It had occurred to me a while back that American comedy is a lot different than Japanese comedy (duh!)...
I've tried to tell some jokes to Japanese people before...
and have gotten blank stares back...
and I often had to explain it back...
which kinda defeats the whole purpose...
and the moment would totally be lost...
So if anyone has any good jokes that are more easily understood....
or easy to translate without losing much of the joke...
please contribute...
I've tried to tell some jokes to Japanese people before...
and have gotten blank stares back...
and I often had to explain it back...
which kinda defeats the whole purpose...
and the moment would totally be lost...
So if anyone has any good jokes that are more easily understood....
or easy to translate without losing much of the joke...
please contribute...
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コメント(21)
hmmm..ur correct ..as they say ..humour lies in brevity ..
Its not that the comedy is different , its the complex words used in English jokes , or the background required to understand most of the jokes which causes this problem . Even the best English speakers in Japan find themselves at a loss when not-simple english words are used.
anyways started a community called peals of laughter a few days back.
http://mixi.jp/view_community.pl?id=1006557
was planning to post some easy to understand jokes there.
Its not that the comedy is different , its the complex words used in English jokes , or the background required to understand most of the jokes which causes this problem . Even the best English speakers in Japan find themselves at a loss when not-simple english words are used.
anyways started a community called peals of laughter a few days back.
http://mixi.jp/view_community.pl?id=1006557
was planning to post some easy to understand jokes there.
I think Americans and Canadians are just a little more socially programmed to laugh at slapstick and plain silly humour with less abandon. Japanese people are a lot more conscious of appearing foolish if they laugh at "stupid" or "silly" jokes.
Of course the real difference may also be a different sense of "sillyness" or "humour". And although word complexity and "pun" value are also factors, there's probably a much deeper element of value in being straight-faced, unless it's called for.
Of course the real difference may also be a different sense of "sillyness" or "humour". And although word complexity and "pun" value are also factors, there's probably a much deeper element of value in being straight-faced, unless it's called for.
I've got to say I've never heard of a political joke in Japan although you do get impersonations of politicians if they stand out from time to time.
I think Japanese humour is so different to British humour (I'm from England) but I've always had the impression that Japanese comedy is more slapstick then Western humour or at least British humour!
I think Japanese humour is so different to British humour (I'm from England) but I've always had the impression that Japanese comedy is more slapstick then Western humour or at least British humour!
thanks for everyone's input...
but i was kinda looking for jokes in particular to share around....
ones that are easy for japanese people to understand...
or ones that are easy to translate...
i'll give an example of one....
what do you tell a woman with two black eyes?
...
nothing. you already told her twice.
this one was kinda easy to get and translate...
but i was kinda looking for jokes in particular to share around....
ones that are easy for japanese people to understand...
or ones that are easy to translate...
i'll give an example of one....
what do you tell a woman with two black eyes?
...
nothing. you already told her twice.
this one was kinda easy to get and translate...
Guchi> "I think Americans and Canadians are just a little more socially programmed to laugh at slapstick and plain silly humour with less abandon. Japanese people are a lot more conscious of appearing foolish if they laugh at "stupid" or "silly" jokes."
Obviously, you've never watched Japanese television.
Obviously, you've never watched Japanese television.
Slacker Ninja>
Agreed. Japanese comedy has more than its fair share of slapstick and farce.
Political satire and generally taking the piss out of people who take themselves way too seriously seems to be an underdeveloped art in Japan. It seems comedians only do mocking impressions of fading personalities who are already on the scrap heap, on the whole. There is the odd send up of politicians once and again, but it is usually at a pretty elementary level mocking their appearances or mannerisms, and not something which would really qualify as political satire. The only comedians who I found did do current affairs based routines was Bakusho Mondai (爆笑問題）, but they (especially the talkative one, Ota) seem to take themselves way too seriously lately and aren't as funny as they used to be.
Generally speaking, it would seem that a lot of english language humour (as is probably the case in many other languages?) depends on things like grammatical syntax which does not transfer easily between languages, especially one so different in construction as Japanese.
There was an interesting article in the Guardian about ligustic barriers to humour appreciation:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1780906,00.html
And no, I can't think of any really funny English languages jokes which are similarly funny in Japanese.
