Key Facts
- Hangul: 재미없다 (jaemieopda)
- Meaning: boring
- Level: A1
- Part of speech: adjective
- Stem: 재미없
- Conjugation class: regular
- Grammar: Takes 이/가 for the boring thing.
- Usage: Casual form 재미없어. Negating it with 안 is awkward, so say 재미없어요 directly instead of 안 재미없어요.
What Does 재미없다 Mean?
It is the direct opposite of 재미있다. The boring thing takes 이/가: 이 드라마는 재미없어요 says a drama is boring. It judges the thing, not the speaker.
Because it ends in 없다, it already carries a negative, and the usual negative forms are left out of the table on purpose.
Senses:
- boring, not fun: Describes something dull or uninteresting, e.g. 재미없는 수업.
How Do You Pronounce 재미없다?
The word is written 재미없다 and read [재미업따]: the ㅅ of 없 gives up the ㅅ sound at the end of a syllable, so the ㅂ stays and the ㄷ of 다 tenses. Before 어요 the cluster is split: 재미없어요 is [재미업써요], with the ㅅ resurfacing as ㅆ. The past 재미없었어요 is [재미업써써요].
How Do You Use 재미없다 in a Sentence?
이 드라마는 재미없어요.
This drama is boring.
이 드라마는 sets the topic and 재미없어요 is the plain present judgment; the casual version drops 요.
강의가 너무 재미없었어요.
The lecture was too boring.
강의가 너무 재미없었어요 uses 너무 for 'too' and the past 재미없었어요 to report how the lecture felt.
재미없는 영화는 안 봐요.
I don't watch boring movies.
재미없는 영화는 안 봐요 uses the 는 modifier. The 안 before 봐요 negates the verb, not 재미없는.
How Does Jaemieopda Conjugation Work?
재미없다 is regular, with the stem 재미없 unchanged and 어 selected: 재미없어요, 재미없었어요. Like every word ending in 없다, its modifier is 는: 재미없는, 재미없었던. Because 없다 already carries a negative meaning, the table leaves out additional negatives. For the ordinary positive meaning, use 재미있다. A double negative denies that something is boring; it need not be enthusiastic praise.
재미없다
| Form | Korean | Romanization | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 재미없어요 | ||
| Polite past | 재미없었어요 | ||
| Polite future (plan) | 재미없을 거예요 | ||
| Polite future (intention or guess) | 재미없겠어요 | ||
| Formal present | 재미없습니다 | ||
| Formal past | 재미없었습니다 | ||
| Formal future | 재미없을 것입니다 | ||
| Casual present | 재미없어 | ||
| Casual past | 재미없었어 | ||
| Casual future | 재미없을 거야 | ||
| Honorific polite | 재미없으세요 | ||
| Because / and then | 재미없어서 | ||
| If (conditional) | 재미없으면 | ||
| Present modifier (before a noun) | 재미없는 | ||
| Past modifier (before a noun) | 재미없었던 | ||
| Future modifier (before a noun) | 재미없을 |
The -고 싶다 cell is omitted because 재미없다 describes a quality. Additional negatives are omitted because they would create double negatives.
Sound Changes
| Form | Korean | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Polite present | 재미없어요 | [재미업써요] |
| Polite past | 재미없었어요 | [재미업써써요] |
| Polite future | 재미없을 거예요 | [재미업쓸꺼예요] |
| Polite future guess | 재미없겠어요 | [재미업께써요] |
| Formal present | 재미없습니다 | [재미업씀니다] |
| Formal past | 재미없었습니다 | [재미업썯씀니다] |
| Formal future | 재미없을 것입니다 | [재미업쓸꺼심니다] |
| Casual past | 재미없었어 | [재미업써써] |
| Past modifier | 재미없었던 | [재미업썯떤] |
Common Mistake
Wrong: ✗ 재미없은 책
Correct: ✓ 재미없는 책
Why: Words ending in 있다/없다 use the 는 modifier.
Where Does 재미없다 Turn up in Daily Talk?
Use 재미없다 about a drama, a lecture or a game. 지루하다 is narrower, meaning tedious or monotonous, while 심심하다 is the speaker being bored with nothing to do. Casual speech drops 요: 재미없어.
What Is Easy to Confuse with 재미없다?
| Word | How to tell it from 재미없다 |
|---|---|
| 지루하다 | 지루하다 means tedious or monotonous; 재미없다 simply means not fun. |
| 심심하다 | 심심하다 is the speaker feeling bored with nothing to do, not the thing being dull. |
Choosing Something Else to Watch
Two coworkers are comparing a disappointing movie with a drama they might watch next. The conversation uses the past 재미없었어요, the modifier 재미없는, and the present 재미없어요.
Jisu
어제 본 영화는 재미없었어요.
Eoje bon yeonghwaneun jaemieopseosseoyo.
The movie I watched yesterday was boring.
Alex
저도 재미없는 영화는 싫어요.
Jeodo jaemieomneun yeonghwaneun sireoyo.
I do not like boring movies either.
Jisu
이 드라마도 재미없어요?
I deuramado jaemieopseoyo?
Is this drama boring too?
Alex
아니요. 이건 재미있어요.
