面白い

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. この本はとても面白いです。▶ —
   This book is very interesting.
2. 面白い話を聞きました。▶ —
   I heard an interesting story.

Collocations

Mnemonic

おもしろい — 面白い, Yamato. An i-adjective. The etymology is lovely ── unpack the kanji and it is 面 (face) + 白 (white, bright) = 'the face brightens'. The moment a person's face lights up when something is fun ── old Japanese caught 'interest' as an expression. An abstract feeling drawn as a change in the body. One word holds two shades ── fun: 面白い本 (an interesting book), 面白い映画 (an interesting film). curious, intriguing: 面白い現象 (a fascinating phenomenon). The opposite is つまらない tsumaranai (boring). A family of words with 白 ── 白い (white), 面白い (interesting), 告白 (a confession = 'telling whitely'). The same kanji reaches from colour to expression to the heart.

Quick check

1. How to say "was not interesting" politely?

   • 面白くなかったです (acceptable, casual past neg + です)
   • 面白くないでした (incorrect)
   • 面白くありませんでした (formal correct)
   • 面白いじゃなかった (wrong, mixes patterns)