Examples with the phrase "웃기는 소리 하고 있네"

Question

I'm translating a short comic and I need to understand the phrase "웃기는 소리 하고 있네". My korean's that of a beginner so it's kinda advanced for me. I understand that 웃기는 소리 means 'funny sounds' and '있네' means that the narrator is referring to someone else, but I don't understand why are they connected by '하고' (and how to make sense of the whole thing). How would you translate it? Could you give me some examples of the situations when you might say it? Would really-really appreciate the help! :)

Answer 1

In general, as Jairo A. del Rio said in the comment, -고 있다/-고 계신다 means someone is currently doing something. For example:

아버지는 지금 주무시고 계십니다. (주무시다=자다): Father is sleeping.

철수는 뛰고 있다. Cheol-soo is running.

For 웃기는 소리 하고 있네, 웃기는 소리 "funny sounds" in this phrase actually means "nonsense" or "bullshit". So the phrase 웃기는 소리 하고 있네, or more commonly used form 웃기고 있네, actually means "That's a bullshit/nonsense".

Answer 2

It's well answered already, but I'd like to make some more comments.

First of all, it is a common phrase as whole, so 있네 is not usually used as shown in this context. While it is identical to -ing in English, it is a bit unnatural to say this: 하네 is from 하다 (dictionary form) and it can be used as 한다 which is present tense, and considering honorifics and the context 한다 -> 하네, so 하네 already is present tense. 하고 있네 is not that much used in spoken Korean, unless it serves a specific purpose. This is purely to emphasize the action of the opponent.

Also, a common variant of this sentence (and a more familiar one to me personally) is 웃기는 소리 하고 앉아 있네. I genuinely have no clue why it has to be "sitting down" in this context, but it is possible that 하고 있네 is derived from 하고 앉아 있네. 웃기는 소리 하네 is also used, which I think is more correct than 웃기는 소리 하고 있네, but you don't logic with these kinds of words.

소리, literally meaning "a sound" actually means "what you just said" here, which should be more appropriate to be designated as 말. In this context, 소리 can roughly be translated as "what came out of your mouth right before." It adds a bit of extra insult by saying "what opponent said should not be considered as an utterance because it makes no sense at all".

So, it is purely to mock with what the opponent said. Its translation is something like, "I don't buy any of what just came out of your mouth, that I'd consider them as your attempt to make a joke." It emphasizes that the speaker is slightly offended by what the opponent just said, not as an insult-offended, but by making no sense at all, testing the intelligence of the speaker.