无聊

liáo

Traditional: 無聊

#1468 of 5,000 Core 5000

Translation

bored, boring, dull, senseless

Word origin

A compound of 无 (wú, without) and 聊 (liáo, to chat, interest), literally without anything to engage one, hence bored or dull.

Origin
compound
Root
无 (wú, without) + 聊 (liáo, to chat)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 无

Stroke order for 聊

Examples

Being home alone is so boring.

This film is too dull.

Don't ask such senseless questions.

When he is bored he plays on his phone.

The whole afternoon was very dull.

无聊 (wú liáo) describes both the feeling of being bored and a thing that is boring or dull, and can also mean senseless or pointless. It contrasts with 有趣 (yǒu qù, interesting).

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This word is part of lesson 30.