A Secret Way to Unlock High Level Mandarin Chinese Jokes

Can you really learn Mandarin through Chinese jokes? Sure you can! We are going to show you how.

Humour is a cross-cultural way to make friends and have a good time with the people around you.

Unfortunately, it is often one of the trickiest parts of a language to understand.

Puns, cultural references, and sarcasm all require a fairly advanced level of language and cultural comprehension.

Jokes in Chinese | Funny Chinese Videos

Jokes in Chinese | Life Advice (HSK4)

Jokes in Chinese | Alphabet Humour (HSK3)

Jokes in Chinese | Marriage Advice (HSK2)

Jokes in Chinese | Fruit Humour (HSK0)

BONUS | Chinese Memes

BONUS #2 | Chinglish in China

So to those learning the language, Chinese jokes can often seem hard to understand.

Despite this, language learners need not fear! You don’t need to wait until HSK 6 to begin appreciating funny things in Chinese. 

Jokes can be a fun and memorable way to learn new vocabulary and cultural nuance.

Funny Chinese Videos

Before we get stuck into some written jokes here’s a couple of videos to enjoy.

First up, our student Zoe had some fun filming this video where she stitches Ben up a treat. Here’s what NOT to do when asking someone out in Chinese!

Chinese Pranks on Video

Next up time for some classic Chinese pranks, and 3 jokes explained by native speakers! Enjoy

Now time for some Chinese jokes you can use with the locals! We’ve assigned each joke a HSK level also to give you an idea of the vocabulary needed to tell the joke.

Here are some jokes that are a great way to practice your Chinese, improve your reading, and have fun learning – all at the same time!

For the following jokes, read the jokes, then check the caption under the photo for a hint.

If you still can’t get it, read the explanation, then go back and try to understand the whole thing.

Make sure you read the jokes aloud to get in some pronunciation practice!

Chinese Joke #1: Life advice (HSK 4)

Outsmarted by your child. It happens to parents all the time! Here’s a prime example!

Character Version

妈妈说：“今天能完成的事，不要留到明天。”

儿子回答：“好吧，把全蛋糕给我，我今天都吃光了吧。”

Pinyin Version

māma shuō: “jīntiān néng wánchéngde shì bùyào liú dào míngtiān”

érzi huídá : “hǎoba ba, quán dàngāo gěiwǒ wǒ 。 dōu chīguāng le ba”

Translation:

Mom says

Do not put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

Literally this means: The things you can finish today, do not save until tomorrow.

Son responds

Okay, then give me the whole cake.

I will eat the whole thing today.

Chinese Joke #2: Alphabet Humour (HSK 3)

A clever joke that plays on the order of the alphabet, ABCD.

Character Version

A: 谁比较高？A还是C？

B: C, 因为，A比C低。

Pinyin Version

A: shéi bǐjiào gāo? A háishi C?

B: C, yīnwèi A bǐ C dī 。

Translation:

A: Who is taller? A or C?

B: C because, A is lower than C.

But this is funny because the pinyin for “A is lower than C” sounds like “ABCD” (A bǐ C dī)

Chinese Joke #3: Marriage Advice (HSK2)

An inquisitive kid gets a true reality check at the cost of weddings!

Character Version

一个小孩儿问他的爸爸：“爸爸，结婚 需要 花 多少钱”

爸爸说：“儿子，我 不知道。 我 还在付款!”

Pinyin Version

yī gè xiǎo hái ér wèn tā de bà ba: “bà ba, jié hūn xū yào huā duō shǎo qián?”

bà ba shuō: “ér zi, wǒ bù zhī dào. Wǒ hái zài fù kuǎn!”

Translation:

A little kid asked his father: “Dad, how much does it cost to get married?”

The father said: “Son, I don’t know. I’m still paying!”

Mandarin Joke #4: Fruit Humour (HSK0)

Notice we switched from Chinese to Mandarin, but why?

Here’s why!

Back to basics with these two! No one need know any Mandarin to understand these. Simple is best, less is more! These were too fun not to share!

For the record the Mandarin is saying happy Birthday in Chinese 生日快乐, the poor old apple will never know!

Chinese + English = Chinglish 😲 You Must See To Believe

Chinglish – Sometimes you have to see it to believe it. You will be amazed at some of these language mishaps that are made when translating to Chinese.

Chinese Jokes | Memes

Memes appear to me all the rage online these dates, no matter what way you pronounce it!

In fact, there are so many we’ve not got one but TWO dedicated posts regarding Chinese Memes which are:

• Some of our favourite Chinese Memes
• Make your own Chinese Memes – choose from our selection of 100 templates and send us your very own!

Here are some of our favourites across the two blogs!

Chinglish in China

And just to wrap up, it wouldn’t be a blog of jokes without some Chinglish thrown in there.

For those of you who don’t know, the equation is simple

Chinese + English = Chinglish!

Again – we dedicated a whole blog towards Chinglish which you have to check out – 20 of the finest examples, but here are some of our favourites.

We hope you enjoyed our series of Chinese jokes, videos, memes and the rest of it!

Ask your friends or Chinese teacher to share their favourite Chinese jokes with you.

Feeling brave? Try translating some of these jokes from English into Chinese!

Whether you’re already in China or hoping to visit in the future, having a few jokes up your sleeve is a good way to break the ice, impress your friends, and feel more confident in your language use skills.

Another great way to learn Chinese…

Like learning jokes in other languages? Then why not check out our favourite Japanese jokes. Russian jokes, and our favourite Korean Jokes also.

Jokes in Chinese || FAQs