Have you imagined visiting your Thai friends in Thailand and blowing their minds with your newfound knowledge of Thai jokes? Wouldn’t that be fantastic?!
If you enjoy Thai food as much as we do, you may be tempted to look for a Thai joke, or โจ๊ก(cóok) recipe online. However, we’re not here to teach you how to prepare Thai Joke, the tasty Thai congee for breakfast; instead, we want to teach you how to make Thai people laugh with some funny, or ตลก (talòk), Thai jokes!
You’ll feel like you’ve advanced to the next level of your Thai conversational skills if you can make them laugh because Thais love people who have a great sense of humor. Our goal is to encourage you to study Thai jokes to impress your friend the next time you visit Thailand, and being able to make a random person burst out laughing is a bonus!
Let’s explore some funny Thai jokes to share with our friends.
The Best Thai Jokes To Make Locals Laugh
There are many local dialect-themed jokes in Thai culture; therefore, it might be location-specific. On the other hand, you’ll be able to communicate with anyone in Thailand simply by learning the “official language,” or central language, which people in major cities like Bangkok use. Even Thai kids will get these jokes.
This blog will expose you to some of the most popular Thai jokes using wordplay, phonology, and spoonerism. Let’s get rolling!
Thai Puns And Wordplay
The Thai people enjoy playing with words, and here we proudly present a sample of hilarious Thai jokes. Find out how many you can correctly guess!
1. ประเทศอะไร ไม่สามารถดูทีวีได้ (Pràthêet àray mây sǎamâat duu thiiwii dâay)
English translation: Which nation doesn’t have access to television?
The answer is “จอดำ (cɔ̀ɔ dam),” which means screen off. Your listeners will quickly catch on to the humor and figure out that you meant “Jordan” but intentionally mispronounced the name.
Fun fact: when a TV in Thailand loses its signal, and the screen goes black, the term “จอดำ (cɔ̀ɔ dam)” is used to describe the problem.
จอดำ (cɔ̀ɔ dam)
2. จังหวัดอะไรร้อนหลัง (Caŋwàt àray rɔ́ɔn lǎŋ)
English translation: Which Thai province is concerned about burning a back?
The answer is “นอนทับบุหรี่ (nɔɔn tháp bùrìi),” which means lying on a cigarette. Your listeners will quickly catch on to the humor and figure out that you meant “นนทบุรี (nonthabùrii),” which means Nonthaburi, the province name in Thailand.
นอนทับบุหรี่ (nɔɔn tháp bùrìi)
นนทบุรี (nonthabùrii)
3. ประเทศอะไร ใส่ของได้เยอะ (Pràthêet àray sày khɔ̌ɔŋ dâay yə́)
English translation: What country can contain many items?
The answer is “ตะกร้า (tàkrâa),” which means a basket. It’s a play on the word “Qatar,” the country’s name, from kaataa to tàkrâa.
ตะกร้า (tàkrâa)
4. สัตว์อะไร ร้องไห้แค่เดือนเดียว (Sàt àray rɔ́ɔŋhây khɛ̂ɛ dʉan diaw)
English translation: What kind of animal has a one-month crying period?
The answer is “กุ้งตุลาร้องไห้ (kûŋ tùlaa rɔ́ɔŋhây),” which is incorrectly pronounced from the word “กุ้งกุลาร้องไห้ (kûŋ kùlaa rɔ́ɔŋhây),” means a type of Thai shrimp. The word ตุลา (tùlaa) is shortened from the Thai month’s name ตุลาคม (tùlaakhom). Further, the word กุ้ง (kûŋ) means a shrimp, and the word ร้องไห้ (rɔ́ɔŋhây) means to cry.
- กุ้งตุลาร้องไห้ ((kûŋ tùlaa rɔ́ɔŋhây)
- กุ้งกุลาร้องไห้ (kûŋ kùlaa rɔ́ɔŋhây)
- ตุลาคม (tùlaakhom)
- กุ้ง (kûŋ)
- ร้องไห้ (rɔ́ɔŋhây)
Jokes Based On Thai Phonetics
You’ll need to put a lot of time into Thai phonetics if you want to understand and respond appropriately to these jokes because they include linguistic tricks. However, we guarantee it has a lot of fun!
1. ประเทศอะไร เห็นชัดจากที่ไกล (Pràthêet àray hěnchát càak thîi klay)
English translation: Which country can we see from a distance?
The answer is “เด่นมาก (dèn mâak),” which means very outstanding. Your listeners will quickly catch on to the humor and figure out that you meant “Denmark” but intentionally played with its pronunciation.
- เด่นมาก (dèn mâak)
2. ประเทศอะไร ไม่ใส่เสื้อผ้า (Pràthêet àray mây sày sʉ̂aphâa)
English translation: Which nation doesn’t wear clothing?
