German joke
(midwest.social)
inari
MemesGerman humor is no laughing matter.
So there are actually some German wartime jokes that are actually quite funny. Here's some that I heard:
- " Where I live there's now a lot of warehouses, there were houses and there were houses, and there were houses!"
- "How can you tell an optimist from a pessimist? The optimist is learning English and the pessimist is learning Russian."
- One day at the barracks there was a soldier on his knees looking around the ground, picking up random papers he found and going "no, no that's not it". His officer asked what he was doing, "I'm looking for my special paper". He sent him to the doctor and he was declared insane, when the doctor gave him his discharge papers he explained "ah, there's my special paper!"
How would a German joke work based on english homonyms?
So I went and googled it out of curiosity, after remembering that German for was/were (in some form anyway) is 'war'.
I found this in a thread about Downfall and a translated joke where someone was wondering what the original was:
The German pun uses 'Warenhaus' department store and "Da war 'n Haus" - "there was/used to be a house".
hm thanks
these are wunderbar
I think Germans are pretty Damm funny tbh. They’re silly
How many Germans does it take to change a lightbulb?
One, they are an efficient people and lack a strong sense of humor
Poor lighting is no laughing matter.
Dude the meme game they have is on point you'd be surprised...
Honestly I very much enjoy German humor, but I do understand why people don't always get it, because it comes in two distinct styles with (imho) vastly different qualities:
-
Just plain silly (see: Otto Waalkes), can be good but it is often with such a heavy handed punchline that it just doesn't feel funny anymore. This is the only time people recognize that a German tried to be funny and it often lands flat for people with a more refined sense of humor.
-
Irony and sarcasm, dark and extremely, extremely, sometimes unbearably dry. People who did not grow up with it will often not recognize that a joke has been made at all, because Germans are the kings of straight-face-delivery. This is where german humor hides its refinement and wit and since it's often undetectable, people imagine we're just not funny. But if you catch it, this shit is HILARIOUS.
Both kinds are rife with puns... I don't know why, but Germans love puns and considering the very complicated nature of the german language this also often passes by unnoticed with non-native speakers.
I work with one guy who is a master of the second style to the extent that even other Germans don’t notice he’s joking.
type 1 - fozzy
type 2 - Statler and Waldorf
The Germans we've met LOVE silly puns and plays on words.
One time I was playing in a German beer pong event, and one of our opposing teams was "ten inches soft" (in English). We all introduce ourselves (all in English), and one of the guys says to us "do you get it? It's about the penis!" And we just died laughing.
It's great honestly
Hey now, the Germans take humour very seriously! It's no laughing matter.
Another German banger I heard awhile ago:
"Ask me if I'm a schoolbus."
"Are you a schoolbus?"
"No."
So German humor is anti-meme?
it is post modern
Modern.
Knock knock
Who's there?
WE ARE ZE ONES WHO ASK ZE QVESTIONS!
Zwei Kamele sitzen im Keller und hacken Petroleum. Sagt das eine zum anderen:"Du, morgen ist Weihnachen!". Sagt das andere:"Ich weiß, ich bin eh mit dem Fahhrad da."
Hä?
Rollt ein Keks um die Ecke und fällt um. Was fehlt?
::: spoiler Tap for spoiler Der Witz :::
Diese Art von Witzen die mit skurrilen Szenarien und Dialogen gearbeitet haben waren im Deutschsprachigen Raum in den 70ern angesagt - Ein bisschen vor meiner Zeit, aber man hat ja Eltern und Verwandte, und der hat sich in meiner Kindheit in mein Hirn gebrannt.
Yeah but what does it mean!? 😂
It wouldn't make any sense when you translate it to English, I'm sorry.
German humor is usually not funny and a bit mean.
The Dutch have compensated for their neighbors with an over-developed sense of humor.
what is belgian humor like?
Same as the rest of France
https://www.jeroom-inc.com/en-gb/comics
Maybe you'll recognize some of the titles on here.
Some puns inevitably get lost in translation, though.
Haven't been there yet so I don't know. I'll go find out if you want to sponsor me.
I think this forklift training video is pretty funny
https://youtu.be/ja7ap6AEuYU
Not Safe For Mental Health.
but safe for work fingerguns pew pew
I’ve met many funny germans, and then 1 german guy who so perfectly fits the stereotype that I almost think its a bit in its own right.
Germany has some of the best wordplay. Puns aplenty over there.
I read that as it was gay (as in happy) until they walked in.
Thank you. I'd have spent ages thinking about how that could possibly be funny.
I quite enjoy Henning Wehn, especially when he appears on typically British things like (cats) Countdown or radio 4 shows like Just a Minute and I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue
Henning Wehn is a weird one because he's much better known outside Germany than inside. His act of "look how funny and strange Germans are" doesn't really land in Germany, maybe a lack of self-deprecating humour?
He does also have good schtick with "British culture / language / geography / society is stupid and confusing"
MAYBE YOU ARE ALL HOMOSEXUALS!
