# Does "fun" have an equivalent outside of English? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 23, 2014, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-fun-have-an-equivalent-outside-of-english/691446 "2014-06-23T14:39:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-fun-have-an-equivalent-outside-of-english/691446/1 "2014-06-23T14:39:15Z")
I’m reading John Beckman’s _American Fun_. He makes a distinction between “play,” the action and “fun,” the emotion that results. He also throws out a quote from an older book that claims that no other language has the exact equivalent of “fun.” What is fun? He steers between its use of mocking the ruling class’s strictness and morality and its use in perpetrating wild pranks and parties and merriment. Since it’s hard to come up with a single definition in English, translating fun has to depend a lot on context and nuance. There’s still a good question underneath. Do other languages have a word for fun that is exactly transferable for the English word? ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-fun-have-an-equivalent-outside-of-english/691446/2 "2014-06-23T14:43:16Z")
From what I remember of high school Spanish, there isn’t a noun that directly translates. Instead, they use the reflexive verb _divertir_ (to amuse [one’s self]. So in English, we say “I’m having fun”; in Spanish they say _Yo me divierto_ (“I’m amusing myself.”] ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-fun-have-an-equivalent-outside-of-english/691446/3 "2014-06-23T14:44:38Z")
The Afrikaans word _pret_ is exactly translatable as “fun” and only fun, and carries _all_ the same nuance. Likely the Dutch equivalent does, too. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-fun-have-an-equivalent-outside-of-english/691446/4 "2014-06-23T15:19:58Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > From what I remember of high school Spanish, there isn’t a noun that directly translates. Instead, they use the reflexive verb _divertir_ (to amuse [one’s self]. > > So in English, we say “I’m having fun”; in Spanish they say _Yo me divierto_ (“I’m amusing myself.”] The noun for that verb is _diversión_, but it is true that the complete phrase “to have fun” is translated as _divertirse_; also, the word _diversión_ is rarely seen outside of theme park advertisements and doesn’t have the same range of meanings as the English word “fun”, which can also be an adjective (“it’s fun”). The concept can be a difficult one to translate, but I think that applies to emotions in general. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-fun-have-an-equivalent-outside-of-english/691446/5 "2014-06-23T15:53:36Z")
The Scandinavian languages have “sjov” in Danish, “rolig” or “kul” in Swedish, and “moro” or “gøy” in Norwegian. They all have pretty much the exact same meaning as the English “fun”. (It’s also one of those relatively rare words that the Scandinavian languages differ completely on. Don’t know what’s up with that. Anyway.) Sure, the way the grammar works for these words and how you would use them differ slightly from “fun” in English, but not to an extent that’s worth getting one’s panties in a twist about. That’s just language for you. It sounds to me like your Mr. Beckman is talking out of his behind. ---
**Author:** ![Anaglyph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Anaglyph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaglyph)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-fun-have-an-equivalent-outside-of-english/691446/6 "2014-06-23T16:11:09Z")
In German, “spielen” is to play, “spass haben” means to have fun. Or if you want the nouns, “Spiel” and “Spass” ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-fun-have-an-equivalent-outside-of-english/691446/7 "2014-06-23T16:16:55Z")
The Thai word สนุก /sanuk/ is used with most of the English meanings of fun or enjoy, including in sentences like ‘she likes to have fun’, ‘I didn’t mean it, I was just having fun’, ‘amusement park,’ etc. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-fun-have-an-equivalent-outside-of-english/691446/8 "2014-06-23T16:20:59Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > Sure, the way the grammar works for these words and how you would use them differ slightly from “fun” in English, but not to an extent that’s worth getting one’s panties in a twist about. That’s just language for you. It sounds to me like your Mr. Beckman is talking out of his behind. When an author cites something from another book without backing it up, I’m always a bit suspicious. It’s handy CYA; don’t blame me - look at how good the cite was. Still, if it were that easy to prove you don’t go back to 1938 for a cite. Especially on such an extreme claim. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-fun-have-an-equivalent-outside-of-english/691446/9 "2014-06-23T18:14:45Z")
French is like Spanish there (big surprise) : to play is “jouer”, having fun while playing is “s’amuser” (i.e. amusing oneself). But sometimes that’s not enough, so we co-opted “fun” as a loanword anyway. _C’est plutôt fun_ :). There’s also “déconner” (slang, vulgar) which is also fun-related, and means something like “kidding”. The etymology of that word is pretty colourful. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-fun-have-an-equivalent-outside-of-english/691446/10 "2014-06-23T19:53:57Z")