Agreed. Japanese comedy has more than its fair share of slapstick and farce.
Political satire and generally taking the piss out of people who take themselves way too seriously seems to be an underdeveloped art in Japan. It seems comedians only do mocking impressions of fading personalities who are already on the scrap heap, on the whole. There is the odd send up of politicians once and again, but it is usually at a pretty elementary level mocking their appearances or mannerisms, and not something which would really qualify as political satire. The only comedians who I found did do current affairs based routines was Bakusho Mondai (爆笑問題）, but they (especially the talkative one, Ota) seem to take themselves way too seriously lately and aren't as funny as they used to be.
Generally speaking, it would seem that a lot of english language humour (as is probably the case in many other languages?) depends on things like grammatical syntax which does not transfer easily between languages, especially one so different in construction as Japanese.
There was an interesting article in the Guardian about ligustic barriers to humour appreciation:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1780906,00.html
And no, I can't think of any really funny English languages jokes which are similarly funny in Japanese.
I was just telling my boyfriend yesterday about the anime Azumanga Daioh that was quite a pain for him to watch and a largely enjoyable experience for me to go through. (The boyfriend's Japanese vocabulary is only limited to 'hai' and 'nani' and 'moshi-moshi'. Oh, and various Naruto terms like 'Hokage' and 'shinobi' XD)
Reason being AzuDai has many, many, many Japanese puns. I would have to say Japanese humor CAN be more slapstick and simple compared to English jokes. English jokes often make methink, like the one up there about the woman with black eyes. It took me awhile before I got the hang of it.
An example of a classic AzuDai joke that people like my boyfriend cannot understand very well-
Osaka: I wonder what is Bruce Lee's surname... (note: Bruce Lee is pronounced 'burusu rii' here) Is it Buru, or Suri?
Tomo: Ah, I know! Buru Suri is a foreigner, right? Foreigners have their surname at the back, so his surname must be Suri!
Osaka: Wow, Tomo, you are so smart. Hmm, if there is a Buru Suri, where is Buru One and Buru Two?
Tomo: AH! Jackie Chan must be Buru FIVE!
I'm not sure if you all get this, but I found it stupendously funny. The boyfriend couldn't understand a word of it until I paused the episode and explained. He didn't laugh as violently as I did, though XD
Reason being AzuDai has many, many, many Japanese puns. I would have to say Japanese humor CAN be more slapstick and simple compared to English jokes. English jokes often make methink, like the one up there about the woman with black eyes. It took me awhile before I got the hang of it.
An example of a classic AzuDai joke that people like my boyfriend cannot understand very well-
Osaka: I wonder what is Bruce Lee's surname... (note: Bruce Lee is pronounced 'burusu rii' here) Is it Buru, or Suri?
Tomo: Ah, I know! Buru Suri is a foreigner, right? Foreigners have their surname at the back, so his surname must be Suri!
Osaka: Wow, Tomo, you are so smart. Hmm, if there is a Buru Suri, where is Buru One and Buru Two?
Tomo: AH! Jackie Chan must be Buru FIVE!
I'm not sure if you all get this, but I found it stupendously funny. The boyfriend couldn't understand a word of it until I paused the episode and explained. He didn't laugh as violently as I did, though XD
YUKIRI>
I guess you haven't ever dated anyone who slapped you around. (of course, that is a good thing)
>what do you tell a woman with two black eyes?
>...
>nothing. you already told her twice.
At the risk of being pedantic and deconstructing the joke so that one can at least understand the mechanics of the humour attempted:
A black eye is bruising around the eye, which often occurs when someone punches you in the face.
So, if a woman has two black eyes, it implies she has been hit twice, already.
The implication is that the person telling the joke is a man, most likely _the_ man in the woman's life (husband, partner, boyfriend, whatever), and that the man has told the woman something (probably to do something, like get a beer from the fridge whilst he is laid out on the sofa watching the football or something), and not having received a suitable result, hit her in the face. Black eye number one. He repeats the request (order/demand), woman fails to comply to the man's satisfaction. He hits her again. Black eye number two.
The implication is that two requests/demands/orders reinforced with physical violence should be enough to get the message through to the woman, and no further requests/demands/orders should be necessary, hence the man should not need to tell the woman anything.
