8 years and counting not once.  I sent a simple youtube clip to her and felt like I needed to get a chalk board out to explain it.

I assume your girlfriend is Thai and the underlying question is whether there are cultural explanations to this? Usually, the Thais are those who like a laugh and the farangs those who have long faces. But of course, if there are Western cultural references and subtleties, it's unlikely to be understood by a Thai.

11 minutes ago, Chris Daley said:

8 years and counting not once.  I sent a simple youtube clip to her and felt like I needed to get a chalk board out to explain it.

Yes mine laughs all the time. You picked a serious one. Dump her and move on.

23 minutes ago, Chris Daley said:

8 years and counting not once.  I sent a simple youtube clip to her and felt like I needed to get a chalk board out to explain it.

I have 14 years, and there is no problem understanding a joke. I guess you are just bad at telling them. Go practice! 

Ah yes ..... she has the Thai 'Mr Bean' sense of humour and I often hear her laughing at Thai Facebook reels.  She also jokes about some of things I do, especially if I'm being too serious.   But in my experience Thai humour is more innocent than Western humour.  

 

We tend to make jokes at other people's expense, and accept hurtful comments just because they are supposed to be funny.

 

When I visit friends and family back in the 'old country' I'm now struck by how cruel our humour can be.

14 years and counting not even once!

I haven't heard Thais telling funny jokes, but they do have a sense of humor.

 

My gik laughed her ass off when I told her why I chose her. 🤣 

 

She shouldn't ask questions that she doesn’t want the answer to....but she really did find it funny. 

9 hours ago, Harrisfan said:

Yes mine laughs all the time. You picked a serious one. Dump her and move on.

I think she would need to have a sense of humour to have anything to do with someone like you!

Married to my Thai wife since 1990. Almost every day we joke about something. Thais generally enjoy a good laugh.

Thai's tell jokes.  I usually don't see the humor in them though.  Must be cultural differences.

Thai TV humor is still in the 3 Stooges/Benny Hill stage, but not as good.

15 hours ago, Chris Daley said:

8 years and counting not once.  I sent a simple youtube clip to her and felt like I needed to get a chalk board out to explain it.

I think it's time for you to move on.

 

You don't like your job, your colleagues,  your family and now you don't seem to get on with your wife.

 

There's a common factor here. YOU.

I've very rarely heard any Thais making a joke, but I don't know if that's because they have no sense of humor or if it's because either they aren't confident of the English they speak, or they aren't confident of my ability to understand their Thai.     

My Mrs said the funniest thing 15 years ago.........Hello Hansum Man!

And laughed her tits off w'hen I replied 'OW much?   (in a Lancshire accent)  555

16 hours ago, Chris Daley said:

8 years and counting not once.  I sent a simple youtube clip to her and felt like I needed to get a chalk board out to explain it.

 

The most important thing to know about jokes is that most don't travel well.

Evidence of her sense of humour is that 25 years ago, my wife said, I do.

The more English they speak, and understand, the easier it is for a Thai woman to laugh at your or other's jokes. If they are exposed to many western movies, eventually they learn what makes humor in us. British humor is very funny, but again, it's being exposed to more of it that makes you see the subtlety in some of it. They laugh at each other's jokes all the time, but it's things they've learned living here, in their language.

Depends on YOUR kind of humor. Probably nobody can laugh about or just comment it.

Humor is about culture. If someone is not from your country, they might not get your jokes, but they get local humor. She Who Must Be Obeyed bursts out laughing when watching interviews of Thais.

 

I have one joke in Thai that has people laughing out loud. I have brought the house down at lectures and weddings, but westerners will never get it.

 

"Excuse me if my tones when I speak Thai are flat, but my wife comes from Suphanburi."

 

It sounds better in Thai.

1 hour ago, Puccini said:

 

The most important thing to know about jokes is that most don't travel well.

 

Indeed and in fact, the ultimate test of integration is to crack a joke in a foreign language and see if the natives spontaneously laugh at it.

Thais are well known for humor and small practical jokes. My lovely girlfriend and I shares lot og humor and laugh daily, and I also share humor with other Thais...

Granted that Thai humor is more of the slapstick nature and intelligent or tongue in cheek humor usually flies overhead.  However, in the 7 years we've been together I've exposed her to things that are humorous in nature that tend to be more on the witty, intelligent, and or tongue in cheek type  and she's finally started to pick up on it.  She shocked me one time when she used one of my jokes against me.

 

She sees the humor in Big Lebowski.  She understands some of the stuff thats funny about old episodes of Arrested Development.  Archer is still quite over her head.  But the important thing is that she's trying

Oh yes, plenty of slapstick humour, she had a terrific sense of humour. Even told me she had to go to Roi Et to transfer her father's land, but instead went to Phuket to bang a guy in a 5 star resort. How we laughed...Terrific sense of humour.

14 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

Oh yes, plenty of slapstick humour, she had a terrific sense of humour. Even told me she had to go to Roi Et to transfer her father's land, but instead went to Phuket to bang a guy in a 5 star resort. How we laughed...Terrific sense of humour.

Was her name Pia??

18 minutes ago, Jack Hammer said:

Was her name Pia??

 

You too, huh?

Pio has a great sense of humour, and comes out with lots of off the cuff cracks which work at the time , but not on here. 
BUT…… she likes the BGs so I played her the greatest hits. 
singing along she gets to the  Chorus…….Balcony!!!!!
When the feelings gone, and you can’t go on…….

is now a standing joke

My woman has a fantastic sense of humor. She makes me laugh constantly. A practical joker. And a quick wit too. Guess I got lucky, but alot of Thais are quite playful. 

23 hours ago, Chris Daley said:

8 years and counting not once.  I sent a simple youtube clip to her and felt like I needed to get a chalk board out to explain it.

Married over 52 years and the one thing that gets me still is my wife not getting the joke.  Even after setting it up for her to get it, she does not.  I have only found two Thai women that will get the joke and can respond in kind.  Matches her logic on some things.

8 hours ago, Thingamabob said:

Married to my Thai wife since 1990. Almost every day we joke about something. Thais generally enjoy a good laugh.

Kin A!

Wifey and I are never without a laugh. Us, our kids and grand kids are always kidding around, as some might call it. Even if some things I say go over their heads there are probably twice as many that go over mine but in the end, it doesn't matter as we are a family enjoying each others company.

23 hours ago, Harrisfan said:

Yes mine laughs all the time. You picked a serious one. Dump her and move on.

She is laughing at you, not with you.