Casual and friendly place to learn Japanese

Cafe japan ・www.japanese101.net

Phrase of the Day

【じょうだんです】Jōdan desu・I'm kidding

05/12/2022

じょうだんです・jōdan desu = I'm kidding/I'm joking

You can use this to say:

You know I'm just kidding, right?
Are you kidding me?

"Jōdan" means "joke". So, you can say "jōdan desu", "jōdan dayo", "Jōdan yo" to say "I'm kidding," or tell someone "jōdan desyo?", "jōdan iwanaide" to mean "kidding, right?" or "Don't be ridiculous". You can use this when you express your disbelief, such as, "Jōdan desho, sinjirarenai! (No kidding, I can't believe it)."

EXAMPLES

kidding/joking (cannot believe)

Grace

たからくじでひゃくまんえんあたったよ！
(Takarakuji de hyakuman en atatta yo.]

(I won 1 million yen lottery!)

じょうだんでしょ？
(Jōdan desho?)

Keiko

(You must be kidding right?)

Kidding/joking (ridiculous/no way)

Grace

あした、てすとだって！
(Asita, tesuto datte!)

(We'll have a test tomorrow!)

ええええ！？じょうだんでしょ？
(Eeeeee!? Jōdan desho?)

Keiko

(Whaaaaat!? No way!/Cannot believe it/Ridiculous!)

A tip

When you want to deny what you just said, you might be able to get away by saying "Jōdan desu."

When your joke is too much/ridiculous, you might hear "じょうだんきつい！(Jōdan kitui!!)" which means "that's too much."

Let's learn Japanese!

-Phrase of the Day