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If you understand native speakers when they're telling jokes, that's a sign that you have reached one of the final levels of fluency. In this video, you will improve your English fluency by learning some words and expressions in English jokes. I will tell you some jokes and you can test your fluency by whether or not you understand them. If you understand these, your English is probably quite fluent.

Have you ever been in a conversation where everyone started laughing, but you had no idea what was so funny? Many jokes contain words with a double meaning and you might only know one meaning of the word. And by the way, sometimes what's funny in one culture may not be funny in another culture.

Expressions Related to Jokes

First, let's learn some words and expressions related to jokes.

"I get it" / "I don't get it": "I get it" means I understand the joke. "I don't get it" means I don't understand it; I don't know why it's funny.

"It went over my head": This means I didn't understand the humor. Everybody laughed but the joke went over my head.

Punchline: The last part of the joke that makes it funny. You can say, "The punchline was so unexpected that everyone laughed."

To butcher a joke: To ruin the joke by telling it very badly. If you butcher a joke, you completely destroy it. Maybe you forgot some details and the joke wasn't funny anymore.

To crack up: An informal way to say to laugh very hard. We say "to crack someone up." For example, "That joke cracked me up," or "The stand-up comedian cracked everyone up." If you say to a person, "You crack me up," it means "I think you're really funny."

"I love responding and reading your comments. You guys crack me up with your questions.""That just cracked me up, man.""It cracked me up in the moment and it cracked me up on the rewatch."

Corny: If a joke is corny, it's silly or predictable, usually in an embarrassing way. Maybe it's old-fashioned or overly sentimental. You can say, "My dad tells corny jokes."

Dad joke: A dad joke is simple, clean, usually corny, predictable, and intentionally silly. They are called dad jokes because they're the types of jokes your father tells. He thinks it's funny, but others just roll their eyes and say, "That's such a dad joke."

Example:"Why was the math book sad? Because it had too many problems." (In math, "problems" means exercises, but it also means difficulties in life).

Word play / Play on words: A humorous use of language where a word has two meanings or two words sound similar.

Joke 1: The Skeletons

Joke: Why don't skeletons fight each other? Punchline: Because they don't have the guts.

Explanation: You have to know the expression to have guts in order to understand the meaning. The literal meaning of "gut" is the inside of your stomach. Skeletons don't have guts; they only have bones. But the English expression "to have guts" means to be brave, courageous, or have determination in difficult situations. Instead of saying someone is brave, you can say, "You have a lot of guts." If you say, "I don't have the guts," it means "I'm scared."

"I didn't have the guts to tell my dad I was going to be an acting major. But if you're brave enough, if you have the guts and the vision and the passion...""Very few companies have the guts to do it."

Joke 2: The Calendar

Joke: Why was the calendar nervous? Punchline: Because its days were numbered.

Explanation: A calendar literally has numbers on its days. However, this joke uses the common idiom one's days are numbered, which means something bad is going to happen soon, or something will end soon. It often means a person will die, be fired, or be replaced (e.g., "His days are numbered. He is old and sick."). It can also be used for objects (e.g., "I love my old car, but its days are numbered. It keeps breaking down.").