# not interesting



## rydell

Hi everybody,

To say something isn´t interesting, can I say 没有有意思? or is it quite repetitive the use of 有?


Thank you very much.


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## brofeelgood

You'd usually say "有趣" for interesting, and "无趣" for uninteresting.
有 - there is/there exists
没/没有 - there is not any/there exists not any
趣 - fun/amusing/engaging/fascination/something of interest

Hence, 有 must not be repeated here. In fact, it is often omitted, i.e. 没意思.

Although 有意思 can be synonymous to 有趣 (amusing/interesting), it is also frequently used to describe something as 有意义 (meaningful/significant/worthwhile). The opposite of these are: 没(有)意思 and 没(有)意义.


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## Skatinginbc

有趣 = 有興味, 有趣味 "interesting" 
乏趣 = 缺乏興致趣味 "uninteresting"
無趣 = (1) 没有趣; (2) 不有趣, 不湊趣, 不會助興 (e.g., 你這人怎麼這麼無趣).
没趣 = (1) 没有趣; (2) 未得趣 (未得人捧場湊趣而沒面子很難堪; e.g., 自討沒趣, 沒趣巴巴, 老大沒趣; cf. 識相知趣 = 能給臉湊趣, 能看臉色懂心意).


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## SuperXW

Simply speaking:
没有有意思 
有意思  "has fun": is interesting 
没意思  "doesn't have fun/has no fun": isn't interesting
没有意思  "doesn't have fun/has no fun": isn't interesting

Actually, I can't think of any case that 有 should be repeated.


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## Messquito

One would use 有意思 like this: 那部電影很有意思
It matches the structure: N+很+adj.
Although one might think of 有 as a verb, *有意思 is actually considered an adjective*, not verb+noun
As a result, you can say that 有意思=interesting, both grammatically and semantically.
Now that you get it, you might follow the general use of adjectives in Chinese and get a correct sentence.
Positive:
他*很*帥 He is charming.
Negative:
他*沒有很*帥 He is not (so) charming. (It's not that he's charming.)
他*不是很*帥 He is not (so) charming.
他*並沒有很*帥 He is in fact not charming. (In fact, it's not that he's charming.)
他*並不是很*帥 He is in fact not charming.
他*不怎麼*帥 He is somewhat not so charming.
他(很)不帥 He is (really) uncharming. (N+Negative Adjective)
Positive:
＿*很*有意思 It is interesting.
Negative:
＿*沒有很*有意思 It's not (so) interesting. (It's not that it's interesting.)
＿*不是很*有意思 It's not (so) interesting.
＿*並沒有*很有意思 It's in fact not that interesting. (In fact, it's not that it's interesting.)
＿*並不是*很有意思 It's in fact not that interesting.
＿*不怎麼*有意思 It's somewhat not so charming.
＿(很)沒意思 It's (really) uninteresting. (N+Negative Adjective)

Your use 沒有有意思 is odd, because if there isn't a 很 after 沒有, people would assume that the word after it is either a verb, as in, 他沒有說話, or a noun, as in, 他沒有房子. However, 有意思 as a whole is an adjective, so put a 很 before it.

P.s. The difference between 沒有 and 不是：
沒有 makes the whole sentence negative. For example, 他沒有很帥 is the negative form of the whole sentence 他很帥. It is used when responding with negative answers or when you assume that people have already assumed/expected/favored the opposite:
*Responding:*
A: 他很瘦。
B: 他沒有很瘦啊/他不瘦啊。
*Assuming the opposite expectation:*
我超愛我的女朋友的。她沒有很漂亮，（你們不要亂猜。）我喜歡他是因為她很有個性。 I super love my girlfriend. It's not that she's pretty, (don't guess) I like her because of her strong personality.

On the other hand, 不是 makes the part after it negative. In 他不是很帥, 不是 makes 很帥 negative. 不是 is used when you are not expecting an opposite presumption from others or when you are just stating a fact.


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## SuperXW

Messquito said:


> ...
> It matches the structure: N+很+adj.
> Although one might think of 有 as a verb, *有意思 is actually considered an adjective*, not verb+noun
> 
> Negative:
> 他*沒有很*帥 He is not (so) charming. (It's not that he's charming.)
> 他*並沒有很*帥 He is in fact not charming. (In fact, it's not that he's charming.)
> 
> Positive:
> ＿*很*有意思 It is interesting.
> Negative:
> ＿*沒有很*有意思 It's not (so) interesting. (It's not that it's interesting.)
> ＿*並沒有*很有意思 It's in fact not that interesting. (In fact, it's not that it's interesting.)
> 
> Your use 沒有有意思 is odd, because if there isn't a 很 after 沒有, people would assume that the word after it is either a verb, as in, 他沒有說話, or a noun, as in, 他沒有房子. However, 有意思 as a whole is an adjective, so put a 很 before it.


