Linguistic humour in Chinese

Vocabulário

• 歇后语two-part allegorical saying
• 谐音homophonic wordplay
• 双关pun / double meaning
• 反讽irony / sarcasm
• 隐喻metaphor
• 调侃to tease / to joke gently
• 幽默感sense of humour
• 嘲讽to mock / to satirise
• 挖苦biting sarcasm
• 一语双关deliberate double entendre
• 含沙射影insinuation / veiled attack
• 言外之意implied meaning / subtext
• 会心一笑a knowing smile
• 妙语连珠witty remarks in succession

Expressões

• 外甥打灯笼——照旧Classic xiehouyu: as usual (pun on uncle)
• 哑巴吃黄连——有苦说不出Suffering in silence / can't complain
• 说曹操，曹操到Speak of the devil (and he appears)
• 真是高手Ironic praise for obvious failure
• 这不巧了吗How convenient / that's quite the coincidence
• 差不多得了Good enough / that'll do (often ironic)
• 您辛苦了You've worked hard (ironic when misused)
• 讲真Honestly / fr fr (casual intensifier)

Erros frequentes

• ✗他一语双关地说话了。
  ✓他的话一语双关。

  一语双关 describes the utterance, not an adverbial manner. The subject is the speech, not the person speaking adverbially.

• ✗这个笑话有很多谐音双关。
  ✓这个笑话用了谐音双关。

  Wordplay is used (用了), not possessed (有). 有很多 is grammatically awkward with abstract techniques.

• ✗他开玩笑讽刺。
  ✓他以反讽的方式调侃。

  讽刺 as a verb after 开玩笑 creates redundancy. Use 反讽 as a noun method marker with 以…的方式.

• ✗歇后语的第二部分要说出来。
  ✓歇后语的妙处在于第二部分通常不说出来。

  The point of xiehouyu is that the second part is often left unsaid — this is the defining feature.

• ✗我用双关语来使别人快乐。
  ✓我用双关语来逗人发笑。

  使别人快乐 is generic. 逗人发笑 is the specific, idiomatic expression for making people laugh with humour.

Quiz rápido