This article originally featured in the November 2021 issue of Connect.
イクラはいくら？How much is salmon roe?
Puns in Japanese are usually pretty simple and based on the humor of words with the same sounds and spelling. Learning a few puns (or ダジャレ (dajare)) in Japanese is a fantastic way to befriend your local older men as dajare are considered 親父ギャグ (oyaji gyagu), meaning “old man jokes.” In other words, a dad joke.
Vocabulary
| Labor Thanksgiving Day (the national holiday on the 23rd) | 勤労感謝の日 きんろうかんしゃのひ |
kinroukansha no hi |
| Thanksgiving (the American and Canadian version) | 感謝祭 かんしゃさい |
kanshasai |
| Turkey | 七面鳥 しちめんちょう |
shichimenchou |
| Autumn leaves | 紅葉 こうよう |
kouyou |
| “Autumn leaf hunting” | 紅葉狩り もみじがり |
Momijigari |
| Japanese chestnut | 栗 くり |
kuri |
| Persimmon | 柿 かき |
kaki |
| Japanese sweet potatoes | さつま芋 さつまいも | satsumaimo |
| Scarf | スカーフ | sukaafu |
| Kotatsu or “a table over an electric heater” (Yes, you should pull out your kotatsu in November—it counts) |
炬燵 こたつ |
kotatsu |
