{"id":296,"date":"2019-01-10T00:07:11","date_gmt":"2019-01-10T00:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/?p=296"},"modified":"2024-09-14T19:57:41","modified_gmt":"2024-09-14T19:57:41","slug":"meaning-deku-japanese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/meaning-deku-japanese\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Deku&#8221; \u2014 Here&#8217;s What It Really Means"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>img#mv-trellis-img-1::before{padding-top:22.058823529412%; }img#mv-trellis-img-1{display:block;}img#mv-trellis-img-2::before{padding-top:22.058823529412%; }img#mv-trellis-img-2{display:block;}img#mv-trellis-img-3::before{padding-top:22.058823529412%; }img#mv-trellis-img-3{display:block;}img#mv-trellis-img-4::before{padding-top:22.058823529412%; }img#mv-trellis-img-4{display:block;}img#mv-trellis-img-5::before{padding-top:150%; }img#mv-trellis-img-5{display:block;}<\/style><p>In this article we&rsquo;re going to investigate the Japanese word <i>deku<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>This is going to lead us through some interesting traditional Japanese culture, as well as modern uses of this old word.<\/p>\n<p>We&rsquo;ll stroll through samurai-era puppets, 90&rsquo;s Zelda games, and the current <i>anime<\/i> phenomenon of <i>Boku no Hero Academia<\/i>, a.k.a. &ldquo;My Hero Academia.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Let&rsquo;s start with a super broad overview of the meaning of <i>deku<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What is the meaning of <em>Deku<\/em>?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>&ldquo;Deku&rdquo; is a Japanese term originally referencing a wooden doll, suggesting something &ldquo;useless&rdquo; or &ldquo;powerless.&rdquo; In &ldquo;The Legend of Zelda&rdquo;, it denotes tree-like beings. In &ldquo;My Hero Academia&rdquo;, it&rsquo;s Izuku&rsquo;s nickname, symbolizing his transformative journey.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Dictionary Defined <i>Deku<\/i><\/b><\/h2>\n<p>If we take a look at the dictionary, we get a pretty straightforward set of definitions of <i>deku<\/i> .<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#25805;&#12426;&#20154;&#24418;<\/strong>&#12290;<br>\n<strong>&#27671;&#12398;&#12365;&#12363;&#12394;&#12356;&#20154;&#12290;&#24441;&#31435;&#12383;&#12378;&#12290;&#12414;&#12383;&#12289;&#12381;&#12358;&#12356;&#12358;&#20154;&#12434;&#12398;&#12398;&#12375;&#12387;&#12390;&#12356;&#12358;&#35486;<\/strong>&#12290;<\/p>\n<p>Definition one is as simple as it gets. <strong>&ldquo;Puppet.&rdquo;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The second definition is a little more fun. <strong>&ldquo;A person without the disposition to be useful. Useless, boring person. A word to speak ill of such a person.&rdquo;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Well now.<\/p>\n<p>So, the first definition refers to a specific type of <strong>old-timey wood puppet<\/strong> which we&rsquo;ll discuss briefly in a moment.<\/p>\n<p>And the second definition gives you something a little more creative <strong>to insult someone with<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Time to up your <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/the-definition-of-a-weeb\/\">weeb<\/a><\/strong> game from the altogether pedestrian <i>baka<\/i> to the more amusing <i>deku<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>So, that&rsquo;s the base definition of the word, but what <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"do\" href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/do-vs-make-difference\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">do<\/a> we discover when we dive into things a little further?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>The Mystery of <i>Deku<\/i><\/b><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-3.jpg\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5846\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-3.jpg\" alt=\"Deku Pullquotes 3\" width=\"680\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-3.jpg 680w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-3-300x66.jpg 300w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-3-561x124.jpg 561w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-3-364x80.jpg 364w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-3-608x134.jpg 608w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-3.jpg\"><\/noscript><img loading=\"eager\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5846 eager-load\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20680%20150'%3E%3Crect%20width='680'%20height='150'%20style='fill:%23e3e3e3'\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" alt=\"Deku Pullquotes 3\" width=\"680\" height=\"150\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-3.jpg\" id=\"mv-trellis-img-1\" data-src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-3.