A woman who speaks Spanish walks into a department store,

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Jagsfan2025@reddit

I had to say the Spanish words out loud to get it.

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alexlmlo@reddit

Not a spanish speaker, could you kindly explain please.

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DMX8@reddit

Eso sí que es can be translated to "That's it!" and is pronounced similar to S-O-C-K-S

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SilicoFlare@reddit

Spanish learner here, why not just say "eso que es"?

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ehsteve87@reddit

In Spanish, a lot of times you say "sí" and "no" to emphasize. Kind of like adding an unnecessary "do" in English.

For example: Sometimes instead of saying "manzanas no me gustan, pero naranjas me gustan" (I don't like apples, but I like oranges) you can say "manzanas no me gustan, pero naranjas sí me gustan" (I don't like apples, but I do like oranges))

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ScarletOnyx@reddit

I’ve been learning Spanish off and on for just under 10 years, took it up so I could teach my son a second language when I homeschooled him and then he decided he wanted to learn a different language after I’d made all the flash cards 😅 I’ve been practising daily for the last 2 years, just a little every day, I love the language structure and how it’s so much like English and so different at the same time. The way the emphasis matters in sentences and where the nouns and verbs are placed considering what you’re trying to say.

I love that you compared apples to oranges in your example 😂

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ehsteve87@reddit

Protip: Every day, watch a tv show for young children (on the level of Sesame Street) with Spanish audio AND Spanish subtitles. It really helps to be exposed to simple language that you can hear and read at the same time.

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Dear-Plenty-8185@reddit

The sentence really doesn’t make sense in Spanish

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MontEcola@reddit

I am not a Spanish speaker. I take salsa dance lessons with a couple who speak Spanish at home. It makes sense to me because I I hear Eso! as an expression often. And I hear Eso si! also. I do know what Que es means. I don't have the answer grammatically. With the little Spanish I hear it sounds right.

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ScarletOnyx@reddit

Funny thing is that Que means more that one thing in Spanish. I remember Manuel on Fawlty Towers saying “Que?” And thinking that it meant What but it can also mean who, which or than. It can also be used in conjunction with another word to imply obligation like “have to”-tengo que. When used at the beginning of a sentence it can also mean How or Let. Que bonito- How pretty, or ¡Que empiece la fiesta! - Let the party begin!

I worked at a Latin Dance Studio, I love Salsa! How are you enjoying it? Latin music is so hard to stay still to.

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DP500-1@reddit

Cause then the punchline wouldn’t work

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Waitsfornoone@reddit

Hello! We are on r/jokes, after all.

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HairyHeGoat@reddit

Very true. They might need a chat with the highly astute group at r/GrammarPolice

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rugmunchkin@reddit

Pretty simple answer: because then it’s not a joke, homey.

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DMX8@reddit

Eso que es sounds like a question. I guess they could say Eso es!, but it would ruin the joke

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Carlynz@reddit

No need to scream for help it's just socks

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DMX8@reddit

Niiiiiice, took me a second

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Hamilton950B@reddit

Because then the joke wouldn't work, duh.

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Inside_Dimension2319@reddit

The “sí” is for emphasis. Maybe he’d say “eso que es” if she offered the socks right away, but since she offered a few other things first, he’s saying “Yes, THAT’s it!”

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SilicoFlare@reddit

damn makes sense, thanks!

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Fluffboll@reddit

It's like in English you can say "That's it!" or "Yes, That's it!" they both mean the same thing but one emphasizes it more

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DontWannaSayMyName@reddit

You could say "eso es", but "eso sí que es" is not empathic

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DromadTrader@reddit

"Similar" is... Relative...

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CarlJustCarl@reddit

Oh humor, haha then

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Mad_Maddin@reddit

Brother I had butchered this beyond comprehension.

I spoke out lout "Ey so see kay ehh"

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GByteKnight@reddit

That Spanish sentence translates to “That’s what it is!”

But an English speaker listening would hear her say “S O C K S” as though she was spelling the word “socks.”

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MiEstrellaMeSigue@reddit

Lol! Thanks, finally got it.

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BusinessCoach2934@reddit

The this is one of the best jokes.

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Jose_Jalapeno@reddit

s o c k s

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FuckMyLife2016@reddit

I think she said "that's the one" but it sounds S O C K S in English.

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GhoolsFold@reddit

Said out loud it sounds like "ess oh see ke ess"

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Vicioxis@reddit

But you need to say it with english accent, if not it doesn't sound like that.

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farrenkm@reddit

There was a really dumb commercial years ago for language training, trying to explain how easy it is. An exchange between narrator and customer:

"What do you have on your feet?"

"Shoes"

"And what else do you have on?"

"Socks."

"Can you spell socks?"

"S-O-C-K-S"

"You just spoke Spanish! It means, 'that's what it is!'"

