How to say 'funny' in german (I'm not thick, read on)?

Question

I've seen 'komisch', which I used until I recently saw it can mean funny as in strange..

I've seen 'lustig', which in one case translated as funny, g*y

I've seen 'spaßig' which translated as funny, comical, jesting which I took to mean stupid funny..

I have heard people use lustig but I don't want people to think I'm just a foreign idiot if I try to say 'it was funny' or something ...

Answer 1

In the written and correct German, "komisch" means only "funny". I am German, and I once wrote "komisch" in place of "strange" in an article I had to write at school and my teacher said it was wrong, many Germans don't know that.

In the colloquial language you use "komisch" for "strange"!

That's why you are confused about it.

For "funny", you can say "lustig" or "witzig", but also "komisch", of course! But 90% wouldn't get it and think you want to say "strange" ;-))

Answer 2

IMHO 'lustig' is the best translation here. If you say 'That was funny' I would translate it with 'Das war (doch) lustig'. Komisch is also possible here, but 'komisch' does also mean 'strange' in German. 'Spaßig' is also possible IMO, but it's not that common anymore.

German translation for your joke is:

Was ist der Unterschied zwischen einer Autoschlange und einer Schlange? - Bei der Autoschlange ist das Ar*chloch vorne.