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Du beliebst zu scherzen! Nichts liegt mir ferner!

  • You just love to joke! {/ you've got to be joking!} Nothing is further from my mind!

We were having a conversation in German, and I'm wondering how the same idea is commonly/idiomatically expressed in Russian?

In German, the verb "lieben" is as straightforward as "love/like sth.", while "belieben" shares a similar meaning and yet is often used ironically, the implication being that you think your interlocutor might actually not be joking...

"Ты, конечно же, шутишь!" sprang to mind as its Russian equivalent, but is there a better alternative that conveys the ironic sense of "belieben"?

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"Ну ты [и]" or "да ты" following with anything can sound quite ironically, in this particular case I can imagine:

  • Ну ты и шутник!
  • Ну ты и остряк!
  • Да ты просто юморист!
  • Экий вы остряк!

"beliebst" in that case is omitted completely because translations are not always literal. However one will insist that it somehow should be translated as well, I'd go with "охотник" like in:

Ну и охотник вы пошутить, Василий Петрович!

Also, one of strong sides of Russian language is that almost anything can sound ironical if one will intentionally decides to sound ironical like:

Любите вы пошутить, Василий Петрович!

If you want to want to make sure that this was a joke but at the same time give someone a hint that even if it's a joke, it's not funny you can say:

Это вы сейчас так пошутили, да?

or

Это шутка такая сейчас была?

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  • Interesting. What's your take on "Ты, конечно же, шутишь!", by the way? Do you find its tone somewhat different from an ironic one?
    – Con-gras-tue-les-chiens
    Jul 11, 2019 at 12:41
  • @Con-gras-tue-les-chiens it heavily depends on tone however I can imagine it's being told in ironic (and friendly) fashion.
    – shabunc ♦
    Jul 11, 2019 at 12:42
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    @Con-gras-tue-les-chiens: ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/…!
    – Quassnoi ♦
    Jul 11, 2019 at 13:06
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    @Con-gras-tue-les-chiens охотник can be supplanted with любитель; мастак; не дурак (which is somewhat risky when telling a person to their face)... Это шутка такая сейчас была? may be framed as Это шутка у вас сейчас была такая? also in the present tense Это вы сейчас шутите, да / не так ли? Вы наверное/должно быть шутите (, да / не так ли?)
    – Баян Купи-ка
    Jul 11, 2019 at 14:37
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    @Con-gras-tue-les-chiens i think this is pretty similar to the English This is a joke, right? ... also mind that such phrases as Это вы сейчас ... / Это у вас сейчас ... sound a little hostile, cynical and skeptical, so care should be exercised, once said one should be prepared to be met with a retort, because usually the interlocutor tells what they really think and it's yourself who questions their honesty and seriousness with such phrases, this is somewhat like the English You can't be serious; Is this a joke or what?
    – Баян Купи-ка
    Jul 12, 2019 at 13:14
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In more spoken language we would say

Да ты Петросян!

Petrosyan is a known comic, and his jokes are thought to be low level.

Another slang/spoken way to tell someone he must be joking / lying is:

Гонишь!

That is really informal, though you can use it almost in any situation.

The way to tell you're fed up with someone's jokes and want one to take the situation serious is:

Шуточки шутишь.

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