Even if you understand the joke, whether you find this kind of black joke (dreadful pun, sorry :p) funny depends on whether you think domestic violence and/or misogynistic attitudes are a laughing matter. I would think this joke might not go down very well with the ladies in general.
I guess you haven't ever dated anyone who slapped you around. (of course, that is a good thing)
>what do you tell a woman with two black eyes?
>...
>nothing. you already told her twice.
At the risk of being pedantic and deconstructing the joke so that one can at least understand the mechanics of the humour attempted:
A black eye is bruising around the eye, which often occurs when someone punches you in the face.
So, if a woman has two black eyes, it implies she has been hit twice, already.
The implication is that the person telling the joke is a man, most likely _the_ man in the woman's life (husband, partner, boyfriend, whatever), and that the man has told the woman something (probably to do something, like get a beer from the fridge whilst he is laid out on the sofa watching the football or something), and not having received a suitable result, hit her in the face. Black eye number one. He repeats the request (order/demand), woman fails to comply to the man's satisfaction. He hits her again. Black eye number two.
The implication is that two requests/demands/orders reinforced with physical violence should be enough to get the message through to the woman, and no further requests/demands/orders should be necessary, hence the man should not need to tell the woman anything.
Even if you understand the joke, whether you find this kind of black joke (dreadful pun, sorry :p) funny depends on whether you think domestic violence and/or misogynistic attitudes are a laughing matter. I would think this joke might not go down very well with the ladies in general.
7: Slacker Ninja> I wasn't trying to imply that Japanese don't have slapstick humour, but that their sense of slapstick is certainly different from the North American variety. You're completely right about there being a lot of slapstick on Japanese tv. The difference I tend to observe is that North Americans will laugh at Japanese slapstick, but Japanese won't laugh as much at N. Am. schtick.
You know when you watch a movie in a theatre in Japan, hardly anyone laughs out very loudly at anything? That's what I was thinking of when I wrote my previous comment.
There's a general reservedness regarding public, loud laughter, but that can change with the venue. If you are at a comedy show and the general expectation to laugh out loud is there, they'll laugh just as much as anyone. Perhaps it's a sign of toeing the status quo line?
I agree that political satire is pretty much non-existent in Japan. It may have something to do with the Japanese cultural psyche being averse to criticising superiors in the social hierarchy (generally speaking).
You know when you watch a movie in a theatre in Japan, hardly anyone laughs out very loudly at anything? That's what I was thinking of when I wrote my previous comment.
There's a general reservedness regarding public, loud laughter, but that can change with the venue. If you are at a comedy show and the general expectation to laugh out loud is there, they'll laugh just as much as anyone. Perhaps it's a sign of toeing the status quo line?
I agree that political satire is pretty much non-existent in Japan. It may have something to do with the Japanese cultural psyche being averse to criticising superiors in the social hierarchy (generally speaking).
>しんのすけ
Thanks for the explaination...
I don't think I've notice it until now...
but everyone tells me that English jokes require too much thinking...
Here's another one:
How do you tell if a porn star is at a gas station?
...
Right before his gas tank fills up, he pulls out the nozzle and spray gas on the windshield.
For this last one, you would have to at least have watched porn before to get it...
but it still seems like too much thinking involve...
Thanks for the explaination...
I don't think I've notice it until now...
but everyone tells me that English jokes require too much thinking...
Here's another one:
How do you tell if a porn star is at a gas station?
...
Right before his gas tank fills up, he pulls out the nozzle and spray gas on the windshield.
For this last one, you would have to at least have watched porn before to get it...
but it still seems like too much thinking involve...
for any of you that didn't get the tomato joke above...
ketchup =sounds like= catch up.
har har har. file under "bad joke", I think.
Not sure if this joke is any more American than British, though.
With regards to ティム's comment above, most foreign jokes require too much thinking, compared to native language/culture jokes, which is why they are often not funny. A joke never is, when it has to be explained to you....
ketchup =sounds like= catch up.
har har har. file under "bad joke", I think.
Not sure if this joke is any more American than British, though.
With regards to ティム's comment above, most foreign jokes require too much thinking, compared to native language/culture jokes, which is why they are often not funny. A joke never is, when it has to be explained to you....
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