What Does “Bokeh” Mean? The Japanese Term Every Photographer Knows
In photography, few words carry as much weight and specific beauty as “bokeh.” It’s a term that originated in Japan and has become the global standard for describing one of the most sought-after effects in imagery. But what does this Japanese photography term actually mean?
Let’s move beyond the oversimplified “blurry background” definition and explore the true, nuanced meaning of bokeh.
The Core Meaning: It’s About Quality, Not Just Blur
At its heart, bokeh (pronounced BOH-kay or BOH-keh) is a Japanese photography term that refers to:
The aesthetic quality and character of the out-of-focus areas in a photograph, especially the rendering of out-of-focus points of light.
The key word here is “quality.” Bokeh doesn’t mean an out-of-focus background—that’s just “background blur.” Bokeh describes how that blur looks and feels.
The Origin: Boke-aji (ボケ味) – “The Flavor of the Blur”
The term’s depth comes from its original Japanese usage in lens reviews and photo magazines (like Photo Technic). Photographers didn’t just say “boke.” They used the compound term:
- ボケ (Boke): Meaning “blur.”
- 味 (Aji): Meaning “taste,” “flavor,” or “character.”
“Boke-aji” (ボケ味) literally translates to “the flavor of the blur.” This is the precise concept that was adopted into international photographic language, shortened to simply “bokeh.”
Good Bokeh vs. Bad Bokeh: How Photographers Use the Term
Because bokeh is a qualitative term, it’s always judged. This judgment is central to its meaning in photography.
Good Bokeh (良いボケ – Yoi Boke) is described as:
- Creamy or buttery
- Smooth and pleasing
- Unobtrusive, allowing the subject to stand out
- Circular and soft out-of-focus highlights (often called “bokeh balls”)
- Associated with high-quality prime lenses with wide apertures (e.g., f/1.4, f/1.8).
Bad Bokeh (悪いボケ – Warui Boke) is described as:
- Harsh or nervous
- Busy and distracting
- Showing double lines (“onion ringing”)
- Forming geometric shapes (like hexagons or octagons from the lens’s aperture blades)
- Generally competing with the subject for attention.
Why This Japanese Term Conquered the Photography World
Before “bokeh,” English lacked a succinct word for this concept. Phrases like “out-of-focus rendering” were technical and clumsy. The term was popularized in the West by photo journalist Mike Johnston in a 1997 Photo Techniques magazine article, after he encountered detailed discussions of boke-aji in Japanese lens tests.
It stuck because it was:
- Precise: It named a specific, nuanced artistic concern.
- Evocative: It suggested a sensory, qualitative judgment.
- Essential: It became a key metric for evaluating lens performance beyond just sharpness.
How to Achieve Beautiful Bokeh (Applying the Term)
Understanding the term means knowing how to create the effect. To achieve strong, high-quality bokeh:
- Use a Fast Lens: A lens with a wide maximum aperture (low f-number) is the primary tool.
- Widen Your Aperture: Shoot at or near your lens’s widest setting (e.g., f/1.8).
- Increase Distance: Maximize the distance between your subject and the background.
- Get Closer: Move physically closer to your subject.
- Use a Longer Focal Length: Telephoto lenses (85mm, 135mm) compress and enhance bokeh.
- Choose a “Busy” Background: Backgrounds with small points of light (e.g., city lights, sun through leaves) best reveal the bokeh character.
Conclusion: More Than Just a Technical Term
In summary, the meaning of the Japanese photography term “bokeh” is not “blur.” It is:
“The subjective, aesthetic quality of the blur produced by a lens in the out-of-focus portions of an image.”
It’s a term that elevates a technical byproduct of shallow depth of field into an artistic consideration. When photographers discuss a lens’s “beautiful bokeh,” they are directly invoking the Japanese concept of boke-aji—praising the lens for its pleasing “flavor of blur.”
So next time you hear the word, you’ll know it’s a compliment to the lens’s character, not just an observation that the background isn’t sharp.
Inspired to evaluate your own gear’s boke-aji? Grab your fastest lens, shoot towards some lights, and see what “flavor of blur” you create.
