Hanako tells jokes all the time and she is really funny. So Amy described her:
はなこさんは おかしい。
Amy thought she made a compliment, but Hanako wasn’t pleased or looked rather offended. Why? What should Amy have said?
おかしい is often translated as “funny” and describes a positive/happy condition which makes people laugh. However, おかしい also has a negative meaning of “strange,” “suspicious” and/or “inappropriate” and when you start a sentence with “[person]は,” おかしい is usually understood in that meaning. So はなこさんは おかしい becomes an insult. If you want to make a compliment, you should say: はなこさんは おもしろい. おもしろい means more “interesting” than “funny” but in this context, おもしろい is the far more appropriate word.
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