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This is a kids pun joke that got lost in translation. Treffen can mean either to meet or to hit (like with a bullet).
Want a funny German joke? Why don’t ants go to church? Because they’re insects!
It’s neat that the ant joke’s pun translates into English, good pick.
As an immigrant in Germany, that’s the reason people think Germans aren’t funny. A lot of the humor is pun-based (and sometimes there are many, many more layers, making them actually very good jokes), which just doesn’t translate well.
Québécois and a French learning Ontarian having a chat. The Ontarians goes - o look a fly, Québécois corrects him- A fly. O - wow you have good eyesight. Wregarde, un mouche- -Non, une mouche
For anyone who doesn’t get it: The joke relies on understanding how Latin languages gender words (Un v. Une, Masculine/Feminine form).So it literally doesn’t work in English. It’s also a common translation error non native speakers have because you only know the “gender” of a word by… Knowing if it’s masculine or feminine through experience.
Best way to carry the joke is:
“Oh look, a/un(male) fly.”
“No, it’s a/une(feminine) fly.”
“Wow, you have good eyes/Wow, you can see it’s genitals from here?”
Certainly clunky but hilarious if you speak French.
Translated Hungarian joke:
The Székely and his son go into the forest to cut trees. When cutting a tree, the son says:
“Goodbye, my beloved father.”
“Why are you saying a farewell to me?”, asks the Székely.
“Because the tree is falling on you.”
What’s the joke? Are there slow falling trees in Hungary?
This reply made me laugh more than that joke ever did.
I gonna explain the the joke in the picture.
The German joke is “Treffen sich zwei Jäger, beide Tot.”
THW important word is “treffen”. It can mean “meet” and “hit”(with a weapon). depending on the context
Ty, I figured there had to be a double entendre in there.
Oh I thought it was a Dick Cheney joke, I guess that’s the American version though. It actually made perfect sense to me even without the double meaning.
Thanks!
These two are from Romania, specifically about people from Ardeal (the region encompassing Transylvania) - which means they’re aimed at the fact that people from Ardeal are slow (haha, so funny, Southerners…):
- John and George were out on the field reaping all day and were heading back to the village. Suddenly, it starts raining fiercely, so they huddle under some walnut trees and decide to spend the night there in case it wouldn’t let up.
Later on, while sleeping, George is suddenly woken up by a foul smell. “John,” he said softly, “did you fart?”
“No, George, must’ve been the dog.”
“Oh, ok.”
A couple of minutes pass, then George suddenly has a realisation: “John, the dog isn’t here, though…”
“Oh, don’t worry,” says John half asleep, “I’m sure it’ll turn up eventually.”
- John, George and Mary were at the bus stop, waiting for the bus. They’ve been there for half an hour, sitting.
“The bus isn’t coming,” John says softly.
After a couple of minutes, George replies matter-of-factly: “it’ll come, I’m telling you.”
A few more minutes pass, then Mary chimes in: “if you two keep arguing, I’m walking home.”
The pot is lauging because the boiler is black.
Wenn ist das Nunstück git und Slotermeyer? Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput!
💀
o hohohohohoho!
💀
Zer ver zwei peanuts walking down der Straße. Von vas assaulted … peanut.
Bitte was?
Danke!
German humour is no laughing matter!
One of my favorite Filipino jokes:
Why didn’t the priest go swimming in the ocean? Because it’s salt water.
“Salt water” in Tagalog can be translated as “tubig asin,” which sounds like the English “too big a sin.” Many Filipino jokes rely on Tagalog and English like that.
Here’s another (putting original Tagalog because it’s kind of relevant):
May joke ako tungkol sa airport kaso NAIA ako eh hehe.
English:
I have a joke about the airport, but I am NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport) hehe.
NAIA sounds like “nahiya,” which means “shy,” so it would sort of translate to “… but I was shy.”
Tubig asin, hahaha, god I wish I were bilingual
We have some like that in England, for example a Frenchman only ever carries one egg because an egg is un oeuf
What?
WE HAVE SOME LIKE THAT IN ENGLAND, FOR EXAMPLE A FRENCHMAN ONLY EVER CARRIES ONE EGG BECAUSE AN EGG IS UN OEUF
Oeuf is French for egg. “Un oeuf” sounds like “enough”
Noice!
To explain the joke, as is tradition in Germany. “To meet” translates to “treffen” in German. Which can also mean “to hit something or somebody”.
Once had a multicultural family gathering where we translated the same joke into several languages.
A man knocks at a door. A woman opens and he says: “Hello, my name is Toulouse. I’m here to fuck your daughter.” The woman screams: “To what?!?” He answers calmly: “Toulouse.”
Hola, mi nombre es Álvaro, vengo a tirarme/follarme a tu hija.
¿¡¿¡¿A qué?!?!?
Álvaro.
„Hallo, mein
meineName ist Umberto und ich bin hier um Ihre Tochter zu ficken“„UM WAS???“
„Umberto.“
So I’ve been learning German for a couple of months. Wouldn’t it be “mein name?” 🤔 because presumably Umberto is male?
Buy yes, funny joke 😂
Male or female, it’s always “mein” because “Name” is a male noun.
Vielen Dank!
“To meet” translates to “treffen” in German. Which can also mean “to hit something or somebody”.
