ichidan verb, intransitive verb
Used when someone says or does something playfully rather than seriously. Common in speech, especially in forms such as ふざけて言う and ふざけないで.
ふざけて言っただけだから、本気にしないで。
I only said it as a joke, so don't take it seriously.
こんな大事な話の最中にふざけないで。
Don't joke around in the middle of such an important discussion.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
make fun of; joke at someone's expense; play a prank
Covers joking in a way that targets someone or something, often with a teasing or disrespectful feel. Because ふざける is basically intransitive, the target is often expressed with phrases such as 〜をネタにして or 〜で.
人の失敗をネタにしてふざけるのはやめなさい。
Stop making fun of other people's mistakes.
友達の名前でふざけるのは失礼だ。
It's rude to make jokes with your friend's name.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
fool around; mess around; romp
Used for playful, silly, or disruptive behavior, especially by children or people not taking a situation seriously. Depending on context, it can sound mildly scolding.
子どもたちが公園でふざけて走り回っている。
The children are fooling around and running about in the park.
授業中にふざけるな。
Don't mess around during class.
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
A context-dependent euphemistic use for amorous fooling around between lovers. It is less direct and less common in modern everyday speech than words such as いちゃつく or キスする.
古い俗な用法では、恋人同士が「ふざける」と言うと、抱き合ったりキスしたりすることを指す場合がある。
In an older colloquial use, saying that lovers ふざける can mean that they embrace or kiss.