Ways to say it
| Korean | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 흥미롭다 | heungmiropda | [ˈxɯ(ː)ŋmiɾo̞p̚t͈a̠] (SK Standard, Seoul, narrow) |
| 관심있는 | gwansiminneun | |
| 재미있다 | jaemiitda | [t͡ɕɛmiit̚t͈a̠] (SK Standard, Seoul, narrow) [t͡ɕe̞miit̚t͈a̠] (SK Standard, Seoul, narrow) |
Depending on what you want to express, you may use different words. 재미있다 is a versatile term used for both 'interesting' and 'fun', such as describing a movie as interesting or a game as fun. 흥미롭다 specifically means 'to be interesting' or 'arousing attention'. If you want to describe a person who 'has interest' in something, use 관심있는.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 흥미롭다 is composed of the noun 흥미 (interest) and the suffix -롭다, which turns a noun into an adjective meaning 'to be full of' or 'to have the quality of'.
Which one should you use?
재미있다 is the most common way to express that something is 'interesting' or 'fun' in daily conversation. In contrast, 흥미롭다 sounds more formal or academic. While 흥미롭다 describes the quality of an object, 관심있는 is used to describe a person who is 'interested' or 'has interest' in something.
How does it change in a sentence?
In Korean, 재미있다 functions like a verb, meaning it can be conjugated into different forms, such as the past tense 재미있었다 for 'was interesting'.
How do you pronounce it?
heungmiropda
Did you know?
- The word 재미있다 literally translates to 'fun exists', reflecting a Korean linguistic tendency to describe qualities as things that 'exist' or 'do not exist'.
- While 재미있다 is used for things that are 'fun', it is also the standard way to describe a movie or book as 'interesting' even if the plot is a tragedy or a horror story.
- When a Korean speaker finds something 'interesting' in a sarcastic or suspicious way, they might use 재미있다 with a specific tone to imply 'this is getting curious' or 'this is strange'.
Examples in context
- 언어를 배우는 것은 재미있다.Learning languages is interesting.This sentence shows how to use 재미있다.Tatoeba #6305020 by Queserasera, translation #3325091 by CK
- 이 책이 저거보다 훨씬 흥미롭다.This book is way more interesting than that one.This sentence uses 흥미롭다 to compare the interestingness of two books.Tatoeba #7999544 by ciwlx, translation #1176961 by mookeee
- 이 책이 저 책보다 더 재미있다.This book is more interesting than that book.This sentence demonstrates a comparison using 재미있다.Tatoeba #13151245 by SN_H, translation #13187818 by atitarev
- 이 문제는 흥미로운 연구 주제입니다.This problem is an interesting research topic.
- 영화가 정말 재미있었어요.The movie was really interesting.
- 오늘 수업 정말 재밌었어!Today's class was really interesting!
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Ji-hoon and Su-bin are talking about a documentary they watched.
- 지훈 Ji-hun그 다큐멘터리 정말 흥미롭다, 그렇지?Geu dakyumenteori jeongmal heungmiropda, geureochi?That documentary is really interesting, isn't it?
- 수빈 Su-bin응, 나도 그렇게 생각해.Eung, nado geureoke saenggakhae.Yes, I think so too.
- 지훈 Ji-hun특히 역사 부분이 제일 좋았어.Teukhi yeoksa bubuni jeil joasseo.I especially liked the history part the most.
- 수빈 Su-bin맞아, 정말 새로운 사실이 많더라.Maja, jeongmal saeroun sasiri manteora.Right, there were so many new facts.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “interesting” translations and entries 흥미롭다, 재미있다, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
