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うける ukeru
That's hilarious.
What does ukeru mean?
Literally it was received, meaning the joke landed. Say it flat and it turns into a very dry wow, seriously?
Example
その話、うける。
That story is hilarious.
Vibe
Who you can say this to, and how it lands.
Friends only Casual. Natural with friends, out of place at work or with strangers.
The story behind ukeru
受ける means to receive, and the comedy world used it first: a joke that 受ける is a joke the audience caught. Performers still talk about 大ウケ and ウケ狙い, aiming for the laugh. From that professional jargon it slid into ordinary speech, and by the 1990s young people were saying うける to each other as a straight verdict: that landed.
The trick is delivery. Said brightly it means genuinely funny. Said completely flat, with no eyebrows involved, it becomes a dry wow, amazing, said to someone who has just explained a terrible plan. Same word, opposite temperature, and the listener is expected to work out which one arrived.
Get ukeru in your pocket
うける is one of 308 words in YABAI, a Japanese culture snack for Android. Every word comes with its meaning, an example sentence, a vibe check and a story like the one above — in 13 languages, read aloud by your device. Paid app: no ads, no sign-up, no subscription.