Join the shooting club, meet new friends.
Schiessen lernen; Freunde treffen! is a popular slogan with German shooting clubs.
In case people are wondering: it’s indeed a german joke.
It’s a pun. “meet” and “hit” are using the same word in german
That joke used to work in English.
By c. 1300, of things, “to come into physical contact with, join by touching or uniting with;” also, of persons, “come together by approaching from the opposite direction; come into collision with, combat.”
https://www.etymonline.com/word/meet
It still can mean collision or fight, but the context needs to be very clear. Two armies meeting on the battlefield, for example. Or two hunters met in combat.
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treffen.
Come to think of it, that’s a thing in Swedish as well - we could make the pun work there as well:
Två jägare träffades. Båda dog.
Works in Dutch too.
Twee jagers treffen elkaar. Beiden zijn dood.
Båda dog! Båda dog! No Treåt
(I know å is pronounced like “eu” like in Blåhaj. Couldn’t help myself tho)
A Båda dog once bit my sister… No realli!
My hovercraft is full of eels!
For it to match Swedish phonetic rules, it would have to be:
Bäd dågg! Bäd dågg! Nåu trit!
Wouldn’t it be “Nåo trit”?
I guess it depends on which English accent you’re emulating.
Oh true my bad, thank you!
Well, doing it in properly phonetic Swedish would have ruined the joke a bit in English, so I don’t think it’s a problem.
That’s why translation can be so hard, especially for poems, songs, comedy etc. Double meanings, metaphors, rhymes etc are often lost when translated.
I only understand train station.
In some cases you can replace a pun with another pun that works in the target language.
In other cases, where you’re translating a religious text, doing something for scholarly reasons, or you otherwise think your audience would really like to know what’s going on in a text you have to add a translation note.
So it’s a misstranslated joke then. With that information it’s kinda funny or at least it makes sense.
More like untranslatable, as the context just doesn’t work in English. You either have something that doesn’t make sense or - if you use the other meaning - a statement with no humor. The pun is completely dependent on the German phrasing.
Oh I can do German-style comedy too, but as an American.
A Democrat and a Republican walk into a bar. They fight and both die in the hospital. Their families have to each pay $80,000 for medical expenses, then both families sue the bar. The bar closes, the owner divorces, spirals into alcoholism, and commits suicide. Then the funeral director buys a new house.
A European man at his favorite vacation/holiday destination on the Mediterranean goes into a bar and says, “One pint of beer.” The bartender brings him the pint, and the man pays him the price of the beer without leaving a tip. The man drinks the beer. He falls into alcoholism again. When he returns home, he discusses with his doctor options for treating alcoholism. The man is sent to a rehabilitation facility for a few months and recovers. When he returns home, he still has his job. lmaooooo Europe is so much better than USA 🤣🤣🤣
I thought this was turning into a Latvian joke.
The man drinks the beer. He falls into alcoholism again. His children go hungry. His wife succumbs to tuberculosis. The man drinks to forget, but the beer runs out. Now the man can never forget.
Only one issue. Beer is not sold by pints in the Mediterranean.
Fine. A Celsius or kilometer of beer then.
1km³ would be sick
Fuck it. I’m down. Sounds like fun. Can’t wait to aggravate Germans with my immature German bullshit. Achhh duven shneider volkwagens nien schaft vida zein!! Get your train pass and speedo ready. I’ll bring over some BBQ, debt, and assault rifles. Let’s do it 🏖🚈
You only need Speedos if you’re going to France. They have a weird thing about Speedos
I’m pretty sure that’s just how Barcelona operates.
Heh. Relatable vibe.
You said comedy, not children stories!
Two Bulgarians are driving through the countryside when they are pulled over by an officer. “Sorry to bother you”, says the officer, “but I’m looking for two child molesters.”
The Bulgarians look at each other for a moment, turn to the officer, and with a solemn nod say
“We’ll do it.”
That’s sadly the funniest German joke I’ve ever heard, I mean the punchline is there, but the set-up isn’t, meaning it’s closer to what I recognize as a joke than most Germanic Humor.
Edit: Nope, funnier German jokes are in this comment chain, I’m in a good mood today
The farmer and the farmhand are out in the field working. Suddenly the sky closes in and it looks like rain. The farmhand says to the farmer: “If we don’t hurry now, we’ll get soaked here.” The farmer says to the farmhand: “Then go into the house and get my wellies!” The farmhand says: “Why me? Why don’t you get your wellies yourself?” The farmer looks at the farmhand angrily and asks: “Who’s the farmer? Who’s the Farmhand?”
The farmhand goes into the house in a rage. The farmer’s wife and her pretty daughter are sitting at the kitchen table. The farmhand says to the two of them: “The farmer said you two should get naked so I can fuck you.” The two women look at each other. The farmer’s wife is surprised: “No, I don’t believe that. The farmer would never say something like that, would he?” “Yes, he would,” says the farmhand. “But I can ask again just in case.” He goes to the kitchen window and opens it. The farmer’s wife has followed him and is standing next to it. The farmhand shouts out into the field: “Farmer, both of them?” The farmer looks at the window and shouts back: “Both of course, you idiot!”
“Yes, both of them! What would be the point of just one?!”
