When immersing yourself in a new language it normally takes a little while before you start getting the jokes and making sense of the local humor, but once you do the feeling you get is truly exhilarating!
Spanish is such a rich and widespread language that humor can be nuanced, layered and tricky to understand … but once you get it, you’ll surely want to let the world know just how amusing it is!
With that in mind, I present 15 ways to say ‘funny’ in Spanish!
Let’s get to it!
Gracioso – funny
The most common way to say that something is funny in Spanish is by using the word ‘gracioso’.
But doesn’t ‘gracioso’ mean ‘gracious’ or ‘graceful’?
Well, yes, it does … but more often than not you’ll hear it being used to mean ‘amusing’ or ‘funny’.
To complicate things further, we have the phrase ‘me hace gracia’ which actually translates to ‘I find it amusing’ in English (yeah, again nothing to do with being ‘gracious’).
Ariana – ¡Me encanta ese comediante!
Sergio – A mí también, ¡es muy gracioso!
Ariana – I love that comedian!
Sergio – Me too, he’s so funny!
La otra vez vi un especial de stand-up que me hizo mucha gracia. ¡Tienes que verlo!
The other day I watched a stand-up special that I found really amusing. You need to watch it!
Cómico – comical
‘Cómico’ literally means ‘comical’ in English, and it’s used in much the same way.
As a noun it can also refer to an actor or writer who plays/writes comic roles (otherwise known as ‘a comedian’).
Diego hizo una expresión muy cómica tras enterarse de la noticia.
Diego made a very comical expression when he heard the news.
Clara aprendió en la escuela que Charlie Chaplin fue un cómico muy famoso del siglo XX.
Clara learned at school that Charlie Chaplin was a very famous 20th century comedian.
Divertido – funny / entertaining
‘Divertido‘ is a synonym of both ‘fun’ and ‘funny’, so you can use it to describe something that is entertaining AND / OR humorous.
Todos encontraron el chiste de lo más divertido, pero Héctor creyó que era de mal gusto.
Everyone thought it was a super funny joke, but Héctor thought it was in bad taste.
Ese parque de diversiones es el lugar más divertido del planeta.
That amusement park is the funnest place on the planet.
Chusco – funny
‘Chusco’ is a loaf of bread in Spain and a mutt / street dog in Peru, but in Mexico anything absurd, ridiculous, or amusing can be ‘chusco’.
Some of the most famous satirical newspapers from the ‘Porfiriato’ (the era of Porfirio Díaz’s dictatorship) called themselves ‘chuscos’.
Dos amigos conversando
¿De dónde conoces a Marina?
Nos conocimos de la manera más chusca posible, ¡no lo vas a creer!
Two friends talking
How do you know Marina?
We met in the most ludicrous way possible, you won’t believe it!
Humorístico – humorous
If you’re looking to translate ‘humorous’ to Spanish, look no further than ‘humorístico’.
Alguien se tropieza y cae en la calle
Persona 1 – ¿Estás bien?
Persona 2 – ¡Jajaja¡ ¡Sí, solo se me movió el piso tantito!
Persona 2 – ¡Lo bueno es que le ves el lado humorístico a las cosas!
Someone stumbles and falls on the street
Person 1 – Are you okay?
Person 2 – Hahaha! Yes, it’s just that the floor moved a little bit!
Person 2 – It’s good that you can see the funny side of things!
Hilarante – hilarious
‘Hilarante‘ translates to ‘hilarious’ and, as with the English, it’s used to describe something extremely funny.
Alba soltó una carcajada. ¡La situación era simplemente hilarante!
Alba burst into laughter. The situation was simply hilarious!
Erika’s note – if you´re in the mood for some truly HILARIOUS jokes, be sure to check our article on Mexican humor out. You’ll probably learn a thing or two to boot!
Chistoso – funny
This one’s used to either describe something / someone funny or to call someone a ‘joker’.
The noun ‘chiste’ actually means ‘joke’, and the adjective ‘chistoso’ is widely used to describe anything that gives you the giggles.
Un niño escucha a un pato graznar por primera vez
¡Mamá, mamá! ¡Qué chistoso hace ese pato!
A child hears a duck quacking for the first time
Mom, mom! That duck sounds funny!
Chistosísimo – very funny
On the subject of things that are way too funny, we also have the word ‘chistosísimo’ which literally translates to ‘very funny’.
You’ll actually encounter a lot of words in Spanish ending with the suffix ‘ísimo’ as it´s added to adjectives and some adverbs to form a superlative.
‘buenísimo’ = ‘very good’
‘malísimo’ = ‘very bad’
‘chistosísimo’ = ‘very funny’
¡Ese wey es chistosísimo! Siempre que platico con él, ¡muero de la risa!
That dude is hilarious! Every time I talk to him, I laugh my head off!
