to be bored / to bore
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to be bored
To experience the feeling of boredom because you have nothing interesting to do or find a situation monotonous and uninteresting.
Wenn ich sonntags nichts vorhabe, langweile ich mich schnell.
When I don't have any plans on Sundays, I quickly get bored.
to bore someone
To cause another person to feel bored, for example through an uninteresting story or activity.
Sein endloser Vortrag über Briefmarken hat das gesamte Publikum gelangweilt.
His endless lecture about stamps bored the entire audience.
The verb is derived from 'lange Weile' (a long while). 'Weile' is an old word for a period of time. 'Lange Weile' therefore describes a long, uneventful period of time that leads to the feeling of boredom.
Die lange Wartezeit am Bahnhof war pure Langeweile.
The long wait at the train station was pure boredom.
It is important to distinguish between the two uses. 'Sich langweilen' (to be bored) is reflexive and means that you yourself feel boredom. 'Jemanden langweilen' (to bore someone) is transitive and means that you cause boredom in another person.
Die Kinder langweilen sich, weil es regnet.
The children are bored because it's raining.
A typical mistake is forgetting the reflexive pronoun 'sich'. If you want to say that you are bored, you must say 'Ich langweile mich' (I am bored). The sentence 'Ich langweile' means that you are a boring person.
Ich langweile mich bei diesem Film schrecklich.
I am terribly bored during this film.
When naming the reason for the boredom, different prepositions are used. You are bored 'bei' an activity (e.g., bei der Arbeit — at work). You bore someone 'mit' a topic (e.g., mit alten Geschichten — with old stories).
Er langweilt sich oft bei langen Familienfeiern.
He is often bored at long family gatherings.
boring
When a person has nothing interesting to do, you can describe their state with “Mir ist langweilig” or with “Ich langweile mich.” “Langweilig” is used impersonally with the dative. “Sich langweilen” is the reflexive verb construction for the person experiencing the boredom.
Ich langweile mich, weil ich heute nichts Interessantes zu tun habe.
I’m bored because I have nothing interesting to do today.
Mir ist langweilig, weil ich heute nichts Interessantes zu tun habe.
I’m bored because I have nothing interesting to do today.