The answer is “โป๊แลนด์ (póo lɛɛn),” which is mispronounced from the word “โปแลนด์ (poolɛɛn),” meaning “Poland.”
The word โป๊ (póo) means naked, which plays with the word โป (poo) in the name of the country.
- โป๊แลนด์ (póo lɛɛn)
- โปแลนด์ (poolɛɛn)
- โป๊ (póo)
3. งูตกลงไปในถังขยะ งูจะฉกอะไร (ŋuu tòkloŋ pay nay thǎŋkhàyà ŋuu cà chòk àray)
English translation: What will the snake bite if it falls into the trash?
The answer is “ฉกกะปก (chòk kà pòk),” which is incorrectly pronounced from the word “สกปรก (sòkkapròk).”
- ฉกกะปก (chòk kà pòk)
- สกปรก (sòkkapròk)
4. ระหว่างห้องน้ำชายกับห้องน้ำหญิง อันไหนเหม็นกว่ากัน (Ráwàaŋ hɔ̂ŋnáam chaay kàp hɔ̂ŋnáam yǐŋ an nǎy měn kwàa kan)
English translation: Which male and female restrooms have the stinkiest smell?
The answer is “วู้ เหม็น (wúu měn),” which is exaggeratedly pronounced from the English word “women.” The word วู้ (wúu) is an interjection, and the word เหม็น (měn) means smelly.
This is a classic phrase for Thai men to ask a Thai woman as a joke.
- วู้! เหม็น (wúu měn)
5. ทำไมรถไฟถึงวิ่งช้า (Thammay rótfay thʉ̌ŋ wîŋ cháa)
English translation: Is there a reason why the train is moving so slowly?
The answer is “ถึงก็ช่าง ไม่ถึงก็ช่าง (thʉ̌ŋ kɔ̂ɔchâaŋ mây thʉ̌ŋ kɔ̂ɔchâaŋ),” which is a deviation from the train’s motion sound of “ฉึกกะฉัก ฉึกกะฉัก (chʉ̀k kà chàk chʉ̀k kà chàk).”
The word ช่าง (châng ) is the short version of ช่างมันเถอะ (châng man tə̀), which means “forget it.”
- ถึงก็ช่าง ไม่ถึงก็ช่าง (thʉ̌ŋ kɔ̂ɔchâaŋ mây thʉ̌ŋ kɔ̂ɔchâaŋ)
- ฉึกกะฉัก ฉึกกะฉัก (chʉ̀k kà chàk chʉ̀k kà chàk)
- ช่างมันเถอะ (châaŋmanthə̀)
6. สัตว์อะไรช้าที่สุด (Ssàt àray cháa thîisùt)
English translation: What is the slowest animal?
The answer is “ก็ลีลา (kɔ̂ɔ liilaa),” a play of the word “กอริลล่า (kɔɔ liilaa),” which is a Gorillas is English. The word ลีลา (liilaa) literally means dance, but it’s also used to describe someone who takes so much time to finish something.
- ก็ลีลา (kɔ̂ɔ liilaa)
- กอริลล่า (kɔɔ liilaa)
7. สัตว์อะไรเป็นระเบียบ (Sàt àray penrábìap)
English translation: What kind of animal is tidy?
The answer is “เรียงผ้า (riaŋ phâa),” a play on the word “เลียงผา (liaŋ phǎa),” which is a mountain goat is English. The word เรียง (riaŋ) means to organize or arrange, and the word ผ้า (phâa) means cloth.
- เรียงผ้า (riaŋ phâa)
- เลียงผา (liaŋ phǎa)
Thai Vocabulary For Jokes
There are various Thai terms for humor that you should learn.
Is There A Thai Joke You Have Heard Before?
You can use these Thai jokes as a reference whenever you hear a humorous conversation or watch a comedic scene in Thai movies and TV shows. We hope you learn a lot from this article about how to make Thais laugh, and you shouldn’t feel bad if you don’t understand any of the jokes.
Because the humor in that culture is so inextricably bound up with the norms and customs of that society, understanding it is a significant undertaking but absolutely fun!
Want to expand your knowledge of the Thai language and culture beyond these hilarious jokes? Then we’re capable of offering the top app available!
Learn Thai With The Ling App
Learn Thai like a pro with the support of the Ling app! We provide a broad range of words and phrases useful in everyday life and beyond. The Ling app allows you to study whenever it fits your busy schedule through your smartphone or computer.
In addition, we want all Thai language students to have a good time while learning, which is why we provide a diverse range of entertaining resources—from games to sophisticated chatbots—to facilitate this purpose.
Most Thai learners chose the Ling app to help them succeed, so why not join them? Download the Ling app from Google Play Store and Apple App Store now, and prepare to be fluent in Thai soon!
Updated by: Gwyn