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-3.jpg 680w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-3-300x66.jpg 300w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-3-561x124.jpg 561w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-3-364x80.jpg 364w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-3-608x134.jpg 608w\" data-svg=\"1\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><i>Deku<\/i> is written with <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/how-many-kanji-to-be-fluent\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">two <i>kanji<\/i> <\/a><\/strong>(Chinese characters), like so: <strong>&#26408;&#20598;<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>That first character<\/strong> is where we get the <strong>DE sound<\/strong>&hellip; maybe. I&rsquo;ll get back to that in a second. Also, the character <strong>&#26408;<\/strong> means &ldquo;tree&rdquo; or &ldquo;wood.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong>That second character<\/strong> is where we get the <strong>KU sound<\/strong>&hellip; maybe. Again, just a sec and I&rsquo;ll explain.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The character &#20598;<\/strong> can mean a couple of different things, including <strong>&ldquo;accidentally,&rdquo;<\/strong> <strong>&ldquo;even number,&rdquo;<\/strong> <strong>&ldquo;same kind,&rdquo;<\/strong> and <strong>&ldquo;man and wife.&rdquo;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>How this relates to the concept of &ldquo;wood doll,&rdquo; I&rsquo;m not yet sure. But this is just the first mystery.<\/p>\n<p>See, the second mystery stems from my &ldquo;maybes&rdquo; above. As I was doing research for this article, I found something very strange.<\/p>\n<p>No matter where I looked, <strong>I couldn&rsquo;t find any source that suggested the DE or KU readings for their respective <i>kanji<\/i><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>English to <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"Japanese\" href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/study-japanese\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">Japanese<\/a> dictionaries, Japanese native dictionaries, in books and online&mdash;nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Heck, I dove into a bit of Chinese look-up resources just to see if perhaps it was a reading taken from across the sea. Nothing. Nada. <i>Batsu<\/i>. <strong>A dead end.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Here&rsquo;s why this is so strange &mdash; even creepy: As far as I&rsquo;ve ever been aware, <strong>there&rsquo;s a direct one-to-one relationship between a <i>kanji<\/i> and its reading<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Even if it&rsquo;s an exceptionally unusual reading, seen just one or two times, it should come from somewhere, and be listed.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes, Japanese will even use a <i>kanji<\/i> just for its pronunciation, not its meaning. But not here. <strong>These are phantom pronunciations<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>&#26408;<\/strong> has many ways it can be read. In Japanese, it comes out KI, KO, GU, MO, MOKU, and BOKU.<\/p>\n<p>Chinese and Korean add MU and MOG. But nothing resembling DE.<\/p>\n<p>The same happens with <strong>&#20598;<\/strong>, read TAMA or GUU in Japanese, OU in Chinese and U in Korean.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps, I thought, if I poke around inside the etymology of the word something would emerge&hellip;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Origins of <i>Deku<\/i><\/b><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-5.jpg\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5848\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-5.jpg\" alt=\"Deku Pullquote 5\" width=\"680\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-5.jpg 680w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-5-300x66.jpg 300w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-5-561x124.jpg 561w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-5-364x80.jpg 364w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-5-608x134.jpg 608w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-5.jpg\"><\/noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5848 