noun
joke
A2
Witz (der, Plural Witze): means 'joke' — a funny story, quip or prank. Masculine noun: der Witz, genitive des Witzes (note -es ending), plural die Witze. Regular plural formation but genitive singular uses -es. No special preposition. Used broadly in spoken German and written humor.
Examples
Der Kollege erzählte den Witz, der im Meeting nicht gut ankam, weil einige Mitarbeiter ihn persönlich nahmen.
The colleague told the joke that did not go down well in the meeting because some employees took it personally.
Ich erzähle dir einen Witz.
I'll tell you a joke.
Der Witz war so gut, dass alle lachten.
The joke was so good that everyone laughed.
Details
Mnemonics
picture someone telling a joke and others laughing with 'Witz' in the speech bubble
think 'wits' — jokes require wit
der = masculine (imagine 'der Witz' printed on a cartoon ribbon)
Notes
Plural 'Witze'. Be careful: 'witzig' is the adjective 'funny'.