Dajare
Encyclopedia
is a kind of comic Japanese
word play
, similar in spirit to pun
relying on similarities in the pronunciation of words to create a simple joke
.
Dajare are popular in advertising. Dajare are also associated with , oyaji meaning "old man" or "dad", as an "old man" would be considered by the younger generation most likely to attempt dajare.
A: 大食いのたけし君も、宇宙ではあまり物を食べられないよ。 (ōgui no takeshi kun mo, uchū dewa amari mono o taberarenaiyo)
B: なぜ? (naze)
A: 宇宙には空気(食う気)がない。 (uchū niwa kūki ga nai)
Translation:
A: In space, even a glutton like Takeshi can't eat anything.
B: Why's that?
A: In space, he has no appetite.
Explanation:
Kūki (くうき) can mean either "air" (空気) or "will to eat" (食う気), thus what sounds like a perfectly reasonable statement – "in space there is no air" – takes on a much stronger meaning when said in context.
Example two:
A: 向こうの通りにヘイができたんだってね。(mukou no tōri ni hei ga dekitan datte ne)
B: へぇー。(hee...)
Translation:
A: I hear they finished the wall on the street over there.
B: Well!
Explanation:
The word for "fence" or "wall" here (塀, hei) sounds very similar to the Japanese interjection
hee (へえ, similar in usage to the phrases "oh yeah?" and "well!"), thus the answer sounds like a repeat of the information in the initial statement.
Another version of this same joke replaces hei with kakoi (囲い), which sounds similar to a word meaning something like "cool" or "looks good" (かっこいい).
Example one:
A: パンつくった事ある？ (pan tsukutta koto aru?)
Translation:
A: Have you ever made bread before?
Can also be interpreted as:
A: Have you ever eaten underpants before? (パンツ食った事ある？, pantsu kutta koto aru?)
Example two:
A: ねぇ、ちゃんとお風呂入ってる？ (nee, chanto ofuro haitteru?)
Translation:
A: Hey, have you been taking a bath (regularly)?
Can also be interpreted as:
A: Do you take baths with your (older) sister? (姉ちゃんとお風呂入ってる？, nee-chan to ofuro haitteru?; the casual nee combined with the adverb chanto sounds the same as nee-chan to meaning "with your (older) sister".)
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
word play
Word play
Word play or wordplay is a literary technique in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement...
, similar in spirit to pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
relying on similarities in the pronunciation of words to create a simple joke
Joke
A joke is a phrase or a paragraph with a humorous twist. It can be in many different forms, such as a question or short story. To achieve this end, jokes may employ irony, sarcasm, word play and other devices...
.
Dajare are popular in advertising. Dajare are also associated with , oyaji meaning "old man" or "dad", as an "old man" would be considered by the younger generation most likely to attempt dajare.
Famous examples
- アルミ缶の上にあるみかん (arumi kan no ue ni aru mikan)
- Translation:An orange on an aluminium can
- Explanation:アルミ(arumi) means "aluminium", 缶(kan) means "a can", so "arumi kan" means "an aluminium can". Also ある(aru) means "exists" and みかん(mikanMikanThe satsuma is a seedless and easy-peeling citrus mutant of Japanese origin introduced to the West.In Japan, it is known as mikan or formally unshu mikan . In China, it is known as Wenzhou migan . The Japanese name is a result of the local reading of the same characters used in the Chinese...
) means "an orange".
- ウランは売らん (uran wa uran)
- Translation:I never sell uranium.
- Explanation:ウラン(uran) means uranium, and the second 売らん(uran) means "never sell".
- ニューヨークで入浴 (nyūyōku de nyūyoku)
- Translation:Taking a bath in New York.
- Explanation:ニューヨーク(nyūyōku) means New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, 入浴(nyūyoku) means taking a bath.
- レモンの入れもん (remon no iremon)
- Translation:A container for a lemon
- Explanation:レモン(remon) means "a lemon", 入れもん(iremon) means "a container".
Examples of dajare
Example one:A: 大食いのたけし君も、宇宙ではあまり物を食べられないよ。 (ōgui no takeshi kun mo, uchū dewa amari mono o taberarenaiyo)
B: なぜ? (naze)
A: 宇宙には空気(食う気)がない。 (uchū niwa kūki ga nai)
Translation:
A: In space, even a glutton like Takeshi can't eat anything.
B: Why's that?
A: In space, he has no appetite.
Explanation:
Kūki (くうき) can mean either "air" (空気) or "will to eat" (食う気), thus what sounds like a perfectly reasonable statement – "in space there is no air" – takes on a much stronger meaning when said in context.
Example two:
A: 向こうの通りにヘイができたんだってね。(mukou no tōri ni hei ga dekitan datte ne)
B: へぇー。(hee...)
Translation:
A: I hear they finished the wall on the street over there.
B: Well!
Explanation:
The word for "fence" or "wall" here (塀, hei) sounds very similar to the Japanese interjection
Interjection
In grammar, an interjection or exclamation is a word used to express an emotion or sentiment on the part of the speaker . Filled pauses such as uh, er, um are also considered interjections...
hee (へえ, similar in usage to the phrases "oh yeah?" and "well!"), thus the answer sounds like a repeat of the information in the initial statement.
Another version of this same joke replaces hei with kakoi (囲い), which sounds similar to a word meaning something like "cool" or "looks good" (かっこいい).
Kids' dajare
There are also some jokes mostly used by children that resemble dajare. These are also considered jokes that "everybody knows" in most parts of Japan. These are examples of ginatayomi (ぎなた読み), which relies on ambiguity in where one word starts and another begins.Example one:
A: パンつくった事ある？ (pan tsukutta koto aru?)
Translation:
A: Have you ever made bread before?
Can also be interpreted as:
A: Have you ever eaten underpants before? (パンツ食った事ある？, pantsu kutta koto aru?)
Example two:
A: ねぇ、ちゃんとお風呂入ってる？ (nee, chanto ofuro haitteru?)
Translation:
A: Hey, have you been taking a bath (regularly)?
Can also be interpreted as:
A: Do you take baths with your (older) sister? (姉ちゃんとお風呂入ってる？, nee-chan to ofuro haitteru?; the casual nee combined with the adverb chanto sounds the same as nee-chan to meaning "with your (older) sister".)
External links
- http://www.kanjiclinic.com/kc72final.htm Discussion of some dajare seen in advertising promotions in Japan
- http://www2.odn.ne.jp/d-palace/index2_e.htm Dajare palace, some English
- http://dajare.jp/ Dajare Station - Portal Site of Japanese Dajare