jest

Compared meaning: something said or done to make people laugh (noun).

比较义项：笑话，逗人发笑的话或行为（名词）。

• joke

  The everyday, neutral word for something funny said or done to amuse people; used in common collocations like 'tell a joke' or 'crack a joke'.

  日常、中性的词，指为了逗笑而说的话或做的事；常见搭配如“tell a joke”（讲笑话）、“crack a joke”（开玩笑）。

  He cracked a joke about the traffic to lighten the mood.

  他就交通状况开了个玩笑，想活跃一下气氛。

• jest 本词

  A more formal or literary word for a joke, often used in the fixed phrase 'in jest' to mean something said playfully, not seriously.

  语气更正式或带文学色彩的“笑话”一词，常用于固定搭配“in jest”，表示某话是开玩笑说的，并非认真的。

  He said it in jest, so no one should have taken offense.

  他是开玩笑说的，所以没人应该因此生气。

Joke and jest both mean something said or done to amuse people. Joke is the everyday word, used in phrases like 'tell a joke'. Jest is more formal or literary, mostly used in the fixed phrase 'in jest', meaning something said playfully, not seriously.

joke 和 jest 都指为了逗笑而说的话或做的事，但 joke 是日常口语中最常用的词，指令人发笑的笑话或玩笑；jest 语气更正式、略带文学性，常出现在“in jest”（开玩笑地，非认真地）这类固定搭配中，单独作为名词使用的频率较低。