I think most English and Americans would be surprised to learn that large parts of Europe view Germans as uncultured and a bit trash. They dress poorly, can't cook and would sell their mother for some quick cash. Austrians are just Germans except fatter and with a diaper fetish.
Detected the French dude
I have never heard those stereotypes about germany anywhere. Its a ragebait post so im not supprised.
I can't confirm any of that except the cooking part. There's a German restaurant near us, and the entire menu is various forms of Wurst - sausages. Apparently, their entire culinary range consists of hot dogs.
That's simply a bad restaurant
You misspelled good
Yes, a real German restaurant would also have a dozen styles of kraut to go with the hot dogs.
Maybe y’all should eat at a restaurant in Germany before you judge German cuisine. I’m not walking into a McDonalds and go “MMM, AMERICAN FOOD TASTES LIKE SHIT!” Fucking hell…
We're just joking with ya there Germy.
I'm curious about that last part. Please elaborate.
Name something more German than wearing socks with Birkenstocks
Germany
Which is a style again.
I've tried that, I find the socks make them too likely to slip when I walk. Don't understand it.
(edit: correcting phone typos)
I have poor circulation (possibly Raynaud's Disease) so sandals without extra insulation have been a painful prospecr for two decades.
For me, Birkenstocks slip a little bit no matter what. If I don't wear socks, the rubbing eventually makes me bleed (usually just under the ankle). If I wear socks, that doesn't happen.
I'm not sure why that happens to me and not to most people. Maybe my skin is too dry? But yeah. When I wore Birkenstocks, it was with socks. These days I just don't wear sandals.
I can see that. My feet take a few days of careful husbanding before they develop the callouses for a new pair of sandals, and there's gonna be some sore spots. It helps to stick a bandaid over the sore spots to give them a chance to toughen up.
I can well imagine that some people might take longer or develop blisters more easily, preventing the skin from getting to that point. Dry skin is a good hypothesis.
Socks are a totally decent option. If it's not going to happen, don't try to force it. /nod
I'd like to throw the brits into the mix.
If anybody in Europe can't cook, it's the Poles.
That's a wild-ass take about the people who gave us pierogi and kielbasa. Bigos and golabki are pretty awesome too.
I mostly heard negative opinions about Dutch cuisine. Despite the popularity of stroopwafel lol
I've had very good food in NL but it's pretty expensive compared with Germany
That’s a wild-ass take about the people who gave us pierogi and kielbasa. Bigos and golabki are pretty awesome too.
Is that supposed to be food?
And have you all forgot the British exist?
Britain is the worst. They took over India to get the spices in order to create the most bland food in the world.
Is that supposed to be food?
I wonder what your definition of food is if these don't fit it.
And have you all forgot the British exist?
The comment that started this discussion specifically mentions their assumed perspective.
I wonder what your definition of food is if these don’t fit it.
The point is that the words just sound like non-sense to anyone outside Poland.
Oh! I thought pierogi and kielbasa were better known internationally given their popularity in New York. Anyway, I'd recommend them!
Everywhere I've lived in the US you could get both at Walmart
God please tag this nsfl. Have you even tried Bavarian food? At least Poland has good bakeries
Anywhere north of the Alps, cuisine had to function as a means of enduring the long, cold winter. Hence a lot of it is hearty stodge, without the joie de vivre one finds closer to the Mediterranean.
If Bavaria is any better, its proximity to Italy may be of credit.
Been living in Bavaria for 2 years.
Bavarians can't cook.
My trouble with Bavarian food is the flavor is entirely in the "savory" section. Would you like some buttered noodles? How about just a chicken that's been wonderfully cooked but unspiced? A friend referred to it as the kid's meal section at restaurants.
Wow, clearly someone who has never eaten Saure Zipfl, Saukopf or Presssack.
And the joke is someone from the other famously gay country is mocking us for being gay
I’ve heard it claimed German humour differs from English humour due to the grammar of the German language making it harder to hide the punchline, and so largely eliminating a lot of wordplay. The humour that remains is either cerebral (conceptual satire and such) or lowbrow slapstick.
Native speaker of German here and I am not sure about that. German tends to put verbs in the end in a lot of sentences, but apart from that, it's mostly possible to use English-like word orders in German too; I don't think the difference is significant enough that it would change the entire style of humor.
What are we doing here? Is country bashing funny again?
In western and central Europe, country bashing your neighbours never stopped being funny.
We Europeans always bash our neighbors. We're like brothers, that always fight but at the end of the day would stand in for another.
I'd kiss those silly frenchmen, that I keep on bashing, on the lips long before I'd even consider giving a yankee a hug.
Was it ever not fun?
Lighten up a little
Obligatory r/germanhumour
It exists on !germanhumor@discuss.tchncs.de in all its glory too!
Not so glorious...
No, it's perfect self-deprecating german humor. I love this silly joke.
People who genuinely think Germans cannot be funny should check out Otto Waalkes.
Worst possible example. He is awful
unless you are 8 yrs old
