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🇩🇪 German · Fluency Level 1

PART 1 · LESSON 9 OF 30 · 30 MINUTES

Why Germans Don't Laugh

Ask Lea why nobody laughed at your joke and hear about dry humour, with doch, wir lachen schon, aber spaeter.

Audio instruction: English

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THE STORY

The newsroom in Berlin on a Friday afternoon, Lea at the coffee machine and Max with yesterday's joke.

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Words and phrases

The lesson is for your ears. Open this afterwards, to see what you learned.
Lea, mein Witz. Keiner hat gelacht.LAY-ah, myn vits, KY-ner haht geh-LAHKHTLea, my joke. Nobody laughed.
Der im Radio? Ich habe ihn gehört.dair im RAH-dee-oh, ikh HAH-beh een geh-HURTThe one on the radio? I heard it.
Lach nicht!lahkh nikhtDon't laugh! To a friend.
Ja. Lachen die Deutschen nie?yah, LAHKH-en dee DOYT-shen neeYes. Do Germans never laugh?
Doch, wir lachen schon. Aber später.dokh, veer LAHKH-en shohn, AH-ber SHPAY-terOh yes, we do laugh. But later.
Später? Wie viel später?SHPAY-ter, vee feel SHPAY-terLater? How much later?
Zu Hause. Leise. Das ist trockener Humor.tsoo HOW-zeh, LY-zeh, dahs ist TROK-en-er HOO-mohrAt home. Quietly. That's dry humour.
Trockener Humor. Also war der Witz gut?TROK-en-er HOO-mohr, AHL-zoh vahr dair vits gootDry humour. So the joke was good?
Ganz gut. Ich lache dann später.gahnts goot, ikh LAHKH-eh dahn SHPAY-terQuite good. I'll laugh later, then.