They had another thing for learning "lo siento" by accidentally stepping on someone's toe and the person saying "I feel low. So low, I can see into your toe!"

I will never get those out of my mind.

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ArionneRadis@reddit

Not gonna lie... I did too!

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mvandemar@reddit

Same.

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deadspacekillers@reddit

Me too

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cv-boardgamer@reddit

Spanish is my first language. I first heard this joke like 25+ years ago. I get it. It's funny in a dad joke kind of way. But it's always bothered me a little bit because the Spanish is...clunky.

The words "eso sí que es" have probably never been said by a native Spanish speaker, in that specific order. I suppose its grammatically correct (although I'm not sure) and it makes sense. But it would be like saying in English, "that of which it is." Like sure, it's grammatically correct I guess. And it might make sense in context. But no native English speaker really talks like that and wouldn't really it say something like that, when there are easier and more efficient ways to say it.

I know, I know, it's just a joke, and you gotta bend the rules a bit for the punchline. I'm not losing any sleep over this. But does it bother any other Spanish speakers out there a little bit?

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nafregit@reddit

when I did Spanish at school we had a Spaniard come as a guest teacher over on work experience and he looked at the books we were learning from and basically said what is this crap!

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cv-boardgamer@reddit

I'm Mexican-American. Years ago, I was teaching English at a language school in Northern Europe. My boss asked me if I would teach a beginner Spanish class the following semester for a little extra money. I said yes.

A few days before the start of the Spanish class, I opened up the text book I was issued so I could create a lesson plan. After a minute, I was like, "What is the crap" as well!

It was Castilian (Spain) Spanish. Which made sense since we were in Europe. I knew I was screwed, but I managed and got through it. I just had to skip a lot of the 2nd person plural stuff. And the students learned "jugo" instead of "zumo," etc.

But it was cute when I would pass out worksheets to my students, and they would answer me with, "GRATHIAS."

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DirayaIsNoLaya@reddit

Got the same feeling!

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policis@reddit

I translated it to : It is what it is. A commonplace usage on the east coast.

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cv-boardgamer@reddit

I suppose it COULD translate to that. But if you wanna say "it is what it is," you can just simply say, "así es," or maybe "es lo que es."

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Cirement@reddit

"Eso sí que es" un chiste terible

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cv-boardgamer@reddit

Jajaja! (That's Spanish for hahaha).

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fasterthanfood@reddit

How do you feel about the joke about the Mexican magician who claimed he could disappear on the count of three?

He counted down: “uno … dos …” and he vanished without a tres.

On some Reddit thread somewhere, I remember Spanish speakers mystified and annoyed, because to their ears, “tres” doesn’t sound anything like “trace.” To me, someone studying Spanish, I can hear the distinction, but they definitely sound “close enough for a joke.” Closer than, say, “Orange you glad I didn’t say banana” is to “aren’t,” which might get eye rolls but no one saying “that doesn’t make sense, it’s a different word!”

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cv-boardgamer@reddit

I like that one. I mean, for these kinds of jokes, you gotta bend the rules a bit. I've been living in the states most of my life, I can hear distinctions between words and pronunciations, and appreciate these kinds of pun-like jokes. But maybe a Spanish speaker with a less command of English might be confused by these kinds of jokes.

It's like that joke about the Mexican guy who went to a ballgame and thought everyone was nice because at the beginning, they asked, "Jose, can you see?" Dumb dad joke that I can't help but laugh at.

But in the case of the "eso sí que es" joke, I don't take issue with stretching the pronunciation of "que" to make it sound more like the English "k." That's fine. That's like the "Orange you glad..." joke. You can bend those rules. My issue is with the weird order and choice of "eso sí que es." That's just almost nonsensical. It's not an expression that exists, and the words are not in any kind of order that a Spanish speaker would say. Like I said in my earlier example, it would be like saying something in English akin to "that of which it is," or "that yes which it is." Like, I guess you can say it, but it's just clunky and doesn't sound natural.

But for the sake of the joke, sure, it works. Most Spanish speakers should get it, they'll excuse the clunky word order, and maybe politely chuckle. Ha. It's fine. I understand I'm blowing this way out of proportion. I just find it fun and interesting to talk about. Language is interesting.

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Tochudin@reddit

But does it bother any other Spanish speakers out there a little bit?

Not really, but I would probably just say "¡Eso!" or "¡Eso sí!" unless I said "No es eso" (or less likely "Eso no es") previously.

I'm from Spain for context.

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terryturbojr@reddit

That reminds me of the French chef that killed himself after he lost the huile d'olive

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nafregit@reddit

I have just mouthed the words "f**k" and "off" after reading that.

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sonofaresiii@reddit

Speaking of French things, did you hear about the race between two cats? An American cat named One Two Three and a French cat named Un Deux Trois decide to see who can swim across the river first.

