化ける

ばける

to disguise, to take the form of

Also:to change radically (for the better)

What does 化ける mean?

化ける is a Japanese verb meaning to disguise, to take the form of in English. It can also be translated as to change radically (for the better) depending on context. It is written as 化ける in kanji, ばける in hiragana, and bakeru in romaji. This word is part of JLPT N1 vocabulary.

Example sentence

猫は化けると言われる。

It is said that cats can change shape.