Whether this joke makes sense depends on how you pronounce Nisan. Some places pronounce it ‘nee-san’ similar to ‘knees and’. Other places province it ‘ni-san’ with the ni as is nickel, and the joke doesn’t really work.
The proper Japanese pronunciation is like “niece-sahn”. In Japanese, it’s written in their phonetic alphabet as:「にっさん」
に is pronounced “knee” (like the knights who say “Ni!”)
っ indicates the following consonant sound is doubled to the end of the previous syllable (so “knee” becomes “niece”)
さ is pronounced “sah” as in a shortened “saw”
ん is pronounced “nn”
Whether this joke makes sense depends on how you pronounce Nisan. Some places pronounce it ‘nee-san’ similar to ‘knees and’. Other places province it ‘ni-san’ with the ni as is nickel, and the joke doesn’t really work.
Oh ok, it doesn’t work for me then
The proper Japanese pronunciation is like “niece-sahn”. In Japanese, it’s written in their phonetic alphabet as:「にっさん」
に is pronounced “knee” (like the knights who say “Ni!”)
っ indicates the following consonant sound is doubled to the end of the previous syllable (so “knee” becomes “niece”)
さ is pronounced “sah” as in a shortened “saw”
ん is pronounced “nn”