakana. Maji de ukeru intensifies it, and ukeru n dakedo (that's hilarious, honestly) is a common way to say it with a laugh.

Tone matters. Bright and laughing, ukeru is pure enjoyment. Said flatly, it can sound like a dry lol, or even a slightly mocking that's ridiculous, so watch your friends' faces.

Is it dated? The slang was especially linked with high-school girls in the 2000s, and some young people now hear it as a bit old, while plenty of people still use it every day. Online, people also write wara (笑, laugh) or kusa (草, grass, because the letter w for warau looks like grass) after a funny line. If you want something safe and timeless, metcha waratta, I laughed so much, never goes out of date.

Register: when to say ukeru and what to say instead

The standard verb ukeru is fine everywhere. The slang reaction is for friends, siblings and classmates, not for teachers, bosses or people you have just met. In polite conversation, react with omoshiroi desu ne, or say that something made you laugh.

The classic learner mistake: ukeru vs ukaru

Ukeru means to take an exam; ukaru (受かる) means to pass it. The particles differ too: shiken o ukeru, but shiken ni ukaru. If you say shiken o ukemashita after your results come out, you have only told people that you sat the exam. The opposite of ukaru is ochiru, to fall, which means to fail.

• Mistake 1: shiken ni ukemashita. Use o with ukeru: shiken o ukemashita.
• Mistake 2: using slang ukeru to a teacher or boss. Say omoshiroi desu ne.
• Mistake 3: saying ukeru when someone shares bad news with a nervous laugh. It can sound as if you are laughing at them.
• Mistake 4: writing the exam verb in katakana. Use 受ける for the standard meanings.

More ways to react to something funny

If you only have ukeru, every reaction sounds the same. Japanese has several others. Tsubo ni hairu, literally to hit the pressure point, means something hit your funny bone so hard you cannot stop. Fukidasu is to burst out laughing, often unexpectedly. Warai ga tomaranai means you cannot stop laughing. Okashii means funny, but it also means strange, so okashii ne can be either that's hilarious or that's odd; the tone decides.

Omoshiroi is the all-purpose word. It means funny and also interesting, so a friend who says omoshiroi about a lecture is not necessarily laughing.

Mini dialogue: a story that cracks everyone up

Three friends are at a café, and one of them tells a story about her cat. Notice the slang ukeru and the verb uketa side by side.