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-5.jpg\" alt=\"Deku Pullquote 5\" width=\"680\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-5.jpg 680w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-5-300x66.jpg 300w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-5-561x124.jpg 561w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-5-364x80.jpg 364w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-5-608x134.jpg 608w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquotes-5.jpg\" id=\"mv-trellis-img-2\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s been a harrowing few hours wading through the Japanese internet, carefully translating some etymological resources, and trying to pry out the meaning within.<\/p>\n<p>I came up empty handed with regards to the strange readings of the two <i>kanji<\/i> that make up the word <i>deku<\/i>, but I learned some interesting things about the word origins itself.<\/p>\n<p><strong><i>Deku<\/i> are part of a class of doll<\/strong> that may very well have its origins in an unbroken chain of doll-making on the Japan archipelago stretching back thousands of years to the clay <i>dogu<\/i> figures of the Jomon Era.<\/p>\n<p><strong>By the Heian Era<\/strong>&mdash;the highfalutin age of the Tale of Genji&mdash;many dolls were in the repertoire of craftsmen of the day, <i>deku<\/i> most likely included.<\/p>\n<p>At that time, <i>deku<\/i> were wooden puppets, also known as <i>kugutsu<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>But where did the pronunciation come from? Even to the Japanese it&rsquo;s something of a mystery, with no concrete theory available.<\/p>\n<p><strong>One possibility is<\/strong> that <i>deku<\/i> is a mispronunciation of <i>deiguu<\/i>, a word for &ldquo;clay doll,&rdquo; though my main source for this research suggested that was unlikely.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A more likely theory is<\/strong> one that has flown a bit over my head. One thing to note is that <i>deku<\/i> is often written in a longer form as <i>deku-no-bou<\/i>, or <strong>&#26408;&#20598;&#12398;&#22346;<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>So, keeping that elongated form in mind, the etymology becomes a bit more clear&hellip; maybe.<\/p>\n<p>Reading through the etymologies, it seems that it is believed that the word might come from <i>dekurubou<\/i>, a word written<strong> &#20986;&#29378;&#22346;<\/strong> which, as far as I can tell, might be synonymous with <strong>&#20986;&#26469;&#22346;<\/strong>, and they might both be synonyms for <i>deku<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>These root words seem to mean <strong>&ldquo;appearing-crazy-boy&rdquo;<\/strong> and <strong>&ldquo;workmanship-boy&rdquo;<\/strong> respectively, although I couldn&rsquo;t find anything concrete. Curiouser and curiouser&hellip;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Origins of the Insult<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>But why do people use <i>deku<\/i> as an insult? It might seem obvious at first.<\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s roughly equivalent to <strong>calling someone a blockhead<\/strong> in English, right?<\/p>\n<p>Well, it&rsquo;s a little more than that. It&rsquo;s not just that you&rsquo;re being dumb, but <strong>that the person is useless<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>If you look up images of a traditional <i>deku<\/i> doll, you&rsquo;ll notice that it has a very peculiar feature&mdash;it <strong>has no arms and no legs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s almost like a wooden dowel with a head on top. So, it&rsquo;s more like saying that someone is as useless as a wooden doll with no hands or feet!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Softening the Blow with Puns!<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>So, maybe you want to call someone a <i>deku<\/i> since they&rsquo;re being a bit of a tool, but you don&rsquo;t want to come off too harsh.<\/p>\n<p>Well, the Japanese have a punny way of doing this.<\/p>\n<p>Remember that the word is often written <strong>&#26408;&#20598;&#12398;&#22346;<\/strong>, or <i>deku-no-bou<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>With that in mind, you can instead write it <strong>&#26408;&#20598;&#26834;<\/strong>, which makes it a little softer.<\/p>\n<p>Why does this difference matter?<\/p>\n<p>Well, <strong>&#26834;<\/strong> means &ldquo;pole&rdquo; but is pronounced the same as <strong>&#22346;<\/strong>, BO.<\/p>\n<p>I&rsquo;m not sure of the exact reason for why this makes the insult sting less, but <strong>my instinct is that it&rsquo;s less direct<\/strong> and, since it&rsquo;s a play on words, is a bit of a joke in itself.