The other day, my daughter commented on how confusing the mir ist construction can be. In lots of cases where we say, “I am,” in English, Germans say mir ist or ist mir — “it seems to me.” So, they say, “Mir ist kalt” — “It seems cold to me” — rather than “I’m cold.” Mir ist can also mean “From my point of view, it’s…” So Germans say, “Es ist mir wichtig” — “From my point of view, it’s important.” Or they say, “Es ist mir klar” — “From my point of view, it’s obvious.” Germans even talk about illnesses this way: mir ist schwindlig — I feel dizzy.
This can lead to some humorous misunderstandings. If we say, “Mir ist langweilig,” that means, “I’m bored” or “This seems boring to me.” But if we say, “Ich bin langweilig,” what we’re saying in German is “I’m a boring, tedious person.” Let’s hope nobody nods and agrees!