this post was submitted on 15 Feb 2025
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in portuguese, i just came across “por que o vírus da gripe não tem amigos? porque ele é uma má influenza”

translation: “why does the flu virus have no friends? because it’s a bad influenza!”(Influence)

i think it could work in english but sounds better in portuguese.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 days ago (3 children)

I'm sure there's a better example in Ukrainian, but

Як як? Ну як як? Як як як...

Not really a pun and not translateable as a joke, but same word that can repeat to form a sentence.

Joke is a guy went to the zoo and friend is asking him how was yak. He replies with yak was like yak.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 5 days ago (4 children)

Something similar in Finnish;

Kokoo koko kokko kokoon. Koko kokkoko kokoon? Koko kokko kokoon.

Which translates to

Put together the whole bonfire. The whole bonfire together? The whole bonfire together.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 5 days ago (1 children)

A similar one in Swedish:

Bar barbar-bar barbar bar bar barbar-bar barbar.

This can be translated to “a lightly dressed barbarian from a bar for barbarians carried a lightly dressed barbarian from a bar for barbarians.”

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

I'm a bit sad Rhabarberbarbarabarbarbarenbartbarbierbierbarbärbel doesn't make an appearance in this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG62zay3kck

(Bärbel owns a bar where she sells a special beer to the barber who cuts the beards of the barbarians who like to eat rhubarb cake at Barbara's (aka Rhubarb-Barbara) bar.)

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Danish has: Far får får får? Nej, får får ikke får, får får lam.

This translates to: Dad, does sheep get (give birth to) sheep? No, sheep don't get sheep, sheep get lambs.

[–] voytek709 3 points 5 days ago

Similarly, Swedish has

  • ”Farfar, får får får?” (Grandpa, do sheep have sheep?)
  • ”Nej, får får inte får, får får lamm”. (No, sheep don’t have sheep, sheep have lambs)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago

Or slightly different:

Får får får? Får får ej får, for får får lam.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago

There are several versions of these kinds of puns in German, one version:

Wenn Grillen Grillen grillen, grillen Grillen Grillen.

When crickets barbecue crickets, then crickets are barbecuing crickets.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago

As an Estonian, it doesn't surprise me that you Finnish people have this. You weird, but actually cool neighbours.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 days ago (2 children)

In English we have

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo

Which means:

Bison who are bullied by bison do themselves intimidate or bully bison (at least in the city of Buffalo – implicitly, Buffalo, New York)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago

Also relevant: Americans think Bison and Buffalo are the same type of animal.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago

Yeah, verb is kind of a stretch though.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 days ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I've seen this before and always thought the verb was a stretch since it is definitely not used in modern English, but I do like the idea of forming a sentence this way.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I've always used this version, since the verb is commonly used in modern English unlike buffalo:

Police police police Police police police Police police.

That expands to "the police from Police, Poland will police the police from Police, Poland, who in turn also police the police from Police, Poland" or something like that.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago

It doesn't work as well spoken, though? Pretty sure Police is pronounced something like po-lee-tseh.

Also, I think you might have swapped a police with Police: "Police police, (whom) Police police police, police Police police."