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Take that with a grain of salt, though.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Checking Out <i>Deku<\/i> for Yourself<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>If you want to see <i>deku<\/i>, go ahead and copy and paste the <i>kanji<\/i> <strong>&#26408;&#20598;&#22346;<\/strong> into Google and check out all the neat images of traditional puppets.<\/p>\n<p>If you happen to be in Japan, seek out traditional puppet museums.<\/p>\n<p>One well-established place is the <strong><i>Awa-Deku-Ningyo-Kaikan<\/i> in Tokushima prefecture<\/strong>. There you can see, up close and personal, displays of old fashioned <i>deku<\/i> and even some live presentations of them!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>A Buddhist Interpretation of Deku<\/h2>\n<p>Although the phrase &ldquo;deku-no-bou&rdquo; has been used to insult people for hundreds of years in Japan, not everyone is on board with this trend.<\/p>\n<p>One prominent example of a person who dislikes the insult is from poet Kenji Miyazawa (1896-1933).<\/p>\n<p>Miyazawa was well known for being a devout Buddhist and champion of many social causes, but today he is perhaps best known for his children&rsquo;s poetry.<\/p>\n<p>In particular, he is remembered for &ldquo;Night on the Galactic Railroad,&rdquo; which was one of the inspirations for Leiji Matsumoto&rsquo;s famous Galaxy Express 999 manga and anime series.<\/p>\n<p>While neither Galaxy Express 999 or &ldquo;Night on the Galactic Railroad&rdquo; feature a deku-no-bou, another of Miyazawa&rsquo;s poems does.<\/p>\n<p>Miyazawa wrote this poem, called &#38632;&#12491;&#12514;&#12510;&#12465;&#12474; (ame ni mo makezu, or &ldquo;Do not be defeated by rain&rdquo;), while he was suffering from the pneumonia that eventually killed him.<\/p>\n<p>The final section of the poem reads as follows:<br>\n&#12415;&#12435;&#12394;&#12395;&#12391;&#12367;&#12398;&#12412;&#12358;&#12392;&#12424;&#12400;&#12428;<br>\n&#12411;&#12417;&#12425;&#12428;&#12418;&#12379;&#12378;<br>\n&#12367;&#12395;&#12418;&#12373;&#12428;&#12378;<br>\n&#12381;&#12358;&#12356;&#12358;&#12418;&#12398;&#12395;<br>\n&#12431;&#12383;&#12375;&#12399;&#12394;&#12426;&#12383;&#12356;<\/p>\n<p>Roughly translated into English lines of poetry, that goes something like this:<br>\nCalled useless by everybody<br>\nNeither the cause of praise<br>\nNor anguish<br>\nThat is the kind of person<br>\nI want to become.<\/p>\n<p>The word translated as &ldquo;useless&rdquo; here is &#12391;&#12367;&#12398;&#12412;&#12358; (deku-no-bou).<br>\nWhat is interesting about this is that Miyazawa doesn&rsquo;t deny that &ldquo;deku&rdquo; means &ldquo;useless. Rather, in a typically Buddhist way, he rebels against the idea that a person&rsquo;s value is measured by their &ldquo;use&rdquo; at all.<\/p>\n<p>Quite the opposite.<\/p>\n<p>It is precisely because he does not want to be tied up in other people&rsquo;s idea of value that Miyazawa wants others to consider him &ldquo;useless.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Birth of the Modern <i>Deku<\/i>: the Legend of Zelda<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote-1.jpg\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5842\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote-1.jpg\" alt=\"Deku Pullquote 1\" width=\"680\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote-1.jpg 680w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote-1-300x66.jpg 300w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote-1-561x124.jpg 561w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote-1-364x80.jpg 364w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote-1-608x134.jpg 608w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote-1.jpg\"><\/noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5842 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote-1.jpg\" alt=\"Deku Pullquote 1\" width=\"680\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote-1.jpg 680w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote-1-300x66.jpg 300w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote-1-561x124.jpg 561w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote-1-364x80.jpg 364w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote-1-608x134.jpg 608w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote-1.jpg\" id=\"mv-trellis-img-3\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Anyone who&rsquo;s played a Zelda game has probably come across these guys.