# Joke



## tigrelis

Does anyone know how a little child would say "joke" in Czech?  Also, how would you pronounce it (I know no Czech but comparisons to English or French would help!)?  Thank you!


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## Jana337

Hello Tigrelis,

the best word for "joke" is "žert" (pronounce as if it were "jert" in French) but a child would certainly use a different one. 
Maybe "vtip" (I don't think you can mispronounce this one, although it is hard for foreigners).
If you give me some more context (what kind of joke? what is the situation?), I will be able to help you better (maybe after a consultation with friends who have children

Jana


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## tigrelis

Thanks Jana--let me explain why I'm asking!
I recently saw a movie called Most, made by Americans but filmed in Czech.
A little boy tells his father a joke to cheer him up, and as best as I can remember the subtitles go
Boy: Joke, joke, joke.  Which was the funniest?
Father: The second one?
Boy: No, the first one, the rest were just repeats.
And I just wanted to know what the word he was saying was--I would have spelled what I heard diepe so it probably was vtip and my ear has just never heard Czech before.  But now I'm curious to know why a little child would say a different word?
Hope this makes more sense now--thanks again
Sarah


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## Jana337

Now, knowing the context, I am sure that it was "vtip".
I think that a child that says "žert" must be exceptionally mature and literate. 

Jana


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## Petusek

Yes, I agree with Jana. In addition, there are a few expressions you can use in Czech, but some of them are restricted to specific dialectal regions and may have connotations that aren't that neutral.

"fór": pronounced approximately as "four". It is mainly used in Bohemian Czech and may have a negative connotation, meaning "trick".

"anekdota": I don't have to explain this, do I? 

"legrace": = "fun", more general.


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## Ledni Tonda

Jana337 said:
			
		

> Now, knowing the context, I am sure that it was "vtip".
> I think that a child that says "žert" must be exceptionally mature and literate.
> 
> Jana



I would say that žert is a bit bookish whereas vtip is much more used in spoken czech.


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## Juri

Better late then never.
Confirms the common origin the Czech word "vtip" and the Slovenian"dovtip", both means Joke.
It is a surprise the word "fòr" - in western Slovenian dialect "fòra", that I tought till today   be influenced by venetian "fora", which means not trick but "out".Borders originate interesting mixtures: f.i. "žvrcjèt" from italian "sguazzetto" = stew.


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