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冗談 (じょうだん) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

冗じょう談だん

じょ

う

だ

ん

Common wordJLPTN3Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

1

noun

joke; jest; funny story

A humorous remark or story intended to amuse; can also refer to something said in jest rather than seriously.

彼かれの冗じょう談だんにはいつも笑わらわせられる。
His jokes always make me laugh.
冗じょう談だんはさておき、本

ほん

題だい

に

入はい

ろう

。

Joking aside, let's get down to business.

Written forms

冗じょう談だんUsage98%
Standard kanji spelling.
じょうだんUsage2%
戯談じょうだんUsage<1%
search-only kanji form
Search-only kanji form; not used in modern writing.

Kanji

冗superfluous, uselessness
談discuss, talk
戯frolic, play, sport

Similar words

ジョーク
Loanword from English; often used for a short, witty joke or a punchline, while 冗談 is broader and more common in everyday speech.
洒落しゃれ
Refers to a witty remark, pun, or play on words; more specific than 冗談, which covers any kind of joke or jest.

Etymology

The kanji 冗 means 'superfluous' or 'useless', and 談 means 'talk' or 'discussion', together suggesting idle or non-serious talk. The reading じょうだん is the on'yomi of both characters.