In Paris last year, I spent an hour or so with a young woman. My French is passable, she had some English, we had a good time and laughed a lot. When we parted, I wanted to tell her what a fun time I’d had. I realized I had no idea how to say it in French. I really didn’t want to get into any form of _aimer_, as there wasn’t any kind of personal thing going on and I, being 25 years older, didn’t want to appear creepy. I tried, in English, “I had fun,” “This was fun,” and “You are fun.” She was bewildered. Maybe it was my accent. ETA: For “Just kidding,” I use _taquiner_. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-fun-have-an-equivalent-outside-of-english/691446/11 "2014-06-24T03:11:29Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > The Scandinavian languages have “sjov” in Danish, “rolig” or “kul” in Swedish, and “moro” or “gøy” in Norwegian. > > They all have pretty much the exact same meaning as the English “fun”. Doesn’t “rolig” also mean “funny”? I remember hearing a Swedish person say something like “I had a funny time” which isn’t quite what he meant. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-fun-have-an-equivalent-outside-of-english/691446/12 "2014-06-24T04:29:53Z")
The Hebrew word “kef” has, as far as I can tell, the exact same meaning as “fun” in English. It’s a modern (non-classical) Hebrew word, from the Arabic “kaif” - which I think also means fun, although I can’t vouch for its nuances. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-fun-have-an-equivalent-outside-of-english/691446/13 "2014-06-24T05:08:29Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > French is like Spanish there (big surprise) : to play is “jouer”, having fun while playing is “s’amuser” (i.e. amusing oneself). But sometimes that’s not enough, so we co-opted “fun” as a loanword anyway. _C’est plutôt fun_ :). > > There’s also “déconner” (slang, vulgar) which is also fun-related, and means something like “kidding”. The etymology of that word is pretty colourful. What about _amusant_? Sure, it would only cover “fun” as an adjective, but that’s how you used it in your example sentence. And it’s the word I learned in French class for “fun.” Why wouldn’t someone say _C’est plutôt amusant_? Or what would be the difference in meaning, if they did? ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-fun-have-an-equivalent-outside-of-english/691446/14 "2014-06-24T05:23:08Z")
Yes, \*amusant \*sometimes fits the bill, but it doesn’t quite cover all of the semantic ground that “fun” does. Something is \*amusant \*when it makes you chuckle or smile, but say you’d spent an evening clubbing with your paramour and wished to convey the notion that fun was had, you wouldn’t really tell them “c’était amusant !” although you could, were you a bit old fashioned, say “je me suis bien amusé”. \*Amusant \*is more about the “funny” side of “fun” rather than its “enjoyable” aspect IMO. If that makes any sense :o ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-fun-have-an-equivalent-outside-of-english/691446/15 "2014-06-24T06:32:56Z")
Irish friends claim \*craic \*(pronounced like “crack”) is pretty much equivalent, in Irish. Which is fun in itself. “Let’s go out and have some crack!” ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-fun-have-an-equivalent-outside-of-english/691446/16 "2014-06-24T09:31:34Z")
Tanoshii, in Japanese, seems reasonably close. Calling some fun, like “You’re fun.”, doesn’t quite work. But fun-seeming works alright. You’re fun-seeming. Tanoshisou hito desu. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-fun-have-an-equivalent-outside-of-english/691446/17 "2014-06-24T13:46:26Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Irish friends claim \*craic \*(pronounced like “crack”) is pretty much equivalent, in Irish. > > Which is fun in itself. “Let’s go out and have some crack!” I once heard someone say that if we had more Irish craic in the US, we wouldn’t need American crack. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-fun-have-an-equivalent-outside-of-english/691446/18 "2014-06-24T16:47:09Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > There’s also “déconner” (slang, vulgar) which is also fun-related, and means something like “kidding”. The etymology of that word is pretty colourful. The Spanish _descojonar(se)_, pretty colorful but on the other side, means to laugh so hard it hurts. Complementary words for complementary actions 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-fun-have-an-equivalent-outside-of-english/691446/19 "2014-06-24T20:12:20Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > The Afrikaans word _pret_ is exactly translatable as “fun” and only fun, and carries _all_ the same nuance. Likely the Dutch equivalent does, too. The Dutch equivalent is also pret! And here is another one: lol. Yes. Real honest-to-Og fact: the Dutch word lol means fun. And again, in exactly the same way. Like, the result of play, you could use it to mock stick-in-the-mud types if you so wish, merriment, all that jazz. ---
**Author:** ![Saturn\_Dreams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Saturn\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saturn_Dreams)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-fun-have-an-equivalent-outside-of-english/691446/20 "2014-06-25T02:36:47Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Tanoshii, in Japanese, seems reasonably close. I agree, “Tanoshii” is a good equivalent for “Fun”, but it depends on the context as it isn’t a straight 1:1 translation. The Japanese word “Omoshiroi” denotes “Fun” as well. > [@](#): > > Calling some fun, like “You’re fun.”, doesn’t quite work. But fun-seeming works alright. You’re fun-seeming. Tanoshisou hito desu. Sure it does. “Anata wa omoshiroi” literally means, “You’re fun”. The sentence you gave (although slightly grammatically incorrect), would mean, “He/She (a third party) seems like a fun person”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-fun-have-an-equivalent-outside-of-english/691446.md?page=2)