Lachend lernen:
Laugh and Learn German
Using German Humor to Learn the Language
That said, it is true that German humor sometimes translates poorly into English—literally and culturally. The popular sausage-nosed German cartoon character "Werner" is virtually unknown outside the German market. Equally obscure is "das kleine Arschloch" ("the little a**-hole") another German cartoon character popular among German college students. While German-speakers can somehow appreciate the American/Hollywood or British Monty Python flavor of humor, it rarely seems to work the other way around. German film comedies—a la "Werner" or "Der Schuh des Manitu" (a German satire of Karl May Westerns)—never seem to achieve success outside the German-speaking market, but "Chicken Run" (Hennen rennen) and South Park were big box office in German Kinos.
Ente gut, Essen gut.Alle Kinder tanzen auf der Walze, nur nicht Günther, der liegt drunter.
Es gibt keine Bayernwitze. Das ist Realität!
From our joke links
While German movies on DVD or video do offer an enjoyable way to learn German, the Internet offers other opportunities to sample the German sense of humor... and to learn German in the process. There are several major German joke/humor sites on the Web, and many more minor ones. Such sites (links on the next page) let you laugh and learn at the same time.
Our humor links range from a German Mad magazine satire of Harry Potter ("Karre Schotter") to joke pages and the unsubtle (crude) humor of Otto Waalke ("Otto - Der Katastrofenfilm").
Beginning-to-intermediate learners will definitely need a good German-English dictionary, but even advanced learners may need to look up some words now and then. However, that is exactly why deciphering deutsche Witze (German jokes) is good for your German... and your mood!
NEXT > German Humor Online • Part 1 | Part 2
Cartoons, Comics, Fun
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