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Japanese puns

Maciamo

先輩
17 Jul 2002
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When I am tired, puns come out of my mouth naturally. I don't know if it's a disease, but I can't help it. Fortunately, I only utter them with close relatives. I will make an exception here.

Here are a few selected ones I can remember (as I make them when I am tired, I tend not to remember them well).

Asking my wife : "Could you give me the digital turtles ?"
- my wife : "..."
- (seeing that she doesn't understand) : "deji-kame" is short for "dejitaru kamera" isn't it. So in English, "digital turtles". One turtle is "kame" in Japanese. The plural is "kamera".

Today while going to the Ghibli Museum (which I do not recommend, btw) : "Mitaka ka Kichijouji eki, dochi ga ii no kashira ?" (I wonder which is better of Mitaka or Kichijouji station). The museum is located in the Inokashira Park, between these two stations...

Watching an anime on TV tonight, there was a doll of a mermaid, so I said : "kore wa ningyo no ningyo desu ka ?" (Is that a mermaid doll ?). The words for "mermaid" and "doll" are homonynous in Japanese.
 
We used to use No Ginger or No Salt in the place of Shoganai or shioganai (shikataganai), depending upon the local dialect...

or, when somebody praised something as being great, they'd say, "saikou desu ne..." and we'd say, "Psycho desu ka? kichigai? ku-rei-gi? Kurrutteru?" ok....I'll go back to not knowing anything again....probably much safer :D
 
My nengajou:

窶卍ケ窶堙娯?扼窶堙ーナステヲ窶堙ィ窶禿溪?堋オツ!窶「ツスナ禿コツ十窶敖ェ窶扼

Last years:
窶ーナス窶堙坂?ケナス窶堙ゥ窶堙ア窶堋セツ!

I LOVE your deji-kamera, by the way! ;)

Oh, see my sig!!! 👍 👍 👍

I also like doing things like:
ナステ?ツ催絶?堙個湘ウ窶佚板・ツ・ツ・ツ・ツ・, if I am unhappy with the situation.

Or

窶ーp窶ーテッヒ彙窶堙坂?ーp窶ーテオヒ彙ツ! :)

On-yomi kotoba-asobi! 😊

My friend was trying to learn Thai:

So I asked Thai窶「テ鞘?堙??堋キ窶堋ゥツ? 🙂

窶ーテ披?「ツイ窶堙坂?ーテ倪?堙固クツ、ツ。ツ(ツ湘篠)
窶堋「窶堙「ツ、窶ーテ披?「ツウツ(窶堋ゥ窶堙凪?堙アツ)窶堋カ窶堙。窶堙遺?堋「窶堋ゥツ?窶壺?
 
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Yesterday I heard someone in the bus talking about new age, which with his Japanese accent pronounced "nyuueiji". I wanted to ask him if if was talking about a temple called 窶愿シ窶ーiナス窶コ or about "enlistment time" (窶愿シ窶ーcナスナセ). :sorry:
 
窶堋ィ窶堋サ窶堙ァ窶堋ュ窶堙?窶堙≫?堙??堙ゥ窶堙ヲツ。Am I saying that the sky is cloudy, or I am probably carrying something :)
 
Those are funny! 👍

I know a few with kanji, but they are not that funny... I don't even know if they can be considered puns :p

ツ鞘?披?堋ェナ?テャ窶堙披?堙??テー窶堋オ窶堋「ツ。

ツ人窶堙娯?督イ窶堙坂┐R窶堋「ツ。

ツ鞘?披?堋ェナスOツ人ツ集窶堙懌?堙≫?堋ス窶堙??堋ア窶堙ォ窶堙ーツ集窶冂窶堙??ツュ窶堋キツ。(maybe this one was too hard-core :sorry: )
窶冕2ツ人窶堙?鞘??ツ人窶堙?P窶堋キ窶堙ゥ窶堙??コj窶堙ゥツ。

And the classic:
ツ信+ナステ陳?≫?禿冷?堋ッ
 
Today while going to the Ghibli Museum (which I do not recommend, btw) : "Mitaka ka Kichijouji eki, dochi ga ii no kashira ?" (I wonder which is better of Mitaka or Kichijouji station). The museum is located in the Inokashira Park, between these two stations...
It isn't especially dajare or anything, but I always think of something like this when I hear the earthquake reinforcement scandal story :

(窶佚渉震)窶ケツュ窶忸(窶ケツヲ窶慊ッ)窶「s窶伉ォ窶堋キ窶堙ゥ窶堙?、ツ震窶忸窶啜窶ケツュ窶凖カ窶忸窶堙個湘ェツ坂?。窶堙債、窶牢窶徭窶ーテッ窶堙坂?忿窶ーテウ窶堙娯?堋ィ窶堋サ窶堙ェ窶堋ェ窶堋?窶堙ゥツ。

And if someone finds more gems in there, please let me know. 👍

The last one I used was ナステ壺?敖ェ窶堙ーツ催ャ窶堙ゥ, before learning how vulger it potentially could be to the right mind. :p

Just as an aside, in Maciamo's example you can still have your pun but I think maybe it should have been Mitaka to Kichijouji to (de wa) dochi ga ii no kashira ? otherwise instead of which station you're asking whether either is better. I was at both last week this time too and personally prefer the design of Kichijouji....😌

 
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