Another Meaning of “Kamo (カモ: Duck)” in Japanese

As you might already know, “Kamo (カモ, 鴨)” means “duck” in Japanese.

In the Japanese language, there are 3 common words for “duck”;

• One is “Kamo (カモ, 鴨)” which refers to a wild duck.
• Another is “Ahiru (アヒル, 家鴨)” for a domestic duck
• The last is “Aigamo (アイガモ, 合鴨)” that is a hybrid variety between Kamo and Ahiru.

Among them, Kamo can also refer to a person, but what kind of person is called Kamo?

Another Meaning of Kamo in Japanese

Beware if someone is talking behind your back that you are “ii Kamo (いい鴨)” (pronunciation).

“Ii Kamo (いい鴨)” literally means “good duck” but has a bad meaning. The phrase actually means “easy to deceive“.

Ii Kamo is a kind of idiom, but Kamo can also be used on its own and refers to a naive person easy to deceive, or gullible people.

Kamoru (カモる)

Kamo has a verb form, which is “Kamoru (カモる)”.

Kamoru means to deceive someone and, as a result, take benefit. For example, 

• “Kamori-Yasui (カモりやすい)” means “easy to deceive”.
• “Kamorareta (カモられた)” means “got deceived and lost something (typically money)”.

(Reference Pages: Goo Japanese Dictionary, Weblio )