Chistosito – (not) funny
If you want to reply sarcastically to someone who’s trying to be funny without succeeding, you can call them ‘chistosito’.
You can also use it as a synonym of ‘silly’.
Alguien usa una chamarra de colores vívidos
Raúl – ¡Órale! ¡Esa chamarra se ve hasta el espacio!
Sebastían – Ay, qué chistosito andas hoy…
Someone wears a brightly colored jacket
Raúl – Wow! I bet that jacket can be seen from space!
Sebastían – Jeez, you’re hilarious today …
Cagado – funny
To most of the Spanish-speaking world ‘cagado’ is slang for a cowardly person, but if you say something or someone is ‘cagado’ in Mexico, you’re really saying it’s hilarious!
Stinky fact: ‘cagar’ is actually a verb that means ‘to defecate’. So I guess a person who is ‘cagado’ in most Spanish-speaking countries is someone who ‘poops their pants’ when they’re scared, whereas in Mexico they make you ‘laugh your ass off’.
Add the suffix ‘ísimo’ and you get ‘cagadísimo’ which is just super funny in itself!
¡Qué cagado está ese programa! ¿Ya lo has visto?
That show is hilarious! Have you seen it?
¡Mi sobrina está cagadísima! ¡Es súper ocurrente para ser tan pequeña!
My niece is super funny! She’s a witty little girl!
Cachondo – funny (or horny)
If you say someone is ‘cachondo’ in Mexico, you’re saying that they´re ‘horny’, but in other Spanish-speaking countries you could also be calling them ‘a funny guy’.
Ramón – ¡Qué cachondo es tu amigo!
Beatriz – ¿Cómo? ¿De qué hablas?
Ramón – Sí, que es muy gracioso…
Beatriz – Ah, ya entiendo. Pensé que decías que era un libidinoso, ¡y eso no me consta!
Ramón – Your friend is so ‘cachondo’ (‘funny’)!
Beatriz – Excuse me? What are you talking about?
Ramón – Yeah, he’s hilarious …
Beatriz – Oh, I get it. I thought you called him a horndog, and I don’t know about that!
Chocarrero – funny (in a naughty, playful way)
Speaking of jokesters, a ‘chocarrero’ (fun word to pronounce, by the way!) is a person who likes to tell ‘chocarrerías’ (or ‘jokes’).
In Mexico you may hear someone say their house is haunted by ‘espíritus chocarreros’ (or ‘poltergeists’), a term popularized by the 70s TV show ‘El chavo del 8’ to describe playful yet harmless ghouls.
Chico – Mamá, otra vez se azotó la puerta del baño y no había nadie…
Madre – ¡Otra vez el espíritu chocarrero! No te preocupes, nomás anda aburrido.
Kid – Mom, the bathroom door slammed again and there was no one around …
Mother – That prankster of a ghost! Don’t worry, he’s just bored.
Chascarrillo – funny pun / joke
A ‘chascarrillo’ is a ‘pun’, ‘zinger’. or ‘joke’. You’ll hear this word used a lot in Mexico, especially by older generations.
Niña – Mi maestra dice que soy chistosísima; que debería ser comediante.
Abuelo – ¿Ah sí? ¡A ver, échate un chascarrillo!
Girl – My teacher says I’m hilarious; she says I should be a comedian.
Grandpa – Oh yeah? Let’s hear your best pun!
Eres chistoso / Eres gracioso – you´re funny
If you wanna let someone know they’re funny, just use ‘eres’ (‘you are’ in English) and add ‘gracioso’ / ‘graciosa’ or ‘chistoso’ / ‘chistosa’.
Not to be confused with ‘estás chistoso/a’, which translates to ‘you’re funny looking’ – which is obviously not a very polite thing to say.
¡Jajaja! ¡Me matas de la risa! ¡Eres muy chistosa!
Hahaha! You’re killing me! You’re so funny!
Qué cagado eres / Eres bien cagado – you’re funny (slang)
If you’re in Mexico specifically, and amongst close friends, you can use the slang term ‘cagado’ in the following ways: ‘qué cagado eres’ or ‘eres bien cagado’ (‘you’re so funny’ in English).
¡No manches, wey! ¡Qué cagado eres!
Get out of here, dude! You’re hilarious!
¡Eres bien cagado, Luis, no sé cómo no haces stand-up!
Luis, you’re hysterical! Why don’t you do stand-up!
Final thoughts
Had you imagined there were so many ways to say ‘funny’ in Spanish? Well, now you have synonyms aplenty for each and every situation!
Granted, some of the words listed above may be easier to remember and pronounce than others, but hopefully you’ll get inspired to try a couple of them the next time your pals crack a funny joke!
Oh, and check out our article on Spanish knock knock jokes if you’re still in the mood for some lighthearted fun, they’re sure to make you chuckle!
¡Hasta pronto!