Aniyo. Igeon jaemiisseoyo.
No. This one is interesting.
The first line evaluates a finished viewing experience. The third line asks about a different title, and 도 means “too”: is the drama also boring? Alex rejects that assumption and uses the positive 재미있어요. A “no” answer to this question can therefore introduce praise rather than a second complaint.
The modifier 재미없는 tells you what kind of movie Alex dislikes. It does not say when a particular movie was watched. In contrast, the past 재미없었어요 places Jisu's judgment in the experience of yesterday's viewing.
Combinations for Reviews and Reactions
| Combination | Meaning | What it evaluates |
|---|---|---|
| 재미없는 영화 | a boring movie | How engaging the movie is. |
| 재미없는 수업 | an uninteresting class | The experience of attending the class. |
| 별로 재미없다 | to be not very interesting | A less forceful negative evaluation. |
| 하나도 재미없다 | to be no fun at all | A strong statement that there was no enjoyment. |
These expressions are literal evaluations rather than colourful idioms. 별로 means “not particularly” in this negative setting; it leaves room for a mild judgment. 하나도 means “not at all” here and makes the criticism much stronger. Choose the strength that matches your reaction instead of using the strongest phrase for every disappointment.
재미없는 사람 is possible, but it labels a person as boring or no fun. That can sting more than saying their movie recommendation was disappointing. The noun after 재미없는 matters: criticising a class, a joke or a person has different social consequences even when the grammar stays the same.
Where Will You Hear 재미없다?
Expect 재미없다 in comments about movies, television, games and school classes. A short review may simply say 재미없어요, leaving the title understood. That is an opinion about entertainment value. A serious documentary can be informative while a viewer finds it unengaging; the word does not judge factual accuracy.
In a variety show, a performer may hear 재미없어 after a joke that fails. Among friends, the same casual form can be teasing. With a new acquaintance, it can sound dismissive. Adding 요 makes the ending polite, but the speaker is still giving a negative evaluation.
For your own empty afternoon, 심심하다 is often the useful word: you have nothing to do. For a slow meeting that seems to drag on, 지루하다 focuses on tedium. 재미없다 suits the judgment that an activity gives you little enjoyment, even when plenty is happening.
What Is Tricky about 없다 inside This Word?
The compound 재미없다 is written as one word. The modifier 재미없는 keeps that spelling and adds 는 directly. In the example 재미없는 영화는 안 봐요, the first 는 belongs to the modifier; the second 는 marks the movie as the topic. The separate 안 belongs to 봐요 and says you do not watch it.
The dictionary form, the polite present and the modifier have different sounds, but the written stem remains 재미없. In 재미없는, the remaining ㅂ sound becomes nasal before ㄴ, giving [재미엄는]. This is a pronunciation change, not a ㅂ-irregular replacement with 우. The polite present still keeps 없 in the spelling.
The future 재미없을 거예요 predicts that something will be boring. It does not express a plan to perform a boring action. Use the past for an experience already finished and the future for your expectation before watching or playing.
Words for Explaining an Uninteresting Experience
| Korean | Meaning | Useful connection |
|---|---|---|
| 영화 | movie | An entertainment choice you might review. |
| 드라마 | television drama | A whole series or an episode can be discussed. |
| 수업 | class / lesson | Describe how engaging the class felt. |
| 농담 | joke | A joke can fail to amuse without taking a long time. |
The movies and TV vocabulary lesson supplies the viewing words you need to explain which show or film disappointed you.
Mini Drill: Describe the Boring Activity
- Complete “a boring book”: ____ 책.
- Give the polite past of 재미없다.
- Give the polite prediction form ending in 거예요.
- In 재미없는 영화는 안 봐요, which verb does 안 negate?
Show drill answers
- 재미없는 책.
- 재미없었어요.
- 재미없을 거예요.
- 봐요, “watch”. It does not negate 재미없는.
Quick Self-Test
- Which is stronger here: 별로 or 하나도?
- Which nearby word describes having nothing to do?
- Does calling a film 재미없다 mean its information is false?
Show answers
- 하나도, “not at all”.
- 심심하다.
- No. It evaluates interest or enjoyment.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Say "It Is Boring"?
재미없어요. For a lecture in the past, 강의가 너무 재미없었어요.
Why Is It 재미없는 and Not 재미없은?
Words ending in 없다 use the 는 modifier, like 있다.
Can I Make the Negative with 안?
For the ordinary opposite, use 재미있어요. Adding 안 to 재미없어요 creates a double negative, “not boring”, rather than a simple statement that something is fun.
Is 재미없다 the Same as 지루하다?
No. 재미없다 only means not fun. 지루하다 means tedious or monotonous.
Which Words Are Related to 재미없다?
The entries closest to 재미없다 (boring) are 재미있다 (fun/interesting), 지루하다 (to be boring), 심심하다 (bored), 맛없다 (not tasty).
What Should You Learn Next?
Compare it with 재미있다 and 지루하다, and practise the same 없다 pattern with 맛없다. To see why 'boring' takes the form 재미없어요, read how to conjugate the present tense; the Korean verb conjugator tests other stems, and the Korean verb dictionary lists the rest of the family.