バカ
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This is the most common word – it applies to people who flunk a math test as well as to people who look funny, as well as to people who stumble and spill the soup. However, it’s mostly kanto (East coast) people who use this with their friends in a friendly way. Your kansai (West coast) friends are more likely to get mad if you call them バカ.
$$$
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愚か
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Unlike the others in this cluster, only adults use 愚か。 It’s more of a literary or newspaper term. Like if a politician mis-speaks during a speech, you’d say he or she was 愚か.
LIT
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間抜け
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This is more mean than the other words. Closer to バカやろう (asshole!) than dummy. Generally used with people who are clumsy or make stupid-and-big mistakes like going to the airport without their passport.
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面
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Literally ‘ばか appearance.’ - someone who is not a fool but looks like a fool because of a certain situation:they have to wear an idiotic uniform, or they’re trying some new activity they have never tried before.
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ボケ
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Someone who is foolish because they’re a space-cadet. Someone who always has a ポカン expression. Someone who forgets to take out the trash, or takes out the burnables on the day you’re supposed to take out the recycling. You wouldn’t use ボケ about a big big huge mistake though – you’d use 間抜け. You’ll often hear ぼけ in the expressions 寝ぼけ(sleepy-head), or 時差ぼけ (jet lag). That should give you some idea what regular ぼけ is. Also, when the つこみ comedians hit each other on the head for talking nonsense, they yell ぼけ, not ばか or まぬけ。
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あほ
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Basically it’s the same as バカ, but more popular in western Japan (kansai). Kansai people are more likely to call their friends あほ in jest, not バカ。
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