みなさん、こんにち What’s up? As you study Japanese, read Japanese books, or watch Japanese anime, have you come across a moment where you get hit by some Japanese humour? If you like Japanese manga and anime, chances are, you pick up some Japanese words and expressions, as well as some Japanese humour. In this article, I will introduce you to the world of 親父ギャグ (oyaji gyagu / Dad jokes). Not just simple 親父ギャグ, but one that got bilingual essence!
Japanese puns are generally called 駄洒落 (dajare). The likes of what we refer to as dad jokes are called 親父ギャグ (oyaji gyagu) in Japanese.
Dajare 一
What do you call a rooster that lays an egg?
へんですね。
へん refers to ‘strange’ or ‘weird’ and ですね means ‘isn’t it’. Therefore the replying line is translated as ‘It’s weird, isn’t it?’. The pronunciation of へん is the same as ‘hen’ (a female bird).
Dajare 二
パンダの好きな食べ物は何ですか。
パンだ。
Here, you could also reply with 「ナンじゃないいです。」(It’s not nann bread).
Dajare 三
What kind of drink do you get when you mix 3 vegetables?
三ツ矢サイダー
三ツ矢サイダー is a very popular Japanese carbonated soft drink. While branded as ‘cider’ it’s different from drink referred to as cider in English: its flavour is described as a cross between Sprite and Ginger Ale.
三ツ矢サイダー sounds similar to 「みっつ 野菜だ」(It’s three vegetables).
Dajare 四
What does a spider taste like?
すっぱいだ。
すっぱい refers to sour. だ can act as ‘to be’, so the replying line can be ‘it’s sour’ and 「すっぱいだ」sounds similar to ‘spider’.
However, this 駄洒落 is technically, grammatically inaccurate as すっぱい is an い adjective, you can not add だ after it.
Dajare 五
Why can’t you have a conversation with the Japanese fan makers on the weekend?
Because they don’t make any 扇子.
Dajare 六
I ran out of ginger.
あ、しょうがない。
しょうが is the word for ginger. ない means ‘no’ or ‘none’. Also, しょうがない is an expression for ‘it can’t be helped’.
Dajare 七
Why are there no dentists in Honolulu?
歯はいいから。
Dajare 八
This is a one-liner that has similar sounding words embedded in it.
アルミ缶の上にあるみかん
アルミ缶 refers to aluminium can. アルミ缶の上にある means ‘(something) is on the aluminium can’. Additionally, みかん is mandarin orange. The sentence means ‘the mikan on top of the aluminium can’.
There is another one that works similarly.
筑波山の上でもちつくばあさん
筑波山 is a mountain in 茨城県. This line means ‘a old lady that pounds mochi on Mount Tsukuba’. While I think these two 駄洒落 are pretty good, I decided to combine into one section as they are not really bilingual puns.
Dajare 九
Do you know when Japanese people started eating eggs?
It’s a long たまご.
たまご means ‘egg’ and it sounds like ‘time ago’.
Dajare 十
What does miso soup make you feel like?
it makes みそ happy.
Dajare 十一
Here is もち for you.
Thank you very もち.
Dajare 十二
Why do Japanese people scratch their legs when they count?
Because of itchy knee.
Japanese words for ‘one’ and ‘two’ are ‘ichi’ and ‘ni’.
Dajare 十三
What supplements should you take to improve your drawing skills?
まんがnese.
まんが is a Japanese graphic novel.
Dajare 十四
ドーナッツはdoughですか。
Dajare 十五
What kind of certificate do you get if you fail all the exams?
ばかlaureate.
Dajare 十六
People from which island can perform the best crouching start?
イースター島
イースター島 sounds similar to 「良いスタート」(‘good start’).
Dajare 十七
You are very competent and capable. It’s obvious that 有能 what you are talking about.
有能 refers to capable.
Dajare 十八
What kind of experience do you get when you get attacked by a horse and a tiger?
トラウマtic experience.
トラウマ refers to trauma in Japanese.
Japanese words for horse and tiger are 「馬 (uma)」and 「虎 (tora)」.
Dajare 十九
What is the best city to take a bath?
ニューヨーク (入浴)。
Japanese word for ‘taking a bath’ is 入浴 which sounds similar to ニューヨーク.
Dajare 二十
What Japanese food committed a seppuku?
かつおぶし.
Seppuku refers to a form of suicide by disembowelment, often done by samurai. Another word for samurai is 武士 (bushi).
かつおぶし is a Japanese food: bonito flakes.
Dajare 二十一
What is the favourite food of a Japanese economist?
Economy焼き。
お好み焼き is a Japanese savoury pancake.
Dajare 二十一
How many prawns did you eat?
えびrything that was left.
Dajare 二十二
May I ask what the Japanese for ‘famous’ is?
You may.
Japanese word for ‘famous’ is 有名 (yū mei), which sounds like ‘you may’.
Dajare 二十三
Why are カラス in Japanese always tired?
苦労してるから。
カラス refers to crow. 苦労する means ‘to have a hard time’.
Dajare 二十四
My garden needs tidying up.
Is 雑草?
雑草 refers to weed. The replying line can sound like ‘Is that so?’.
Dajare 二十五
Do 横綱 smoke?
Yes, actually now he is すもうキング.
横綱 is the highest rank of sumo wrestlers.
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