I think what your said might be the Taiwanese usage, which is different from my experience. Here're what I know in Mainland Chinese:
1. 有意思 can be considered as an adjective, but it is fundamentally a verb-noun structure. 有 can still be considered as a verb.
2. Based on the above assumption, 很 is not crucial or necessary. We can say 这部电影有意思 without 很.
3. 他没有很帅 sounds a bit "Taiwanese" to me, which may due to the reasons you gave. I think the first choice for Mainland people would be 他不是很帅.
4. Thus, 没有很有意思 is even more rare and redundant to Mainland Chinese.

I never paid attention to this difference before reading your post. Now I remember when a Mainland Chinese tried to imitate a Taiwanese accent, he or she would usually use wordings like "没有啦".
My questions are:
1. Can't you say 这部电影*有意思 *in Taiwan?
2. So *没有很有*意思 is totally idiomatic in Taiwan?


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## brofeelgood

Messquito said:


> One would use 有意思 like this: 那部電影很有意思
> It matches the structure: N+很+adj.
> Although one might think of 有 as a verb, *有意思 is actually considered an adjective*, not verb+noun
> As a result, you can say that 有意思=interesting, both grammatically and semantically.



Personally, I've always viewed the 有 as a verb. This makes it possible/simpler to preserve the structure when usage is expanded or when negation is used, instead of introducing adverbs as modification elements.

Some examples...

(have/possess meaning)
那部电影有意思.
那部电影很有意思.
那部电影有些意思.
那部电影有深层的意思.

(have/possess experience)
他有经验. = He has experience = He is experienced (negation: 他没经验)
他有些经验. = He has some experience = He is somewhat experienced (negation: 他没多少经验.)
他有相关的经验. = He has relevant experience = He is suitably experienced (negation: 他没这方面的经验).

(have/possess confidence)
他有把握. = He has confidence. (negation: 他没把握)
他有十足的把握. = He has absolute confidence. (negation: 他没有绝对的把握)


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## Messquito

SuperXW said:


> I think what your said might be the Taiwanese usage, which is different from my experience. Here're what I know in Mainland Chinese:
> I never paid attention to this difference before reading your post. Now I remember when a Mainland Chinese tried to imitate a Taiwanese accent, he or she would usually use wordings like "没有啦".
> My questions are:
> 1. Can't you say 这部电影*有意思 *in Taiwan?
> 2. So *没有很有*意思 is totally idiomatic in Taiwan?



1. I am not very familiar with wordings like this, which might be a regional difference, like you said. The closest I can think of is "這部電影，有意思". The way we say it, we have a pause before 有意思, and we would start to nod our head when we pause and even point our finger at what we are referring to like we are a professional reviewer, if you know what I mean.
E.g.
A: 你覺得我妹怎麼樣？
B: 你妹，(點頭)漂亮！(自信滿滿的表情)
A: 你覺得這部電影怎樣？
B: 這部電影(，)有意思！(I see it more on some movie reviewers' websites than in daily talks)
If there isn't a pause or some corresponding act like nodding, we might think they mean "這部電影有意義/這部電影是有意義的", but it depends heavily on the context.
We would say 我姊姊很有個性/我姊姊頗(蠻)有個性的 or even 我姊姊，嗯，有個性 but not 我姊姊有個性
I can think of another use generally without 很, which is in questions. 你覺得這部電影有意思嗎？ is perfectly acceptable in our conversations, as well as 你姐漂亮嗎？/這本書厚嗎？, all without 很. And somehow, perhaps for coherence's sake, we might answer these questions with 這部電影有意思！/我姐漂亮啊！/這本書厚啊！, but in usual sentences I hardly see them without 很 or other adverbs.
In general, we say 这部电影有意思/這女孩有個性 in order to sound really confident, professional or even proud.
For the reasons above, where the uses of 有意思(meaning interesting) is just like other adjectives, I personally think 有意思 can be considered an adjective grammar-wise, when it means "interesting". But then again, might be cultural differences.

