Das Kind ist gelangweilt.

The child is bored.

Breakdown of Das Kind ist gelangweilt.

• sein: to be
• das Kind: the child
• gelangweilt: bored

Questions & Answers about Das Kind ist gelangweilt.

Why is it gelangweilt and not langweilig?

In German, langweilig means boring (describes something that causes boredom), while gelangweilt means bored (describes the person who feels boredom).

• Das Kind ist langweilig. = The child is boring. (not very nice!)
• Das Kind ist gelangweilt. = The child is bored.

So gelangweilt is the correct form when you want to say how the child feels.

What part of speech is gelangweilt here?

Gelangweilt is formally a past participle (Partizip II) of the verb langweilen, but in this sentence it is used as an adjective.

Structure:

• langweilen → gelangweilt (Partizip II)
• With sein
  • Partizip II, it becomes a stative description: a state the subject is in.

So in Das Kind ist gelangweilt, gelangweilt works like an adjective that describes the state of das Kind.

What does the ge- in gelangweilt do?

The ge- is the usual prefix used to form many German past participles.

Verb:

• langweilen → participle: ge
  • langweil
    • t = gelangweilt

This is the standard pattern for regular verbs:

• machen → gemacht
• lernen → gelernt
• spielen → gespielt

In our sentence, that participle is used adjectivally: ist gelangweilt.

Why is it Das Kind and not Der Kind or Die Kind?

Because Kind is a neuter noun in German.

• Gender of Kind: das Kind (neuter)
• Nominative singular definite articles:
  • der = masculine
  • die = feminine
  • das = neuter

Since Kind is neuter, you must use das in the nominative: Das Kind ist gelangweilt.

Why is Kind capitalized?

In German, all nouns are capitalized, no matter where they occur in the sentence.

• das Kind
• die Frau
• der Tisch
• die Langeweile

So Kind is capitalized simply because it is a noun, not because it is special in some other way.

Does gelangweilt change its ending to agree with das Kind?

Not in this position.

There are two main positions for adjectives/participles:

1. Predicative (after sein, werden, bleiben):

   • Das Kind ist gelangweilt.
   • No ending change; it stays gelangweilt for all genders and numbers:
     • Der Mann ist gelangweilt.
     • Die Frau ist gelangweilt.
     • Die Kinder sind gelangweilt.

2. Attributive (directly before a noun):

   • Here it does take an ending:
     • das gelangweilte Kind
     • ein gelangweiltes Kind
     • die gelangweilten Kinder

So: in our sentence (predicative use), gelangweilt does not change.

Is there a difference between Das Kind ist gelangweilt and Das Kind langweilt sich?

Yes, there is a nuance:

• Das Kind ist gelangweilt.

  • Focus on the state of the child.
  • The child is in a bored condition right now.

• Das Kind langweilt sich.

  • Literally: The child bores itself.
  • Focus on the ongoing process or experience of being bored; what the child is doing/feeling at the moment.

In many everyday contexts, both can be translated as The child is bored, but:

• ist gelangweilt = description of state
• langweilt sich = description of activity/experience

What is the infinitive verb behind gelangweilt?

The base (infinitive) verb is langweilen.

• Infinitive: langweilen (to bore)
• Past participle: gelangweilt

Common forms:

• Ich langweile mich. = I am bored / I am getting bored.
• Der Film langweilt mich. = The film bores me.
• Ich bin gelangweilt. = I am bored. (state)

Can I say Das Kind ist von der Aufgabe gelangweilt? How does that work?

Yes, that is correct and very natural.

• Das Kind ist von der Aufgabe gelangweilt.
  = The child is bored by the task.

Here:

• von introduces what causes the boredom.
• Pattern: jemand ist von etwas gelangweilt
  • Ich bin von diesem Film gelangweilt.
  • Wir sind von dem langen Vortrag gelangweilt.

Is Das Kind ist gelangweilt present tense? How would I say it in the past?

Yes, ist gelangweilt is present tense (ist = 3rd person singular of sein).

To put it into the (narrative) past:

• Das Kind war gelangweilt.
  = The child was bored.

You just change ist → war (preterite of sein). The participle gelangweilt stays the same.

What is the plural of das Kind, and does the sentence change a lot in the plural?

Plural of das Kind is die Kinder.

Singular:

• Das Kind ist gelangweilt. = The child is bored.

Plural:

• Die Kinder sind gelangweilt. = The children are bored.

Changes:

• das Kind → die Kinder
• ist (singular) → sind (plural)
• gelangweilt stays the same.

How do you pronounce gelangweilt?

Rough guide in IPA: [ɡəˈlaŋvaɪlt]

Syllables (roughly): ge-lang-weilt

• ge-: like guh- in guitar, but shorter and unstressed.
• lang-: like lung but with a as in father and a clear ng.
• weilt:
  • w like English v.
  • ei like eye.
  • final lt pronounced together, not very strong on the t.

So roughly: guh-LANG-vylt.