Japanese symbol for “joke”
冗談
じょうだん
Romaji: joudan
joke; jest; funny story
In Japanese, joke is 冗談, read じょうだん (joudan).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- n joke; jest; funny story
Written forms: 冗談、戯談、串戯. Readings: じょうだん.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “joke”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 洒落 | しゃれ share | joke; pun; jest |
| ギャグ | ギャグ gyagu | joke; gag |
| ジョーク | ジョーク jooku | joke |
| 戯れ | たわむれ tawamure | play; sport; fun |
| ユーモア | ユーモア yuumoa | humor; humour; joke |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 冗長 | じょうちょう jouchou | tedious; verbose; wordy |
| 冗句 | じょうく jouku | redundant phrase |
| 冗漫 | じょうまん jouman | verbosity |
| 冗員 | じょういん jouin | supernumerary; superfluous staff; excess personnel |
| 冗官 | じょうかん joukan | supernumerary official |
| 相談 | そうだん soudan | consultation; discussion; discussing |
| 会談 | かいだん kaidan | talks (i.e. formal discussions); conference; meeting |
| 対談 | たいだん taidan | talk; dialogue; conversation |
See also: Chinese symbol for “joke”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.
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