Friends: Gunther’s 10 Funniest Quotes

When it comes to supporting characters they don’t come much better than Gunther from Friends. The Central Perk manager is a consistent character who appears frequently on the show whenever the group are hanging out in the coffee shop.

Whether it be his undying love for Rachel or his hatred for Ross, Gunther is always able to bring some funny moments to the show. He might not get tons of focus in terms of actual character development, but he adds a lot to the show.

One of the reasons that Gunther became so beloved was because of the hilarious lines he would burst out with, in a very dry manner. Here are Gunther’s 10 funniest quotes from Friends.

10 “RACHEL!”

Gunther’s love for Rachel is his most commonly known trait. He would do anything for her and while he’s happy enough watching from afar, he hates seeing her with other men, especially members of the group as he is forced to see them all the time.

This leads to an excellent moment where simply the line, “Rachel!” provides a huge laugh. This moment takes place when Joey tells Ross his feelings about her, as he questions “Why Rachel?” continuously saying her name, and when he leaves, Joey turns around only for Gunther to do the exact same thing!

9 “I Dropped A Cup”

Speaking of Gunther’s obsession with Rachel, that just so happens to lead to another brilliant line from him as he reacts very negatively to Rachel being asked out on a date in front of him. After he had been thinking of ways to ask Rachel out himself, this moment clearly upsets him.

Gunther heads to the back of the shop and starts smashing a lot of things, with the noises shocking everyone inside Central Perk. However, when he reappears Gunther simply states “I dropped a cup.” While it’s obvious it was more than just a cup, his dry delivery of this made the whole moment hilarious.

8 “I Saved Up For 350 Years”

Even though Gunther isn’t a part of the group, he gets to know them well enough that he has no problem in being a little sarcastic to them at times, especially whenever they say ridiculous things. That’s what makes this incredible line so good, as his sarcasm just shines through.

The line comes when Joey brings some Porsche keys that have been left, asking if they’re Gunthers. He fires back by saying “Yes, that’s what I drive. I make 4 bucks an hour. I saved up for 350 years.” It’s a fantastic line with the sarcasm being met by his dry delivery as Joey simply looks on, puzzled.

7 “I Thought You Were Chandler”

While Gunther does know the group very well, he clearly doesn’t know them perfectly. This is clear when Joey bursts into the coffee shop and asks Gunther if he’s seen Chandler, to which he replies “I thought you were Chandler.” It’s a brilliant moment as it shows he’s listening, but not perfectly.

Everyone expects Gunther to know the group perfectly and this moment just highlights that he doesn’t. He follows it up by stating that “One of you is over there,” which just adds to the brilliance of it all.

6 “I Wasn’t Invited”

This quote is mainly funny because of the awkward situation that Ross finds himself as soon as he says he’ll see Gunther at Chandler and Monica’s wedding. When he replies “I wasn’t invited,” Ross’ reaction is absolutely perfect, awkwardly saying he will see him the day after.

It’s a great reminder of how the group does often take Gunter for granted, mainly because he is always around. The fact that Gunther happily responds and makes the situation awkward is also a great way of continuing his dislike for Ross in general.

5 “Ezel”

Gunther is full of surprises throughout Friends, and one of those is the fact that he speaks fluently in Dutch. As Ross is trying to learn, he thanks Gunther in Dutch and as he responds, Ross cuts him off simply stating they’re done. So Gunther fires back by simply saying, “Ezel.”

It’s clear from his tone it’s not a nice thing, and Ross desperately searches to find its meaning. The word actually means Donkey, although that’s never explained on the show, which only serves to make the moment even funnier.

4 “Is This Some Kind Of Snake, Or Something?”

When Rachel decides to purchase an expensive Sphynx cat, it was clear things were never going to end well. Mrs. Whiskerson scratched and hissed, and wasn’t particularly friendly, so she opts to get rid of it and she actually ends up making a profit on the sale.

Of course, the only person willing to take it off her hands was Gunther, in the hope that Rachel would go to his place to visit her pet. However, he is clearly not sure of the animal itself either, asking the guys “Is this some kind of snake, or something?”

3 “Put The Mouse Back In The House”

Gunther is proud of Central Perk and works hard inside the coffee shop, which is why he has no problem in sorting issues out, as this moment highlighted. Phoebe’s boyfriend, Robert wore very loose-fitting shorts which led to a certain private area often being on display.

She was too scared to tell him that things were on display and none of the group would do it either. That was until Gunther saw it and simply stated, “This is a family place. Put the mouse back in the house.” It’s hilarious because nobody else would say anything to him, and Gunther just nails it in a brutally honest manner.

2 “Once Again I Suckle At Your Smoky Teet”

During Friends, we learn that Gunther is a smoker when Chandler heads into Central Perk already smoking. He allows Chandler to finish it if he can have a drag himself, and it’s at this point that we see he has quite an interesting relationship with smoking.

The drag clearly means a lot to him as he says, “Oh dark mother, once again I suckle at your smoky teet.” It’s a completely random moment as he shows just how much he loves smoking and clearly hasn’t done it for a while as things take a dark turn.

1 “I Wish She Was My Wife”

Gunther was in love with Rachel throughout the entire series and it provided so many moments of fantastic comedy. One of the best comes when his inner dialogue is spoken out loud for the audience to hear as he delivers coffee to the group.

Firstly, he questions what she sees in Ross, and then smells Rachel’s hair, thinking, “I love Rachel. I wish she was my wife.” It’s a hilarious moment as it’s the first time he openly admits this, even if it’s in his own head.

About The Author