Aburrirse Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish

aburrirse means "to get bored" in English, and this page shows you how it actually sounds in everyday Spanish — not just the conjugation table, but the verb in real sentences, in short dialogues, and in the mistakes learners make with it. Aburrirse means "to get bored", and it is the reflexive partner of aburrir (to bore). The difference is the point of view: la clase me aburre (the class bores me) versus me aburro en clase (I get bored in class). Both say the same thing from different angles, and native speakers use both. Aburrirse is a regular -ir verb, so the forms are simple — the pronoun is the part to practise: me aburro, te aburres, se aburre, nos aburrimos, os aburrís, se aburren. It is the verb for long meetings, long journeys and rainy afternoons. Below you will find twelve example sentences grouped by meaning, two short dialogues, the most common mistakes with corrections, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. If you want the full tables first, start with the full conjugation of aburrirse; if you want to study one tense in depth, see the aburrirse present tense page.

aburrirse in everyday use: examples with translations

Getting bored in class and at work

  1. Yo me aburro en clase. — "I get bored in class."
  2. Ella se aburre en el trabajo. — "She gets bored at work."
  3. Ayer yo me aburrí en la reunión. — "Yesterday I got bored in the meeting."
  4. De niño, yo me aburría mucho en clase. — "As a child, I used to get very bored in class."

Getting bored waiting

  1. Tú te aburres esperando al médico. — "You get bored waiting for the doctor."
  2. Los niños se aburren en el coche. — "The children get bored in the car."
  3. Tú te aburrirás en el viaje. — "You will get bored on the journey."
  4. Yo me he aburrido mucho hoy. — "I have got very bored today."

Getting bored at home

  1. Nosotros nos aburrimos en casa los domingos. — "We get bored at home on Sundays."
  2. Mi hermano se aburre muy rápido. — "My brother gets bored very quickly."
  3. Yo me aburriría si no hubiera libros. — "I would get bored if there were no books."
  4. Vosotros os aburrís en la cola del banco. — "You get bored in the bank queue."

aburrirse in conversation

Two short dialogues that use aburrirse the way people really speak it. Notice how the verb changes with the person, and how the same verb fits different situations.

Two students wait for the teacher.

  • Ana: Yo me aburro en clase. — "I get bored in class."
  • Bea: ¿Tú te aburres esperando al médico? — "Do you get bored waiting for the doctor?"
  • Ana: Mi hermano se aburre muy rápido. — "My brother gets bored very quickly."
  • Bea: Ayer yo me aburrí en la reunión. — "Yesterday I got bored in the meeting."

A long car journey with children.

  • Padre: Los niños se aburren en el coche. — "The children get bored in the car."
  • Madre: Nosotros nos aburrimos en los viajes largos. — "We get bored on long journeys."
  • Padre: Yo me aburro en las reuniones largas. — "I get bored in long meetings."
  • Madre: Tú te aburrirás en el viaje. — "You will get bored on the journey."

Common mistakes with aburrirse

The errors learners actually make with aburrirse, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.

✗ *Yo aburro en clase (using aburrir instead of aburrirse).

✓ Correct: Yo me aburro en clase.

To say you get bored, use the reflexive: me aburro. Yo aburro means "I bore (someone else)".

✗ *Nosotros aburrimos en casa los domingos (missing nos).

✓ Correct: Nosotros nos aburrimos en casa los domingos.

The pronoun is obligatory: nos aburrimos, not aburrimos.

✗ *Tú aburres esperando al médico (missing te).

✓ Correct: Tú te aburres esperando al médico.

Again, the pronoun is part of the verb: te aburres, not aburres.

✗ *Vosotros aburrís en la cola (missing os).

✓ Correct: Vosotros os aburrís en la cola del banco.

Vosotros needs os: os aburrís. And aburrís carries the written accent on the í.

Quiz: aburrirse in use

Ten questions on aburrirse — its forms, its tenses and its everyday use. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below, where every answer is explained.

1. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ en clase. — "I get bored in class."

  • a) me aburro
  • b) se aburre
  • c) me aburrí
  • d) te aburres

2. Complete the sentence: Ayer yo ______ en la reunión. — "Yesterday I got bored in the meeting."

  • a) me aburrí
  • b) te aburriste
  • c) se aburrió
  • d) me aburro

3. Complete the sentence: Los niños ______ en el coche. — "The children get bored in the car."

  • a) me aburro
  • b) se aburren
  • c) te aburres
  • d) se aburrieron

4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ en casa los domingos. — "We get bored at home on Sundays."

  • a) me aburro
  • b) nos aburrimos
  • c) nos aburrimos
  • d) te aburres

5. Which is the correct present tense form of aburrirse for yo?

  • a) se aburre
  • b) me aburro
  • c) te aburres
  • d) nos aburrimos

6. Which is the correct present tense form of aburrirse for tú?

  • a) te aburres
  • b) se aburre
  • c) me aburro
  • d) nos aburrimos

7. Which is the correct present tense form of aburrirse for ellos/ellas/Uds.?

  • a) se aburren
  • b) te aburres
  • c) se aburre
  • d) me aburro

8. Which sentence uses aburrirse correctly?

  • a) Nosotros se aburre en los viajes largos.
  • b) Nosotros nos aburrimos en los viajes largos.
  • c) Nosotros aburrimos en los viajes largos.

9. What is the past participle of aburrirse?

  • a) aburriéndose
  • b) aburrido
  • c) aburro
  • d) aburrió

10. What does aburrirse mean in English?

  • a) to go
  • b) to get bored
  • c) to have fun
  • d) to have

Answer key

  1. a) me aburro — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: me aburro.

  2. a) me aburrí — The sentence needs the yo form in the preterite: me aburrí.

  3. b) se aburren — The sentence needs the ellos/ellas/Uds. form in the present: se aburren.

  4. b) nos aburrimos — The sentence needs the nosotros/as form in the present: nos aburrimos.

  5. b) me aburro — The present tense form for yo is me aburro.

  6. a) te aburres — The present tense form for tú is te aburres.

  7. a) se aburren — The present tense form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is se aburren.

  8. b) Nosotros nos aburrimos en los viajes largos. — Nosotros nos aburrimos en los viajes largos. is correct. The other sentences use the wrong person, the wrong tense, or the wrong pattern for this verb.

  9. b) aburrido — The past participle is aburrido. You need it for every perfect tense with haber: he aburrido, has aburrido, ha aburrido.

  10. b) to get bored — aburrirse means "to get bored".

Frequently asked questions

How do I use aburrirse in everyday conversation?

Start with the phrases in the examples above — especially the common combinations such as aburrirse en clase and aburrirse mucho. Use the present tense for habits and general facts, and the preterite for things that happened once. Say the sentences aloud until the forms feel automatic, then swap in your own details: your own town, your own family, your own routine.

What is the difference between aburrirse and divertirse?

aburrirse means "to get bored", while divertirse means "to have fun". They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use aburrirse when you mean "to get bored" and divertirse when you mean "to have fun".

Which tense do I need most with aburrirse?

The present tense, for habits, routines and general facts — that is where you will use aburrirse most. The preterite comes next, for things that happened once and ended. The examples on this page use both, plus the imperfect, the future and the present perfect, so you can see the verb across the tenses you actually need.

Is aburrirse formal or informal?

aburrirse is neutral — it is used in both formal and informal Spanish, at home, at work and at school. There is no special formal version of it; the same forms work in a conversation with a friend and in a letter to a company. What changes is the situation, not the verb.

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