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Since the word ĝeni means "to bother, to annoy", what would annoying be? (Ex: She is so annoying)

Would it be ĝenanta or ĝena?

2 Answers 2

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Ĝena can be used as an equivalent to ĝenanta. However, ĝeni means "to hinder" and by extension, "to bother, distract." In the Plena Ilustrita Vortaro, the definitions are:

1 Malfaciligi aŭ malhelpi ies movojn To make someone's movements more difficult

2 Malfaciligi ies agojn, pensojn ktp per ne materiala malhelpo To make someone's acts or thoughts more difficult by non-material means

Therefore, strictly speaking, ĝenanta means "bothersome" in the sense of hindering, or distracting.

If they are not getting in the way, or distracting, then you could try iritanta ("irritating"). So I would suggest Ŝi iritas min (tiom).

Related words are ĉagrenanta ("upsetting, vexing"), incitanta ("teasing"), tedanta ("boring, over-persistent, repetitious").

The commenter 2_K_ suggests agaca, which I forgot about completely.

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    What about agaca? I see agaca / agaci being used in the sense of "irritating, annoying", and although dictionaries often always give "tart, acerbic" as one of the translations to English, Esperanto already has "acida" for the taste. This is a text from Claude Piron: La soldato kiu marŝas en la vento en silento sur la vojo kiu marĉas sian korpon ne plu sentas. Lia menso fakte brutas, nur la laco kaj l' agaco de la pluvo kiu gutas senkompate lin turmentas.
    – 2_K_
    Commented Nov 3, 2016 at 11:51
  • That's a good one. You should post it as an answer. Commented Nov 3, 2016 at 15:22
  • Could you add it to your answer as an additional option?
    – 2_K_
    Commented Nov 4, 2016 at 13:47
  • Ok. I have edited. Commented Nov 4, 2016 at 15:44
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The adjective form of ĝeni is ĝena.

The word ĝenanta is, of course, possible, but you'll rarely find it used as an adjective, which is what you're asking.

More often, ĝenanta is used to show action:

  • li ne estos ĉiam ĝenanta kaj muĝanta (he won't be always getting in the way and grumbling.)

  • [ŝia koro] volus disŝiri la tunikon, ĝenantan la bruston.

A person who is habitually annoying could be called ĝenema.

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  • What about ĝenema? Commented Nov 6, 2016 at 6:18
  • Sounds good. I've added it to my answer. Thanks. Commented Nov 6, 2016 at 11:13

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