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, <strong>Majora&rsquo;s Mask<\/strong> starts you off transformed into one of these magical creatures.<\/p>\n<p>As will probably be no surprise to you at this point, <strong>the name of these Deku is derived directly from the Japanese wooden doll, <i>deku<\/i><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Since the Zelda Deku are made out of wood, they&rsquo;re almost like the <i>deku<\/i> puppets brought to life.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, while some Deku denizens have arms and feet, the most famous of the Deku&mdash;the Deku scrubs&mdash;have no arms and pretty strongly resemble the classic puppet dolls.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Deku appear<\/strong> <strong>in at least seven different Legend of Zelda games<\/strong> and are a race of tree-like beings.<\/p>\n<p>Deku are not particularly violent creatures and manage to live in harmony with most of the rest of the world.<\/p>\n<p>The only ones you really need to worry about are the &ldquo;Mad Scrubs&rdquo; which shoot Deku Nuts at their enemies.<\/p>\n<p>The Deku are a <strong>fairly sophisticated race<\/strong> within the game. They live under a monarchy, conduct business widely, and even have a school that conducts field trips.<\/p>\n<p>Not quite as useless as we&rsquo;d been led to believe earlier!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>The name Deku in My Hero Academia (MHA)<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote2.jpg\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5844\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote2.jpg\" alt=\"Deku Pullquote 2\" width=\"680\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote2.jpg 680w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote2-300x66.jpg 300w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote2-561x124.jpg 561w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote2-364x80.jpg 364w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote2-608x134.jpg 608w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote2.jpg\"><\/noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5844 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote2.jpg\" alt=\"Deku Pullquote 2\" width=\"680\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote2.jpg 680w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote2-300x66.jpg 300w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote2-561x124.jpg 561w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote2-364x80.jpg 364w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote2-608x134.jpg 608w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Deku-Pullquote2.jpg\" id=\"mv-trellis-img-4\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The hero of the hit <i>shounen anime<\/i>, &ldquo;<i>Boku no Hero Academia<\/i>,&rdquo; known in English as <strong>&ldquo;My Hero Academia,<\/strong>&rdquo; is named Izuku Midoriya.<\/p>\n<p>But he also goes by another moniker. You guessed it: Deku.<\/p>\n<p>But is this nickname as unfortunate as you might be thinking right now? Well, there are a couple of layers to his name.<\/p>\n<p>One is <strong>an insult<\/strong>, one is <strong>encouraging<\/strong>, and one is a <strong>simple pun<\/strong>. Here we go!<\/p>\n<p>So, first off, the name Deku automatically conjures up the image of the wooden doll and the insult in any native speaker&rsquo;s mind.<\/p>\n<p>So, Deku is, at first glance, <strong>a nickname that means &ldquo;useless person,&rdquo;<\/strong> or <strong>&ldquo;someone who can&rsquo;t do anything.&rdquo;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>But, it turns out that <i>deku<\/i> sounds a bit like another word, <strong><i>dekiru<\/i><\/strong>. And what does <i>dekiru<\/i> mean?<strong> It means &ldquo;can do.&rdquo;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>And <i>dekiru<\/i> is written with the characters <strong>&#20986;&#26469;<\/strong> which you might recall from earlier, is possibly one of the old ways of writing <i>deku<\/i> in the sense of &ldquo;wooden doll.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>So, <strong>the nickname Deku means either &ldquo;can&rsquo;t do&rdquo; or &ldquo;can do,&rdquo;<\/strong> depending on who&rsquo;s saying it to our hero.<\/p>\n<p>And <strong>one final layer to add to this impressive pun-cake<\/strong>! The hero&rsquo;s given name is Izuku, which is written <strong>&#20986;&#20037;<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Now, you might have noticed that we&rsquo;ve seen that first character, <strong>&#20986;<\/strong>, already. And it&rsquo;s often said DE.