冗談だよ
jōdan da yo
The phrase 'just joking' in Japanese is 冗談だよ (jōdan da yo).
This phrase is used to tell someone that what you just said was not serious and was meant as a joke.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 冗談 (jōdan) literally means 'joke'.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For an even more informal way to say 'I'm just messing with you', you can use ウソだよ！ In very casual speech, particularly among younger people, the slang form 冗談じゃん can be used to mean 'I'm just kidding'.
How does it change in a sentence?
In the phrase 冗談だよ, the particle だ (da) and the sentence-ending particle よ (yo) make the expression informal and assertive.
How do you pronounce it?
jōdan da yo
Did you know?
- The word ウソ (uso), which means 'lie', is frequently used more naturally than 冗談 (jōdan) when friends are play-fighting or teasing one another.
- In traditional Japanese theater like Rakugo, the 'joke' is not just a punchline but an entire narrative structure where the performer leads the audience into a misunderstanding before the reveal.
- While 冗談だよ is used to claim a joke, many Japanese people avoid using it to deflect serious comments because it can imply that the speaker is being insincere or unreliable.
Examples in context
- 冗談だよ。I was just joking.Tatoeba #2354096 by wakatyann630, translation #2234980 by Hybrid
- ほんの冗談だよ。I'm just joking.This example shows how to use 冗談だよ with ほんの to mean 'I'm just joking'.Tatoeba #195863 by mookeee, translation #2248045 by CK
- 冗談だよ、怒らないで。Jōdan da yo, okoranaide.I'm just joking, don't be mad.
Example conversation
Himari tells Ren a fake surprising story.
- 陽葵 Himari明日、学校が休みになるってよ。Ashita, gakkō ga yasumi ni naru tte yo.I heard school is cancelled tomorrow.
- 蓮 Ren本当に？信じられない！Hontō ni? Shinjirarenai!Really? I can't believe it!
- 陽葵 Himari冗談だよ、蓮君。Jōdan da yo, Ren-kun.Just joking, Ren.
- 蓮 Renもう、びっくりしたよ。Mō, bikkuri shita yo.Geez, you scared me.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