Which cat do you think won?

It was the one two three cat

because the un deux trois cat sank.

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Punsire@reddit

Go forth and prosper my son

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ButFez_Isaidgoodday@reddit

I'm stealing this

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terryturbojr@reddit

Just don't try it on French speakers

My old French boss was like 'I don't understand why he would kill himself, he could just buy some more '.

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DMX8@reddit

Are you sure he wasn't german?

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WillJongIll@reddit

Lololol

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whoinvitedthatkid@reddit

I thought the same thing 😂

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Lopsided-Weather6469@reddit

Ouate de phoque?

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molineskytown@reddit

Fantastique! MDR!!

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nafregit@reddit

having that one ;)

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StalyCelticStu@reddit

As a brit I struggled EE SO C Q S didn't make any sense.

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Grimol1@reddit

Did you hear about the two cats who tried to cross a river? The first was named One Two Three and the other was named Un Deux Trois. They both jumped in together and the One Two Three cat made it to the other side but the Un Deux Trois cat sank.

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StoreHot6911@reddit

I prefer tights

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luker93950@reddit

It was an ad 10 or 15 years ago for a self teaching Spanish course that taught you with pneumonics like SOCKS but only in Spanish, I think there’s only one or two words that it worked with, but they made me listen to it for a long ass time

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checkmak01@reddit

She also speaks Spanish:

A woman who speaks English as second language goes to buy a new car. The salesman says "this one will get you about 350 miles on one tank of gas". The woman asks with broken English, "what about cargo space?". The salesman looks confused and begins to speak slowly "no. Car no go space. Car go road".

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Brave_Necessary_9571@reddit

I like this one because it's exactly like this. when you don't speak the language fluently people treat you like you're stupid

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Turbulent-Break-4947@reddit

Or speak louder.

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I12Db8U@reddit

This joke socks big time.

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JRubenC@reddit

I'm Spanish and 'eso si que es' will never sound as 'socks'. If you want to reinvent the pronunciation of 'eso si que es' so sounds like 'is soqs' it's a different story.

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AmnesiaInnocent@reddit

Why don't you think that the phrase sounds like spelling out the letters?

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SWK18@reddit

Because it doesn't? The joke only makes sense if you read the phrase with a thick English accent. It wouldn't make much sense for a native Spanish speaker to have the accent of a native English speaker.

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AmnesiaInnocent@reddit

The cadence is obviously off, but the phonemes are the same.

It sounds like someone trying to spell the English word "socks" with a thick Spanish accent.

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SWK18@reddit

No, the phonemes are not the same. If you think they are the same you don't know enough Spanish yet.

The phrase is also off, it sounds unnatural.

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AmnesiaInnocent@reddit

I think it's pronounced "eh-soh-see-kehs"

How do you think it's pronounced?

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SWK18@reddit

The last "que es" are two different sounds, not a fused one.

You explaining me how it sounds and you pronouncing it (which I can't hear) are different things. I know how the phrase is pronounced because I'm a native speaker.

I have met plenty of English speakers speaking Spanish thinking they sound about the same as natives but very few can get the vowels right.

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AmnesiaInnocent@reddit

Fine the English letters 'K' and 'S' are separate as well.

Keep in mind that the idea is not that the Spanish speaker pronounces the phrase exactly the same as an English speaker would pronounce each letter.

Instead, it's that when the Spanish speaker says the phrase, it can be understood by an English speaker as someone spelling out the word (albeit with a Spanish accent)

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404_GravitasNotFound@reddit

Because we don't pronounce Spanish like English speakers speaking Spanish

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bigexplosion@reddit

I think you missed the last sentence.

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404_GravitasNotFound@reddit

No, English speakers think Spanish speakers talk like English speakers speaking Spanish. Your pronunciation is terrible most of the time

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bigexplosion@reddit

Spell socks. Say eso si que es.

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SWK18@reddit

You don't get it, for a Spanish speaker spelling "Socks" in English and saying that phrase in Spanish don't sound the same.

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Inside_Dimension2319@reddit

Dude you must be missing the joke. “Eso sí que es” sounds like “S-O-C-K-S” said with accent no matter how you dice it. I get you want to feel superior to other people, but the joke works. It has nothing to do with English speaker’s pronunciation.

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TyrconnellFL@reddit

It sounds like spelling out socks in English. S-O-C-K-S. The differences are that in English “S” is pronounced “es” and not “ese” and that “C” sounds like “si” and not “se,” if that helps.

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404_GravitasNotFound@reddit

The K wouldn't sound right. The joke assumes the Spanish lady talks like an English speakers speaking Spanish.

It's a stupid joke for English speakers so it tracks

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JimDixon@reddit

I wonder if there are regional differences that are causing confusion in this thread. in America, we learn the Mexican pronunciation of Spanish. In Spain or South America, some words might be pronounced differently, although the spelling and grammar should be the same.

