It’s not so easy to express the difference, but I would say that wit is inventive thought and quick understanding. Wit is clever. Wit can be humorous, but isn’t necessarily. Oscar Wilde was often witty in his writing. The following quote is an example of wit that isn’t funny: “The tragedy of growing old is not that one is old but that one is young.” An example of wit that is funny is the following joke: Woman: “If I were your wife I’d put poison in your tea!” Man: “If I were your husband I’d drink it”

There really isn't much difference. "Wit" suggests something intellectual and clever, and perhaps slightly cold. It's related to the word "wits" which is a rough synonym for "intelligence." "Humor" suggests something warmer and more natural--a way of looking at the world, rather than a way of making verbal jokes that have a "point" to them. When I am playing with my grandchildren I often display humor, but not wit. You can express humor without words. Someone might do it with body language--by raising an eyebrow, by smiling in a certain place. "Wit" always involves the use of words. The writer Mark Twain is often described as a "humorist." If you read one of his books, such as Tom Sawyer, it is full of humor rather than wit. There aren't very many jokes as such, or clever uses of language.

"humour" and "wit" (both uncountable) have similar meanings, though "wit" is more exclusively personal; "humor" can be either personal or general (eg. Chinese humor, a film's humor. Neither of those contexts take "wit") There are also different collocations and set phrases: a sense of humor (not a "sense of wit") humorless (not "witless") witty (this describes a funny personality) humorous (similar to "witty", but less common) "wit" is also associated with the mind, in which case it's used in the plural. For example: slow-witted = stupid be at the end of your wits = becoming annoyed and losing patience collect your wits = gather your thoughts in order to do something difficult or frightening As for adjectives, "humor" collocates with dry and dark ; "wit" does too, but also collocates with sharp and quick. Therefore "wit" generally has more collocations than "humor" Hopefully that's a start! Ideally I suggest you post sentences in which you're not sure whether to use wit or humor, and you might get a more focussed answer than the one I just wrote...

It occurs to me to quote Alexander Pope: "True wit is nature to advantage dress'd, What oft was thought, but ne'er so well express'd." Clearly, to Pope, "wit" involves words, and aptness of expression. And equally clearly, to Pope, something can be witty (if it pleases us by capturing an idea in a surprisingly good way) without being funny.

1 I lack sense of humour, unfortunately. English humour is quite peculiar in its nature. 2 He has slow wits. His wits really made him stand out from the crowd - he always finds the solution quickest. His witty sharp remarks make me cry sometimes.