Colleague tells me to "loosen up" and that I should be able to "take a joke"… Whats the joke????

English is not my native language, I apologize if i phrase myself weird.

I need to know if I am overreacting or if this is not okay behavior. This is my first job btw.

So this person is twice my age. Married with children in their teens. I’ve worked at my job for about 2 years now and I’ve never really clicked with this colleague, as I’ve always found them a bit odd and hard to understand (they speak really quietly so I cant always hear them and they wont repeat themselves, etc. Weird behavior like that). But nonetheless, I always try to be polite and do my best to not let it effect our work.

Let me start off by saying that this persons native language is not the same as my native language. They know the language quite well but have some issues here and there. We occasionally have a language barrier.

This colleague keeps making the same joke and has done so for about half a year now. I don’t understand the joke at all. It’s a joke where they ask me “how do you sleep” – when they first said this joke, i was told that it’s pertaining to the idea that someone who gets good sleep is very cute (?). I think I remember that correctly but I am uncertain. By then I already told them that I didn’t quite understand the joke, but since then, they keep asking me “how do you sleep”.

This “joke” keeps popping up here and there. When he passes me in the office or in the lunch room (only when others cant hear). I get really uncomfortable by this, because.. what? And I have made it clear I don’t understand the joke, and they just tell me that I should “be able to joke in the workplace” etc. I tell them I dont get the joke and they just keep on saying it. It’s getting frustrating and I find myself appalled by him, avoiding him as much as I can without making it too obvious for other coworkers.

Last week they said it again and I straight up kept asking them what they meant by it. They kept trying to change the subject and that it’s “just a joke” etc, but I found myself getting really worked up. It feels really bad being told that I “cant take a joke” and that I should “loosen up” when I don’t understand what the joke is and I make it VERY apparent that I don’t get it nor find it funny (about a month ago I just started ignoring the joke fully and he just keeps saying it).

Occasionally, he makes other “jokes”. A “joke” he made last week was about how I should be able to watch a movie faster if I have read the title of the movie first (I DONT KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS AND THEY JUST WONT EXPLAIN???????) and I keep being told that i should “be able to joke in the workplace” when i don’t laugh. I am beyond the point of laughing to be polite because I’ve done that for a whole year and I just… Feel so uncomfortable by them.

Also, I do joke in the workplace a lot with my colleagues. I have always enjoyed joking around and do so quite frequently, so it’s not like I don’t do that. I just don’t joke around with people whose jokes I don’t understand and they wont explain them to me (?).

So. Am I overreacting? Is this just normal job-behavior and I should just “loosen up” and keep laughing at their weird jokes? I barely know when they are joking due to the language barrier and that their humor is just levels away from me (why should I be able to watch a movie faster if I know the title of said movie)

or should i bring a colleague into this? I would like to tell someone about the “joke” about sleep and being cute as it feels inappropriate, but idk. It’s my first job and I’m scared of being a problem or stirring the pot or something. I love my job otherwise.