--- title: "What is the difference between humor and joke?" description: "What is the difference between humor and joke?" author: "samay srivastava" published: 2018-03-05 canonical: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/36455/what-is-the-difference-between-humor-and-joke category: "humor & amusement" tags: ["humor"] reading_time: 3 minutes --- # What is the difference between humor and joke? What is the [difference](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/157114/good-news-or-bad-news-and-the-difference-is) between humor and joke? \ ## Answers ### Answer by user Anything which is capable of relaxing the body, gets people to breathe, brings smile or elicits bliss is humor. It causes amusements and exists in various forms which helps in working joyfully. ![What is the difference between humor and joke?](https://answers.mindstick.com/questionanswer/e32462cf-9ae2-47c5-95eb-8665ee33b311/images/8db09d25-98c5-4c48-9d67-a9aed0f0bf16.jpeg) A good sense of humor is liked by everyone as it brings enjoyment in an unexpected manner. Humor is defined as tendency of experience to provoke laughter and provide amusement. People of all the ages and cultures respond to humor. When people are able to experience humor- be amused, smile or laugh at something funny, they are considered to be good sense of humor holder. Whereas joke is as presentation of humor in which words are included within a specific and we'll defined narrative structure to make people rolling on the floor and is not meant to be taken seriously. ![What is the difference between humor and joke?](https://answers.mindstick.com/questionanswer/e32462cf-9ae2-47c5-95eb-8665ee33b311/images/ba77263a-8488-4f1c-8229-5f32dc5f71ec.jpeg) It exists in the form of a story usually with dialogue and ends with a punch line. It is this punch line which brings the attention of audiences. It is a short [humorous](https://answers.mindstick.com/) piece of oral literature in funniness elements in the end lines. \ Read More at : answers.mindstick.com ### Answer by Shriyam Srivastava The main difference between **Joke** and **Humor** is that the *Joke is a something spoken, written, or done with humorous intention* and *Humor is a tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement.* ![What is the difference between humor and joke?](https://answers.mindstick.com/questionanswer/e32462cf-9ae2-47c5-95eb-8665ee33b311/images/cf3ada5c-1295-4b20-b66b-f036318ed04d.jpeg)\ Let us understand it more elaborately: **Joke is something which is planned and thought of.** It is narrative structure and is either written or spoken in a structured form to make people laugh, it is not something to be taken seriously. Joke is a short humorous piece spoken orally in which the funniness culminates in the final sentence, called the punchline; given that the tension should reach its highest level at the very end. Also a point to be noted is that the joke should contain its matter within a sentence, it should be nothing more & nothing less. **Jokes are a form of humor; but not all humor are jokes.** The stand-up comics, comedians, etc. work on their timing and their on-liners, punchlines- so that they deliver the appropriate message on time. **Humor,** on the other hand is non-planned. **It is abstract and present in our subconscious mind, only we have to be aware.** That’s why people often ask “Do you possess a sense of humor?”\ It is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. Most people are able to experience humor, be amused at something funny and thus, are considered to have an appropriate sense of humor. However, the people who lack in sense of humor seem to be offended or provoked at something said in a lighter tone and mood. It depends ultimately on personal taste, the living condition, working condition, maturity, intelligence, level of education & context. The most popular forms of humor are satirical humor, ironical humor, sarcasm, etc. \ --- Original Source: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/36455/what-is-the-difference-between-humor-and-joke Copyright © MindStick Software Pvt. Ltd. This Markdown version is provided for developers, AI systems, and offline reading.