<\/p>\n<p>That&rsquo;s right, as I mentioned early on, <i>kanji<\/i> characters usually have multiple ways of being pronounced depending on the context.<\/p>\n<p>In one circumstance, <strong>&#20986; is pronounced IZU<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>In other <\/strong>circumstances<strong> it&rsquo;s pronounced DE<\/strong> (and it gets pronounced lots of other different ways as well, but we&rsquo;ll ignore that right now).<\/p>\n<p>Now, if we<strong> pair that up with the second part of his name, &#20037;, which is pronounced KU<\/strong>, we get our familiar <i>deku<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>So, Deku is just another way of pronouncing Izuku&rsquo;s name.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>So, there you have it. In <i><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/boku-no-meaning-japanese\/\">Boku no<\/a> Hero Academia<\/i> the name Deku <strong>is either a pun, or it means &ldquo;can do guy,&rdquo; or it means &ldquo;can&rsquo;t do guy.&rdquo;<\/strong> Layers and layers!<\/p>\n<p>It might be tempting to leave it at that. And, in fact, many of the character names in Hero Academia are based on puns.<\/p>\n<p>Deku&rsquo;s friend and rival Bakugo&rsquo;s name is written using the kanji &#29190;&#35946;, which literally mean &ldquo;overpowering explosion,&rdquo; and his powers are all about blowing things up.<\/p>\n<p>Deku&rsquo;s name, though, shows an impressive amount of forethought even for a manga series written in a language where a lot of comedy is based on puns.<\/p>\n<p>To really understand this, we need to quickly run through some background of the show.<\/p>\n<h3>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n<h2>Deku, the Hero without Powers<\/h2>\n<p>In the world of Boku no Hero Academia, many people are born with special powers called &ldquo;quirks&rdquo; (&#20491;&#24615; or kosei).<\/p>\n<p>While most people with quirks live ordinary lives and have very minor powers, a few become supervillains and a few, like Deku and his friends, strive to become superheroes.<\/p>\n<p>Not everyone in the world is so lucky, though. According to the series&rsquo; early chapters, something like 20% of the world&rsquo;s population is born without a quirk, a situation the series calls &ldquo;quirkless.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Izuku Midoriya, alias Deku, is one of these quirkless individuals.<\/p>\n<p>Despite having no powers, all Deku has ever wanted to do is be a superhero like his idol All Might, one of the show&rsquo;s &ldquo;golden age&rdquo; heroes and Deku&rsquo;s mentor.<\/p>\n<p>When his childhood friend Bakugo is attacked by a supervillain, Deku doesn&rsquo;t let his lack of powers slow him down.<\/p>\n<p>He immediately runs into action to try and free Bakugo.<\/p>\n<p>Back to the topic at hand, though. If you think about it, the fact that he lacks powers is yet another layer to Deku&rsquo;s name.<\/p>\n<p>Just like a deku-no-bou doll has no arms or legs, Deku lacks powers, something that most people in his world take for granted every bit as much as limbs.<\/p>\n<p>A lot of Deku&rsquo;s first character arc in the series is how he struggles to overcome people who dismiss him as useless because he has no quirks.<\/p>\n<p>Even later, when he does get powers of his own, he always strongly values his new abilities and makes sure to never take them for granted.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Where Deku Gets His Superhero Name<\/h2>\n<p>Another layer (or quirk, if you will) is the fact that Deku is not just Izuku&rsquo;s nickname.<\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s the name he uses when he finally achieves his dream of getting accepted to a prestigious superhero school.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, it&rsquo;s his superhero name.<\/p>\n<p>As we&rsquo;ve already mentioned, the word deku is actually an insult suggesting that somebody is useless and can&rsquo;t do anything.<\/p>\n<p>The fact that Izuku, who has no powers, would get called this by those who have powers is obviously no mistake.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, it&rsquo;s Izuku&rsquo;s childhood friend Bakugo who repeatedly calls him this. Bakugo is brash and headstrong, where Izuku is hesitant and honest about his feelings.<\/p>\n<p>The two have a fraught dynamic that doesn&rsquo;t change when Izuku finally gets his own powers. If anything, Izuku&rsquo;s transformation from a powerless, useless wooden doll to someone just like him leaves Bakugo even more furious.<\/p>\n<p>For many people, being repeatedly called useless would make them give up. Izuku is different.