Unlock English Humor With Puns [Updated]

Here's a question for you:

What type of whale is always sad? 

A "blue whale”! (Blue whales are a type of whale, and “blue” is another way to say "sad.")

Next one: 

Why is 6 afraid of 7? 

Because 7 8 9! (“7 ate 9”!)

If you don’t understand, there’s a joke for that too:

These are all examples of a type of wordplay called “puns.” Puns usually involve:

• Words that sound the same but mean different things (“eight” and “ate”)
• Words that are written the same but mean different things (“blue” for the color and the emotion)
• Words that sound similar (“donut” and “do not”)

Puns make some people laugh and make other people groan, but they are very popular in English! So today, we’ll explore why learners should study them and also give you some fun puns to practice with.

Why You Should Learn Puns

Studying puns has many benefits for language learners. In addition to being a fun way to build vocabulary, they can also help to increase your general language awareness and make you feel more relaxed and motivated to learn.

Puns have a long history in English and they’re still common today, from news headlines and social media posts to commercials and product names. Even Shakespeare often used puns in his writing.

All this means you need to be familiar with puns if you want to understand all of the English you see every day. Let's take a look at some examples.

Examples of Puns in the Real World

A famous example from the world of advertising is this slogan for the American jewelry company Kay Jewelers: “Every kiss begins with Kay.” This is a pun on the letter K (which starts the word “kiss”) and the name of their company.

Related article: What "K" and "M" Mean on Social Media

Another pun many English-speakers are familiar with is Pi Day, a holiday often celebrated by eating pies. 

And here’s a pun in an Instagram post by a US government agency:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Exchanges @ US Dept of State (@exchangeourworld)

This post contains a pun on the idiom “turn the tide,” which means “to reverse a situation.” The word “tide” is also a reference to the ocean, which is the subject of the post. As you can see, this example contains a lot of meaning in just a few words.

Related article: 7 English Phrases About the Environment

Pun Practice 

Below are some puns we picked especially for learners. Find your level and see how many you can understand before looking at the answers!

For Beginners

1. What can you catch but not throw?
2. Why can’t a bicycle stand on its own?
3. At the beach, you can see waves. What about at a tiny beach?

Answers:

1. You can catch a cold, but you can’t throw one!
2. Because it's two-tired. ("Too tired” sounds just like “two-tired” — having two tires.)
3. Microwaves! (The word "microwaves” is made up of the prefix “micro," meaning "very small," and the root “wave.”)

For Intermediate Learners

1. What starts with T, ends with T and is full of T?
2. What do astronauts do before throwing a party in space?
3. Identify the pun: “I can’t stand sitting.”
4. Identify the pun: “Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.”

Answers:

1. A teapot. ("Teapot” starts and ends with the letter T, and teapots are full of tea!)
2. They planet! (“Planet” sounds like “plan it.”)
3. The verb “stand” has two meanings. The basic meaning is "to stand up." However, the phrase “I can’t stand ~ ” means “I don’t like ~ .” So this pun means “I can’t stand while sitting” and “I don’t like sitting.”
4. “Time flies like an arrow” is an expression about how quickly time passes. The second sentence includes two puns: "flies" is used as a noun for the flying insects, and "like" is the verb for "to enjoy." So together, the true meaning is "Time passes quickly. Flies enjoy bananas." Tricky!

For Advanced Learners

1. What flowers grow under your nose?
2. What’s a snake’s favorite subject?
3. Identify the pun: "Bugs really bug me."
4. Identify the pun: “Atheism is a non-prophet institution." – George Carlin

Answers:

1. Tulips (two lips) grow under your nose.
2. Snakes love history (hiss-tory – "Hiss" is the sound snakes make).
3. To "bug" someone is to annoy them. So this pun means, "Bugs really annoy me."
4. “Non-prophet institution” is a pun on “non-profit institution.” Atheism is the belief that there is no god, so naturally, atheists don’t need God's messengers, which are called prophets!

Have a Pun-derful Day!

While puns are great to know, remember that they aren't as cool as they were during Shakespeare’s time!

So even though it might be fun to try and make puns yourself, for now, focus on recognizing and understanding them. The better you get at doing that, the more likely you are to create some clever puns yourself!

For more fun pun practice, check out our article on the clever puns hidden in the names of popular Pokémon.