ウケる

• 読み: ウケる
• ローマ字: ukeru
• 発音: /ɯ.ke.ɾɯ/

意味

An exclamation meaning 'that's hilarious' or 'LOL,' used to react to something genuinely funny.

ウケる literally means 'to receive' (受ける) but in slang it means something 'lands well' comedically — i.e., it gets a laugh. It functions as the spoken/texted equivalent of LOL or 'I'm dying.' Women and younger speakers use it especially often. The past tense ウケた and the super-emphatic 超ウケる are equally common.

例文

1. その話超ウケるんだけど！
2. 先生が黒板に変な絵描いてて、みんなウケてた。
3. あの動画見た？ウケるからマジで見て。

使い方ガイド

場面: friends, social media, texting

トーン: amused, laughing, lighthearted

正しい言い方

• え、何それウケる！ (Wait, what? That's hilarious!)
• ウケるんだけど、猫がまた変な寝方してる。 (LOL, the cat is sleeping in a weird position again.)

避ける言い方

• 深刻な話をしている人に「ウケる」と言わない (Don't say 'ukeru' to someone sharing a serious or sad story — it sounds dismissive)

よくある間違い

• Using ウケる when someone is being unintentionally funny in an embarrassing way — it can come across as mocking
• Confusing the slang meaning with the standard verb 受ける (to receive/take an exam)

起源と歴史

From the verb 受ける (ukeru, to receive). In comedy, 受ける means a joke 'lands' or 'gets a good reception.' The slang usage emerged in the 1990s-2000s among young women and spread widely through texting and social media.

文化的背景

時代: 1990s-2000s, spread through gyaru culture and texting

世代: Teens to 30s, slightly more common among women

社会的背景: Casual youth speech

地域メモ: Used across Japan. In Kansai, おもろい (omoroi) is often preferred over ウケる for 'funny.'