<\/p>\n<p>Like many shounen manga protagonists, one of the strongest parts of his personality is his refusal to give up no matter how bad the situation might get.<\/p>\n<p>This is what makes him take Bakugo&rsquo;s insulting nickname of &ldquo;Deku&rdquo; and turn it into his superhero name.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, the name &ldquo;Deku&rdquo; is not just a joke that Izuku is trying to turn around. Instead, his claiming of &ldquo;Deku&rdquo; is supposed to be inspiring to others who might think they, too, are useless.<\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s kind of like saying, &ldquo;People told me I was useless all my life and look what I can do. You&rsquo;re just the same.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>So Long and Thanks for All the Deku<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Well, there you have it. Another long, challenging journey to understand all the nuances of a strange, little Japanese word.<\/p>\n<p>Now you&rsquo;ve got everything you need to look into some classic craftsmanship, up your weeb game by playfully <strong>insulting a friend<\/strong> without saying <i>baka<\/i>, understand <strong>the origins of the Zelda character<\/strong>, and understand all the fun punnerific layers behind the <strong>main protagonist&rsquo;s nickname in <i>Boku no Hero Academia<\/i><\/strong>!<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6708\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/The-True-Meaning-of-Deku-Tailwind-20.jpg\" alt=\"The True Meaning of Deku\" width=\"924\" height=\"1386\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/The-True-Meaning-of-Deku-Tailwind-20.jpg 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/The-True-Meaning-of-Deku-Tailwind-20-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/The-True-Meaning-of-Deku-Tailwind-20-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/The-True-Meaning-of-Deku-Tailwind-20-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/The-True-Meaning-of-Deku-Tailwind-20-561x842.jpg 561w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/The-True-Meaning-of-Deku-Tailwind-20-364x546.jpg 364w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/The-True-Meaning-of-Deku-Tailwind-20-728x1092.jpg 728w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/The-True-Meaning-of-Deku-Tailwind-20-608x912.jpg 608w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/The-True-Meaning-of-Deku-Tailwind-20-758x1137.jpg 758w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 924px) 100vw, 924px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/The-True-Meaning-of-Deku-Tailwind-20.jpg\"><\/noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6708 lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/The-True-Meaning-of-Deku-Tailwind-20.jpg\" alt=\"The True Meaning of Deku\" width=\"924\" height=\"1386\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/The-True-Meaning-of-Deku-Tailwind-20.jpg 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/The-True-Meaning-of-Deku-Tailwind-20-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/The-True-Meaning-of-Deku-Tailwind-20-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/The-True-Meaning-of-Deku-Tailwind-20-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/The-True-Meaning-of-Deku-Tailwind-20-561x842.jpg 561w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/The-True-Meaning-of-Deku-Tailwind-20-364x546.jpg 364w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/The-True-Meaning-of-Deku-Tailwind-20-728x1092.jpg 728w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/The-True-Meaning-of-Deku-Tailwind-20-608x912.jpg 608w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/The-True-Meaning-of-Deku-Tailwind-20-758x1137.jpg 758w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 924px) 100vw, 924px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/The-True-Meaning-of-Deku-Tailwind-20.jpg\" id=\"mv-trellis-img-5\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"><br>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>All the nuances and facets of the Japanese word DEKU in one comprehensive article. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":300,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable-in-feed":false,"article-schema-type":"","disable-critical-css":false,"_convertkit_action_broadcast_export":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,1156],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-japanese","category-japanese-meanings-in-anime"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26595,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296\/revisions\/26595"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}