There are different types of puns and word games. In the Japanese language, this is even greater thanks to the numerous expressions and various ways of reading a kanji. Bad puns in Japanese are called dajare (駄洒落) which can also mean weak joke. Learning these bad Japanese puns, besides making you laugh, can help you improve the breadth of your language skills.
A pun can be a play on words or the act of combining words. There is even another expression called goroawase (語呂合わせ) which means to rhyme, play with words, and also pun. This word is a combination of the kanji for word (語), spine (呂), and the verb to combine (合わせ). There is still another term to refer to puns and word games which is kotobaasobi (言葉遊び) that literally means play with words.
In Portuguese, bad puns often explore sounds or similar words, and sometimes identical words that have different meanings. In Japanese, there are thousands of puns involving identical words, as the Japanese language has few syllables compared to other languages.
The amount of linguistic and written ambiguities available to Japanese speakers allows for the creation of different types of puns and word games that we never imagined before. In this article, we will prioritize bad puns (dajare). We will also leave some images with other comics that you should try to understand on your own. xD
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Bad puns in Japanese – So bad it’s good
Sometimes we don’t find much humor in Japanese puns due to the language difference. Our rhymes and jokes are quite different; in the Japanese language, it seems more like a play on words. Let’s see if you will be able to understand the puns below:
- パンダの好きな食べ物は何ですか？
- Panda no sukina tabemono wa nandesu ka?
- What is the panda’s favorite food?
- Answer – パンだ！- pan-da! (Bread)
The first pun is quite similar to Brazilian puns. We ask a question where the answer rhymes or is the same as the question! PAN in Japanese is bread, and we use DA as an affirmation similar to the verb desu (です)。
- 先生：「Eu vou para Tokyo」を過去形にしなさい。/ 学生：「Eu vou para Edo」
- Sensei: (…) O kako katachi ni shi nasai. Gakusei: (…);
- Professor: Put the sentence “I am going to Tokyo” in the past / Student: I am going to Edo;
In Portuguese class, the teacher asks a student to put the sentence I am going to Tokyo in the past. He responds I am going to Edo, which is the old name of Tokyo in past centuries. It is not a pun involving the Japanese language, but it involves Japan and another language!
- 禁煙なんて簡単だよ。私はもう100回はやったね
- Kin’en nante kantanda yo. Watashi wa mou hyakukai hayatta ne
- Quitting smoking is easy, I’ve done it about 100 times;
This pun doesn’t even need an explanation! It works perfectly in Portuguese!
- アルミ缶の上にあるみかん
- arumi kan no ue ni aru mikan
- A tangerina em uma lata de alumínio;
Arumi kan means aluminum can, while mikan means tangerine.
- Nee, chanto ofuro haitteru? / Do you take a bath regularly?
- It can be confused with
- Nee-chan a ofuro haitteru? / Do you take a bath with your sister?
Puns involving similar words
There are thousands of bad puns in Japanese involving identical words; let’s see some below:
- イルカがいるか
- iruka ga iruka?
- Are there dolphins?
Both the word dolphin and the question are there? are iruka. The only difference is in the writing of the word dolphin, which is in katakana.
- スキーが好き
- suki ga suki
- I like skiing
The same thing happens with the words to ski and to like, which are the same.
- 布団がお山の方まで吹っ飛んだ。おや、まあ!
- Futon ga oyama no kata made futtonda. Oya, maa!
- It flew to the side of the mountain. Oh my!
Another example of similar words in a sentence. This time it went further and used 2 puns in just one.
- パン 作ったくことある?
- Pan tsukutta koto aru
- Have you ever made bread?
If you write without the kanji, or in this case mention this question in a conversation, the person might understand: パンツ食ったことある? which means have you ever eaten panties?
- 虫は無視する
- Mushi wa mushi suru
- Ignore the insect
Other puns involving Japanese
If you study Japanese, you have probably invented or found a bad pun in Facebook groups or social networks involving the Japanese and Portuguese languages. Japanese phonemes are quite similar to those in Portuguese, so various Japanese words end up reminding some funny word in Portuguese, thus creating various bad puns.
A famous group for doing this is Nihongo o benkyō suru hōhō! If you want to take a look, you will die laughing! I hope you enjoyed this article. Do you know any other bad puns involving the Japanese language? Leave it in the comments and share with friends! Read other articles below:
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