Jokes & banter in Chinese 开玩笑
kāiwánxiào
Joke in Chinese is 开玩笑 (kāi wán xiào).
Also searched for as: joking, banter, jokes, just kidding, humour, funny.
Having a laugh and keeping things light. 15 essential jokes & banter words in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.
To joke in Chinese is 开玩笑 (kāi wán xiào), and 我开玩笑的 (wǒ kāi wán xiào de), "I'm only joking", is a phrase to learn early. A joke is a 笑话 (xiào hua), and a groan-worthy pun or dad joke is a 冷笑话 (lěng xiào hua), literally a "cold joke". For reacting, 笑死我了 (xiào sǐ wǒ le), I'm dying of laughter, and 你太逗了 (nǐ tài dòu le), you're hilarious, keep the banter going.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 开玩笑 | kāi wán xiào | to joke |
| 笑话 | xiào hua | joke |
| 冷笑话 | lěng xiào hua | lame joke; dad joke |
| 好笑 | hǎo xiào | funny |
| 搞笑 | gǎo xiào | funny; hilarious |
| 逗 | dòu | funny; to tease |
| 幽默 | yōu mò | humorous; humour |
| 段子 | duàn zi | funny story; one-liner |
| 笑死我了 | xiào sǐ wǒ le | I'm dying of laughter |
| 笑点低 | xiào diǎn dī | easily amused |
| 当真 | dàng zhēn | to take seriously |
| 贫嘴 | pín zuǐ | cheeky talk; wisecracking |
| 抬杠 | tái gàng | to argue for the sake of it |
| 梗 | gěng | meme; running joke |
| 接梗 | jiē gěng | to play along with a joke |
Usage tips
- 开玩笑 is separable: 开个玩笑 (kāi ge wán xiào), to crack a joke; 跟你开玩笑 (gēn nǐ kāi wán xiào), joking with you; 别开玩笑了 (bié kāi wán xiào le), stop kidding.
- You usually 讲 a joke: 讲笑话 (jiǎng xiào hua), 讲段子 (jiǎng duàn zi).
- 笑点 (xiào diǎn) is your laughter threshold: 笑点低 (xiào diǎn dī), easily amused; 笑点高 (xiào diǎn gāo), hard to make laugh.
Common mistakes
- Using 可笑 (kě xiào) for "funny": it usually means ridiculous in a scornful way → for funny, say 好笑 (hǎo xiào) or 搞笑 (gǎo xiào).
- Not realising 笑话 can be a verb meaning "to laugh at": 别笑话我 (bié xiào hua wǒ) means "don't laugh at me", not "don't tell me jokes" → to ask for a joke, say 给我讲个笑话 (gěi wǒ jiǎng ge xiào hua).
Mini dialogue
- A给你讲个笑话吧。Gěi nǐ jiǎng ge xiào hua ba.Let me tell you a joke.
- B又是冷笑话吧？Yòu shì lěng xiào hua ba?Another dad joke, right?
- A你怎么知道？Nǐ zěn me zhī dào?How did you know?
- B因为你的笑话都很冷！开玩笑的，其实我笑点很低。Yīn wèi nǐ de xiào hua dōu hěn lěng! Kāi wán xiào de, qí shí wǒ xiào diǎn hěn dī.Because all your jokes are lame! Only joking, I'm actually easily amused.
- A哈哈，你太逗了！Hā hā, nǐ tài dòu le!Haha, you're hilarious!
Example sentences
- 别当真，我开玩笑的。Don't take it seriously, I'm only joking.
- 给你讲个笑话。Let me tell you a joke.
- 你这个冷笑话一点儿也不好笑。That dad joke of yours isn't funny at all.
- 有什么好笑的？What's so funny?
- 这个视频太搞笑了。This video is hilarious.
- 你这个人太逗了！You're hilarious!
- 他说话特别幽默。He's got a really funny way of talking.
- 他很会讲段子。He's great at telling funny stories.
- 哈哈，笑死我了！Haha, I'm dying!
- 我笑点低，什么都觉得好笑。I'm easily amused, I find everything funny.
- 你怎么当真了？Why are you taking it seriously?
- 少贫嘴，快干活！Less of the cheek, get to work!
- 你又在抬杠了。You're just arguing for the sake of it again.
- 这个梗你都不知道？You don't know this meme?
- 他接梗接得特别快。He's really quick to pick up on a joke.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Jokes & banter speaking island has 8 everyday questions about jokes & banter to prepare your own answers to.