24929
If I wanted to say someone is bored would I be able to say

> メアリイさん は つまらない です

or would this imply that the person is boring rather than bored?
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-10T19:02:23.047
24922
2015-06-10T23:58:14.537
10247
question
adjectives
Does つまらない mean to be boring and bored or just boring
It can mean both, but your example is tricky because, as has been discussed
here multiple times (e.g. たい vs. たがっている), one often could not directly express
another person's feelings as one's own in Japanese.

> 「メアリーさんはつまらないです。」

in the strictest sense, only means "Mary is **boring**."

To make it mean "Mary is **bored**.", one needs to add words and say:

> 「メアリーさんは **つまらなさそう** です。」

Not to confuse you, the sentence just above can also mean "Mary seems to be
boring."
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-10T23:40:14.893
24929
2015-06-10T23:58:14.537
2015-06-10T23:58:14.537
24922
answer