All German word comparisons · Back to the topic overview
Meaning, sentence patterns and examples
| Word | Core meaning | Typical context | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| langweilig | boring; in a dative construction, bored | An uninteresting thing, or experiencing boredom | Adjective: ein langweiliger Film, eine langweilige Aufgabe. Predicative: Der Film ist langweilig. Experience pattern: jemandem ist langweilig, with dative mir/dir/ihm/ihr/uns/euch/ihnen. No adjective ending in that pattern. |
| gelangweilt | bored | A person’s state or visible manner | Adjectival participle: ein gelangweilter Zuhörer, eine gelangweilte Zuschauerin. Predicative/adverbial: Sie ist gelangweilt; sie wartet gelangweilt. Related verb pattern: sich langweilen, with accusative reflexive pronoun. |
langweilig
Meaning and usage: Langweilig can describe a lecture, film, evening or person as uninteresting. A person called langweilig is being described as boring to others, not merely as feeling bored. In Mir ist langweilig, the dative pronoun identifies the person experiencing boredom. You can also use the longer Es ist mir langweilig, though the shorter form is a natural everyday sentence.
Grammar: Adjective: ein langweiliger Film, eine langweilige Aufgabe. Predicative: Der Film ist langweilig. Experience pattern: jemandem ist langweilig, with dative mir/dir/ihm/ihr/uns/euch/ihnen. No adjective ending in that pattern.
Der Vortrag ist für mich langweilig.
The talk is boring for me.
Mir ist langweilig. Können wir etwas unternehmen?
I am bored. Can we do something?
gelangweilt
Meaning and usage: Gelangweilt is the past participle of langweilen used to describe being bored. It often suits how someone looks, waits or responds. It does not necessarily say the entire situation is boring for everyone. The underlying reflexive verb sich langweilen is another useful way to express experiencing boredom.
Grammar: Adjectival participle: ein gelangweilter Zuhörer, eine gelangweilte Zuschauerin. Predicative/adverbial: Sie ist gelangweilt; sie wartet gelangweilt. Related verb pattern: sich langweilen, with accusative reflexive pronoun.
Die Kinder sitzen gelangweilt im Wartezimmer.
The children sit bored in the waiting room.
Ich bin gelangweilt, weil niemand mit mir spricht.
I am bored because nobody is talking to me.
Overlap and context
A langweilige discussion may make the listeners gelangweilt, but that is a cause-and-response description, not a rule that every listener must feel the same. Someone can be bored by something that others enjoy. Mir ist langweilig and Ich bin gelangweilt can express a similar state. The first is an everyday experience pattern; the second can also emphasize a visible mood or manner.
Common mistakes
- To say you feel bored, avoid Ich bin langweilig unless you intend to call yourself a boring person.
- Use mir, not mich, in Mir ist langweilig.
- Do not add agreement endings after sein: Der Film ist langweilig. Langweiliger is valid when you mean more boring; its -er is the comparative ending.
Memory aid: The film is langweilig; its viewer is gelangweilt. Keep Mir ist langweilig beside that picture so you also remember the essential everyday exception to the cause-versus-feeling shortcut.
Try it
Complete the everyday sentence: ___ ist langweilig. I mean that I feel bored.
Show the answer
Mir
The experiencer takes dative: Mir ist langweilig. Ich bin langweilig would describe your personality or behaviour as boring.