Jokes are things we say to make other people laugh. Sometimes a joke is a short remark, while other times it can be a story that can take some time to tell. There are lots of ways that jokes make people laugh.

Here are examples of two simple jokes:

Why do birds fly south?
Because it's too far to walk.

Why do hummingbirds hum?
Because they don't know the words.

Most people like to laugh, and people who tell jokes well are often popular. But there's more to a joke than just the words; a joke depends on the way it is told. Jokes depend on building suspense. The humor in many jokes also depends on using the element of surprise, so the joker has to be a good actor. Some people have a knack for telling jokes; others don't.

Not all jokes can be saved by the way they are told, however. We say a joke is "corny" if it's not funny or if it's stupid.

This is a corny joke:
Why did the chicken cross the road?
To get to the other side.
Of course, some people, like me, really like corny jokes!

Every language and culture has its own jokes, and many jokes lose their humor when translated into a different language or cultural context. Some jokes rely on sarcasm or irony to be funny. However, these jokes can be rude or insulting.

Sometimes jokes are told about certain races and religions. These are called "racial" and "religious" jokes, and they can be insulting, too. Jokes about the supposed special characteristics of a gender are often called "sexist." Hurting people's feelings really shouldn't be funny. There are plenty of other ways to make people laugh. Have you heard a good joke lately?

「笑話」是我們說來讓人發笑的東西。有些笑話只是短短的一句話，有些是需要花點時間講 述的故事。以下是兩則簡單的笑話：

問：鳥為什麼往南飛？
答：因為太遠了走不到。
問：為什麼蜂鳥只會嗡嗡叫？
答：因為牠們不認識字啊。

多數人都愛笑，很會說笑話的人通常很受歡迎。不過笑話可不是只有文字好笑而已，說笑話 的方式也很重要。說笑話就是要製造懸疑。很多笑話的幽默來自於讓人驚訝的元素，所以說笑話的人一定要很會演。有些人天生就是說笑話的好手，有些人則不是。

不過，有些笑話不是你很會說就好笑。如果一個笑話不好笑或很愚蠢，我們就會說它是「老梗」。以下就是一個老掉牙的笑話：

問：雞為什麼要過馬路？
答：為了到另一邊啊。
（當然，有些人就像我，還滿愛這些老梗呢！）

每一種語言和文化都有自己的笑話，很多笑話被翻譯成另一種語言，或放到另一種文化脈絡 下，就失去幽默的成分了。有些笑話靠的是挖苦或諷刺來達到好笑的目的，但是，這些笑話往往會很不禮貌、羞辱到別人。

有時笑話和某個種族或宗教有關，這種「種族笑話」或「宗教笑話」也是很羞辱人的。笑話 如果牽涉到性別上的假設性特質，常被認為是「性別歧視語言」。讓別人不舒服其實一點都不好笑。逗人笑的方法千千百百種，你最近有聽過好笑的笑話嗎？