How to say "tedious" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 退屈たいくつna-adjective, nounCovers tedious as dull and uneventful, where time drags because nothing engaging happens. It names the tedium itself, so it fits long stretches — a slow afternoon, a drawn-out task — that leave you bored.
- adverb (with と), suru verbAn onomatopoeic word for the fed-up feeling that tedious things produce: weariness bordering on exasperation once something has gone on long enough. It centers on your reaction rather than on flatly calling a thing dull.あの子にはうんざりする。↗The kid is a pain in the neck.
- i-adjectiveCovers tedious in the sense of long-winded and repetitious: an explanation, speech, or speaker that belabors the same point until listeners tire of it. It is the word for that wordy, drawn-out sense.
- i-adjectiveFor tedious in its plainest sense — dull, uninteresting, boring — as with a movie or lecture that holds no interest. When you simply mean something is boring, this is the word you want.
「つまらない」 and 退屈 cover the plain dull sense (「つまらない」 judges a thing boring, 退屈 names the tedium of time dragging), 「くどい」 is for long-winded repetitiousness, and 「うんざり」 for being fed up.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
See also
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