Tedium is the dull, heavy feeling you get when something goes on and on and nothing about it changes.

Tedium沉悶感 is是 the dull, heavy feeling那種沉重、令人厭煩的感覺，you get when something goes on and on and nothing about it changes當一件事一直持續下去、卻什麼都沒有改變時，你會有的。

It is a noun, and it names the feeling itself, not the thing that causes it — so you feel tedium, you don't 'do a tedium'. It is uncountable: 'the tedium of the job', never 'a tedium' or 'tediums'.

It它 is是 a noun一個名詞，and而且 it names the feeling itself它指的是那種感覺本身，not the thing that causes it不是造成這感覺的事情——so所以 you feel tedium你會說feel tedium（感到沉悶感），you don't 'do a tedium'而不會說do a tedium。It它 is是 uncountable不可數名詞：'the tedium of the job'像the tedium of the job這樣說，never絕不會說 'a tedium' or 'tediums'a tedium或tediums。

The word points at a very particular kind of boredom: not the boredom of having nothing to do, but the boredom of doing the same small thing again and again — copying numbers, waiting in a queue, driving a straight road for four hours. Length and sameness are both part of it.

The word這個字 points at指的是 a very particular kind of boredom一種很特定的無聊：not the boredom of having nothing to do不是沒事做的那種無聊，but而是 the boredom of doing the same small thing again and again一直重複做同一件小事的那種無聊——copying numbers像是抄數字、waiting in a queue排隊、driving a straight road for four hours或開四個小時筆直的路。Length and sameness時間長和一成不變 are both part of it都是這種感覺的一部分。

Most often you meet it in the phrase 'the tedium of', followed by the thing that causes it: the tedium of the flight, the tedium of housework, the tedium of a long illness. Also very common is 'relieve / break / escape the tedium' — people talk about tedium mostly when they are describing how they survived it: 'She played podcasts to break the tedium of the drive.' The word is a little formal, a little literary.

Most often最常見的情況 you meet it你會看到它 in the phrase 'the tedium of'出現在'the tedium of'這個片語裡，followed by the thing that causes it後面接造成這感覺的事情：the tedium of the flight像the tedium of the flight（搭飛機的沉悶）、the tedium of housework the tedium of housework（做家事的沉悶）、the tedium of a long illness the tedium of a long illness（久病的沉悶）。Also very common is還有一個很常見的說法是 'relieve / break / escape the tedium''relieve / break / escape the tedium'，people talk about tedium mostly when they are describing how they survived it人們談到tedium時，通常是在說自己是怎麼撐過去的：'She played podcasts to break the tedium of the drive.'像她放了podcast來打破開車的沉悶這樣的例子。The word這個字 is是 a little formal, a little literary有點正式、有點文學。

In speech a Taiwanese student would more naturally say 'it was so boring', and that is fine; tedium is what you write, or what you say when you want to sound slightly wry about your suffering.

In speech在口語裡 a Taiwanese student would more naturally say台灣學生更自然的說法會是 'it was so boring''it was so boring'（好無聊），and that is fine這樣完全沒問題；tedium這個字 is就是 what you write你會用在寫作裡的字，or what you say when you want to sound slightly wry about your suffering或是你想用有點自嘲的口氣講自己的痛苦時會用的字。

Note the family around it: the adjective 'tedious' is much commoner than the noun, and 'tedious' describes the thing ('a tedious meeting'), while 'tedium' names the feeling ('the tedium of the meeting'). Though actually — English speakers do sometimes stretch it to the situation itself, saying 'the tedium of the afternoon' when they mean the afternoon was full of nothing. Nobody objects.

Note注意 the family around it它周圍的字族：the adjective 'tedious'形容詞'tedious' is much commoner than the noun比名詞常用得多，and而 'tedious' describes the thing'tedious'描述的是那件事本身 ('a tedious meeting')（像'a tedious meeting'，一場沉悶的會議），while而 'tedium' names the feeling'tedium'指的是那種感覺本身 ('the tedium of the meeting')（像'the tedium of the meeting'，會議的沉悶感）。Though actually不過話說回來——English speakers do sometimes stretch it to the situation itself英語使用者有時候也會把這個字延伸到整個情境本身，saying 'the tedium of the afternoon'說'the tedium of the afternoon' when they mean the afternoon was full of nothing意思是那個下午空空洞洞、什麼都沒發生。Nobody objects沒有人會反對這種用法。