Hai = 高兴

[Kenny同志]

If somebody has a sense of humor, we may say:

他这人很逗。

他这人很风趣。

and it may be fashionable to say:

他这人很搞笑。

You can also remove 这人 which funtions to add a flavor of informalness.

其实，我的意思是，有“这人"两个字，这句话听起来就会显得随意一些，就像大家一起话家长一样。

我不知道我写的英文是不是你们常用的说法。如果不是的话，你们是怎样表达这个意思的？

[xiaocai]

Exactly. There are other words with similar concept. Or probably you are right on that Chinese were not as funny before the word 幽默 has been introduced, and therefore we can even say that this is a word that changed the mindset of a whole country.

[muyongshi]

I know there are other ways of saying it like the ones you listed above but do note that those concepts that you wrote, especially 逗 are very modern in usage. 风趣 seems to come closest in my mind but my question was semi-rhetorical. Point being that the concept of "humor" was not approached directly (apparently) in a more traditional way. If you have an example from something like 红楼梦 or 西游记 that express the concept of humor we might be getting "back" to the "humor" i was referring to.

补充一句：你英文没有问题，完全能读懂！你放心，我现在是用我的幽默感逗你玩。哈哈哈 It's after lunch and I'm feeling tired=strange sense of humor. Your english is fine Kenny and your contributions to many discussion here are valuable.

[xiaocai]

@ kenny2006woo:

I may not have grasped your ideas correctly but I think it more depends on that where you draw the boundary at. To me high is often used not to impress anyone but rather to add a tinge of humour (see we can be funny, sometimes). I might feel a bit uncomfortable when hearing people from Taiwan and Hongkong using a lot of foreign words but, hey, it is a very personal thing and I think there are also many people who are just like you that would prefer to be a bit more conservative on this issue. I think as long as we can communicate well with our language, it is not really a big deal. And I also think it is good to have more input source of new words and new concepts, regardless being "genuine" or not.

[Kenny同志]

To muyongshi

Thanks for your compliment, yongshi, I am flattered. If I note any equivalents of “humor” in 红楼梦 which I am reading, I will tell you as soon as possible, lol.

To Xiaocai

Yes, xiaocai, I am kind of conservative. Of course, not all say “high” to impress or show a sense of superiority. Sometimes they simply do this unconsciously.

I would contend that we have a rich culture and we have our own expressions for lots of things, so why bother for a new expression that we already have. Be frankly, I also hate bad translation. For example, we refer to our family members as 家人, but the phrase in many cases is translated as “家庭成员”which I truly think is terrible. This is very much like one chooses to drink crude water while the tea is available. I can name another, “until absolutely necessary” which many translates as “直到绝对有必要时”are what we refer to as “非到万不得已”. I am not saying that Chinese should remain the same forever, but there must be rules guiding its evolution, or put it another way, we must secure that it develops in the right way, that is, to be more concise, more accurate and more energetic.

Edited October 19, 2009 at 08:33 AM by kenny2006woo

[rob07]

If you have an example from something like 红楼梦 or 西游记 that express the concept of humor we might be getting "back" to the "humor" i was referring to.

The 红楼梦 usually uses 可笑. However, if you want something fancier, how about 谑? In one of the chapters where one of the main characters (潇湘/颦儿) enhanced her reputation for humour, the chapter title (which always uses arty language) was 潇湘子雅谑补余香.

According to that chapter, if you want to tell truly memorable jokes, you are absolutely required to use the techniques in the official chronicle of the State of Lu covering the period from 722 BCE to 481 BCE. But don't take my word for it:

宝钗笑道：“ 世上的话，到了凤丫头嘴里也就尽了．幸而凤丫头不认得字，不大通，不过一概是市俗取笑，更有颦儿这促狭嘴，他用`春秋'的法子，将市俗的粗话，撮其要，删其繁，再加润色比方出来，一句是一句．这`母蝗虫'三字，把昨儿那些形景都现出来了．亏他想的倒也快。” ... 这落后一句最妙． 所以昨儿那些笑话儿虽然可笑，回想是没味的．你们细想颦儿这几句话虽是淡的， 回想却有滋味．我倒笑的动不得了。”

[Kenny同志]

Rob, I am afraid you have missed the point. 可笑 usually means "ridiculous" or in fewer cases, "absurd". It is quite different from "humorous".

[rob07]

I looked up 可笑 in the 百度词典 and this is what it said:

可笑的英文翻译

1.laughable; humorous; comic; funny

2.absurd; ridiculous

I am quite sure that 可笑 is used in the humorous sense in the 红楼梦.

[Kenny同志]

I am sorry, Rob, yes, you are right. I have checked its meaning on a Chinese encyclopedia http://www.chinabaike.com/dir/cd/K/282386.html and it does have the meaning of funny, laughable or comic.

But this connotation seems old-fashioned. More common way of expressing the same idea would be 好笑.

[rob07]

Thanks Kenny, great to have a native Chinese speaker interested in translation to discuss these issues with.

[renzhe]

But this connotation seems old-fashioned.

Well, 红楼梦 is a bit old-fashioned