2. I see it as ok, but since it is a little awkward-sounding, one might rarely say it.


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## Skatinginbc

SuperXW said:


> 他没有很帅 sounds a bit "Taiwanese" to me


他没有很帅, like "老師，他給我打", may be considered "non-standard" (not 標準國語) by some people (e.g., me).  We used to call such expressions 台灣國語. And I'm speaking from the prescriptive point of view.
From the descriptive point of view, Messquito is right: You may hear structures like  他沒有很帥 or 没有很有意思 in Taiwan.


SuperXW said:


> So *没有很有*意思 is totally idiomatic in Taiwan?


I normally would say 很没意思 or 没什麼意思.  *没有很有*意思 sounds awkward to me (Some people in Taiwan may say it though).


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## Messquito

brofeelgood said:


> Personally, I've always viewed the 有 as a verb. This makes it possible/simpler to preserve the structure when usage is expanded or when negation is used, instead of introducing adverbs as modification elements.
> 
> Some examples...
> 
> (have/possess meaning)
> 那部电影有意思.
> 那部电影很有意思.
> 那部电影有些意思.
> 那部电影有深层的意思.



Since 有意思 can mean "have meaning", "have feelings (for someone)", "interesting", etc. I like to think of it as an adjective when it means "interesting."
I don't know about places in China, but in Taiwan, only in 那部电影很有意思. or perhaps 那部电影有意思 can 有意思 mean "interesting", whereas in 那部电影有些意思. and 那部电影有深层的意思., it means "a little meaningful/ has deep meanings to it", not "a little/very interesting"
Whether one sees it as verb+noun or an adjective, I think they are just different explanations. I totally agree with you that seeing 有 as a verb enables us to expand the usage, but on the other hand, seeing 有意思 as a single adjective may allow us to clarify the difference of its usage. There is no rights or wrongs, so I think it's best to explore different explanations.
For example, terms like 有個性、識相、上手、入味、吃香, etc., they can all be explained as verb+noun or a single adjective. I think both explanations can help you better understand the terms.


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## Skatinginbc

Messquito said:


> I don't know about places in China, but in Taiwan, only in 那部电影很有意思. or perhaps 那部电影有意思 can 有意思 mean "interesting", whereas in 那部电影有些意思. and 那部电影有深层的意思., it means "a little meaningful/ has deep meanings to it", not "a little/very interesting"


有意思 does not exactly equate to "interesting" in my mind.  意思 in 有意思 means either (1) 心意想法、意義 "motive, meaning" or (2) 情意、趣味 "sentiment/affection, fun/amusement".  那部电影有意思 means either 那部电影有引人深思的意圖/意義 "That movie has a thought-provoking motive/meaning" or 那部电影有趣味 "That movie is fun to watch".  Because 深层 does not go well with "fun", 那部电影有深层的意思 is always interpreted as "having profound meanings".  那部电影有些意思 can be 那部电影有些趣味, though.

Let's say 有意思 is an adjective.  Here is the question: How do we negate an adjective?  没有?  Or 不?  不容易, 不漂亮, 不小心, 不有錢, 不有意思.  If we treat it as a verb, then we can negate it not only with 不 (e.g., 不吃飯) but also with 没, for instance, 没吃飯, 没小心, 没有錢, 没有意思.


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## Messquito

Interesting means "arousing curiosity/interest/attention".
When one says something is interesting, it literally means "I'd/one would like to know more about it" (Although some may say it as a polite form of "boring")
And when I say Ａ有意思, I mean there are certain things meaningful to it, and people would like to explore more about it or that I enjoyed it.
I think this is why one considers certain uses of 有意思 as "interesting."
e.g.
A: Blah, blah, blah.....
B: Umm... Interesting. 唔... 有意思。 (Mostly just to politely show interest but in fact is bored)


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## Skatinginbc

Messquito said:


> 唔... 有意思。 (Mostly just to politely show interest but in fact is bored)


Yes, you are right. Pragmatically speaking, it corresponds to "interesting".


rydell said:


> can I say 没有有意思?


No.
這話 + 有 (V) + 意思 (N) ==> 這話 + 没有 (Negation of 有 is 没有) + 意思 = 這話 + 没 (a short form of 没有) + 意思
我 + 有 (V) + 兒子 (N) ==> 我没有兒子 = 我没兒子


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## RoyLin

SuperXW said:


> Simply speaking:
> 没有有意思


没有『有』意思 句子中的第二個『有』是多餘的
我們直接講---没有意思


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