Abstract: Pun is a common rhetorical device which is widely used in various modes of writing, such as advertisements, stories, novels, poems, and riddles. This paper will mainly focus on the definition of puns, classification of puns and its different translation methods. According to the definition of pun, this paper is to provide various classification methods of puns and in-depth analysis of the usage of puns in two main fields: literature and advertisement. Meanwhile, we know that pun’s translation between Chinese and English has been considered as a difficult problem for a long time. Based on the traditional translation standards and abundant examples of puns used in the literatures and advertisements, this paper will discuss the difficulties in the pun translation and analyze four typical translation methods of puns.

Key words: pun; categories of puns; usage of puns; difficulties; translation strategies