gelangweilt
The German word for bored is gelangweilt.
Use gelangweilt to describe the state of a person who is suffering from boredom. For example, you can say Ich bin gelangweilt to explicitly state I am bored. If you want to describe a situation or an object as being boring, you might say Es ist öde.
Meaning: suffering from boredom (adj)
Which one should you use?
It is important to distinguish between the feeling of being bored and the thing that causes it. Use gelangweilt to describe a person's feeling (bored), but use langweilig to describe the thing that causes the feeling (boring).
How does it change in a sentence?
As an adjective, gelangweilt must agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies if it is used attributively. Additionally, if you want to use a verb to express the concept, Langweilen is the verb meaning to be bored.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly say Ich bin langweilig to mean 'I am bored'. In German, this actually means 'I am a boring person'.
Did you know?
- If someone is extremely bored, they might use the slang term stinklangweilig, adding the word for 'stink' to intensify the boredom.
- In German literature, the concept of Weltschmerz is often linked to a deep, existential boredom or weariness with the world.
- The word langweilig contains the root Weile, which historically referred to a period of time or a lingering pause.
Examples in context
- Sah Tom gelangweilt aus?Did Tom look like he was bored?This sentence is useful for asking if someone appeared to be feeling gelangweilt.Tatoeba #13078637 by Vortarulo, translation #8336697 by CK
- Er sieht gelangweilt aus.He looks bored.This sentence is useful for stating that someone looks gelangweilt.Tatoeba #1777717 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #1777660 by Spamster
- Jetzt bin ich gelangweilt.Bored now.This sentence is useful for expressing that you are currently gelangweilt.Tatoeba #694580 by Esperantostern, translation #361348 by blay_paul
- Ich langweile michI am bored.
- Ich habe LangeweileI am experiencing boredom
- Mir ist langweilig. Ich habe die Nase voll.I am bored. I've had enough.
- Es war echt langweilig gestern.It was really boring yesterday.
- 69 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are sitting in a cafe during a long wait.
- LauraBist du gelangweilt, Lukas?Are you bored, Lukas?
- LukasJa, das Warten ist sehr langweilig.Yes, the waiting is very boring.
- LauraIch bin auch gelangweilt.I am bored too.
- LukasWollen wir etwas unternehmen?Do you want to do something?
Sources
- Wiktionary, “bored” translations and entries gelangweilt, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
