Żart

Today's word is "żart" (zhart), which means "a joke" in Polish. In Poland, as in many other countries, April 1st is a day of humor and practical jokes ("żarty"). The Poles call this the day of jokes ("dzien żartów"), or "Prima aprilis" (April 1st). If you're not careful, you might be tricked! It's all about getting everybody to laugh ("śmiać się").

Polish newspapers are famous for the tradition of writing an April Fool's story and hiding it among their regular news stories. See examples here and here. And what's the Polish word for humor? It's..."humor." But it's pronounced differently: “hoo-mor”. Honestly! No joke.