Wikipedia says that varieties of Spanish are quite complicated.

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Potential_Carob6494@reddit

I've studied Spanish in mexico, south America, and spain. "Eso si que es" would sound similar to the spelling of socks except the Andalusian accent but then it would just sound "lispy". The guy is just being pedantic trying to flex his Spanish knowledge.

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TyrconnellFL@reddit

Castilian Spanish is lispy. Andalusian isn’t. In any case Z and C are the th sound but S is always ss, so there’s no lisp in “eso sí que es.”

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Potential_Carob6494@reddit

Correct my bad I had conflated Castilian and Andalusian, been a while since I was in Spain.

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TyrconnellFL@reddit

Que sounds enough like K. Even closer accounting for some kind of Spanish-speaking accent. What’s the problem?

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Potential_Carob6494@reddit

You're completely missing the point. Yes it won't sound exactly like "S-O-C-K-S" but it would sound exactly like someone with a Spanish accent spelling that out. I am fluent in Spanish, and can confirm you are just being pedantic.

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KarlSethMoran@reddit

will never sound as 'socks'.

Unless you spell it.

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404_GravitasNotFound@reddit

we don't pronounce Spanish like English speakers speaking Spanish

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KarlSethMoran@reddit

We know. Now, about the spelling point I made.

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Spiffy87@reddit

I was told a version of this joke in Spanish by a Mexican, the punchline was the same, but the set-up was one Spanish speaker asking the other "como escribes 'calcetines' en ingles?" I dunno, man, maybe it just doesn't work in YOUR accent.

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dantius@reddit

It's meant to sound like "ess oh see kay ess", i.e. the letters "s-o-c-k-s" spelled out.

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404_GravitasNotFound@reddit

we don't pronounce Spanish like English speakers speaking Spanish

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Sympathy-Fragrant@reddit

Yeah, only English-speaking people who know little Spanish would get this joke

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Gardami@reddit

That’s stupid, and false. The only difference phonetically between “eso sí que es”, and “s o c k s” is between “que” and “k”

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TyrconnellFL@reddit

There are a lot of different accents. Eso may be more like Ay-so than eh-so, but in that accent que is more like kay then keh.

Anyway they’re all close enough.

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404_GravitasNotFound@reddit

Don't fret. Estos Yanquis creen que los que hablan Español suenan como Yanquis hablando Español porque en su cabeza pronuncian todo horrible. El chiste solo funciona si sos un amgloparlante hablando en Español

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TyrconnellFL@reddit

It only works if you know English and Spanish. It does not rely on butchered pronunciation of Spanish.

The “letters” aren’t pronounced exactly as they would be in English. They’re close enough.

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Beechlander@reddit

Interesting, my wife’s family all use the “medias” for all socks. Thanks for teaching me a more precise word so I’m not calling my socks “stockings”.

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JokesandFacts@reddit

Medias in Latin American countries can be used for long socks as in the ones for sports. Medias de futbol or soccer socks.

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RawhillCity@reddit

Reminds me of my favourite joke from Fawlty Towers (written from my memory):

Basil: Manuel! There's too much butter on those trays!"

Manuel: Que?

Basil: I said there's too much butter! On! Those! Trays!

Manuel: Nonononono! Not 'on, those, trays.' Uno! Dos! Tres!

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JokesandFacts@reddit

I think it's from their first episode which was a great look into the series and what to expect.

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WillJongIll@reddit

This is also how I learned/still remember the Spanish word for butter.

“Ahhh, manteca! No burro. Burro Eeeeeee-ahhhhhh!”

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xinbenlv@reddit

That clerk didn’t miss the sock joke — he just needed a little sole-searching.

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itBme81@reddit

To help

Es oh see kay es

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PeteMichaud@reddit

My spanish teacher told me this one back in the day.

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Capt_Wicker@reddit

Brings back memories of my Mom she would go into a store to buy bed sheet had to finally tell the clerk “bed Linen” !

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Incredditably@reddit

"You sheet my bed I keel you!"

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jawshoeaw@reddit

I remember a radio commercial from like 1980 that was selling tricks to learn Spanish and this one of them. S O C K S 'that's what it is"

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Bouldur@reddit

Language can be funny that way. If a Frenchman says “Je t’adore”, he likes you a very lot. If an Englishman says that, he just wants you to close the door.

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kyew@reddit

If he likes you that much you're going to want the door closed for the next part.

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Large-Damage-9508@reddit

I love how this joke turns every reader into a bilingual scholar for 3 seconds

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henrycaul@reddit

Back in the 90s there used to be a commercial that used this. It was some Learn Spanish product, and the idea was you can use English to learn Spanish. S-O-C-K-S was one example. Another: “I feel so low, I can see in my toe” -> low see in toe -> lo siento

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