Introduction
¡Hola! Curious about how fluent you are in Spanish? Today I bring you a fun challenge: Spanish dad jokes, or as we say in Spain, 'Chistes de cuñao' – that's 'brother-in-law jokes'! Why 'cuñao', you ask? In Spain, the imagery of a brother-in-law is someone dumb, who thinks he knows it all and tells very silly jokes. Jokes are a big part of Spanish culture, and they're a goldmine of vocabulary, making them perfect for learners at all levels. Stick around as I explain 7 hilarious jokes so everybody can understand. By the end, you'll not only be laughing but also boosting your Spanish skills. Ready for a laugh-and-learn session? Let's go!
First joke!
A: ¿Cómo se dice nariz en inglés? (A: How do you say “nose” in English?
B: Nose. B: I don’t know.
A. ¿Tú tampoco? ¡Nadie lo sabe! (A: You don’t know either? Nobody knows!)
You should be able to get this one pretty quickly. The English word for nariz is “nose”, but if you read it with a Spanish pronunciation it would be “no sé”, which means “I don’t know”. So this person actually gave the correct answer.
Ok, stop laughing and let’s move on to the second joke.
¿Qué hace una caja en el gimnasio? Volviéndose una caja fuerte.
What is a box doing in the gym? Tú vas al gimnasio para ponerte fuerte, you go to the gym to get strong. The fun thing here is that “caja fuerte” means “safe” or “strongbox” in Spanish. So this has a double meaning. The box in the gym is turning into a strongbox. Hehe
Prepare your brain for the third chiste de cuñao:
A. ¿Por qué no salís juntos?
B. Porque ella come amigos.
A. ¿Qué?
B. Me dijo: “Te quiero, pero como amigos”.
(A. Why don't you go out together?
B. Because she eats friends.
A. What?
B. She told me, "I love you, but as friends/I eat friends.")
This is a very common sentence when you reject somebody. Te quiero, pero como amigo. “I love you but as a friend.” “Como” means “like” or “as” but it’s also the first person singular of the verb “comer,” “to eat.” This one is easy, right?
By the way~ On My Daily Spanish we have a free study guide that offers a step-by-step process to help you learn Spanish faster. You can download it for free using the form above or the form on the left side.
Prepare your brain for the third chiste de cuñao:
A. Quisiera comprar un libro sobre la fatiga y el cansancio.
B. Lo siento, están agotados.
A. I would like to buy a book about fatigue and tiredness.
B. Lo siento, están agotados.
Agotado has a double meaning. Did you get it? It means “exhausted”, but also means “sold out”. In this sentence of course it means sold out, but it seems like the books, which talk about tiredness, are very tired and that’s why they won’t sell them. Lo siento, están agotados. I’m sorry, they are sold out/very tired.
Chiste number 5:
A. El mes pasado contraí matrimonio.
B. Contraje.
A. Claro, tenía que ser formal.
(A. I got married* last month.
B. Got married.
A. Of course, it had to be formal.)
Did you get it?
Here we talk about “contraer matrimonio”, “to get married”. The past simple of the verb “contraer” is “contraje”. It is an irregular verb and some people might get confused. The speaker A said “contraí”, which is incorrect. So speaker B corrects the other person and tells the correct conjugation, which is “contraje”. But “Con traje”, separated, means “with a suit”. And the A speaker doesn’t know he made a mistake and thinks B is referring to the clothing and says: “of course, it had to be formal”.
Hold tight and get ready for the last two Spanish jokes. They are the most difficult ones.
Number 6:
¿Cuál es el vino más amargo? Vino mi suegra.
(Which wine is the most bitter? My mother-in-law came.)
You need to be familiar with irregular verbs here, most concretely the verb VENIR (to come). “Vino” means “wine”. But the other meaning is the 3rd person singular preterite for “venir”. “Amargo” is “bitter,” “suegra” is “mother-in-law.” In Spain, they make a lot of jokes with mothers-in-law, suegras, because nobody seems to like the mother of their partner.
“Which vino is the most bitter? My mother-in-law came”. It’s saying that it’s “bitter” when the mother-in-law comes to visit.
Don’t lose faith. Let’s go with the last one! Number 7:
A. ¿Se quedará a dormir?
B. Sí.
A. Quizá debería saber que la casa está encantada.
B. Ah. Pues dígale que a mí también me hace ilusión quedarme.
(A. Will you stay the night?
B. Yes.
A. Maybe you should know that the house is haunted.
B. Oh. Well, tell it that I'm also excited to stay.)
Do you know the different meanings of the word “encantada”? Una casa encantada is a haunted house. But, encantada/o can also mean enchanted, pleased, delighted. When you meet someone for the first time you say “Encantado” or “Encantada.” So the joke here is that they say the house is haunted, but the other person responds that he’s also excited to stay at the house (as if the house was happy to have him stay there).
Conclusion
So here you have new jokes you can tell to your Spanish teacher and friends. But to tell them correctly you need something…
You need to pronounce like a pro, and this video will get you very close to a native pronunciation. It is the most complete video on Earth on how to roll your Rs.
