The paper analyzes the central concept boredom in the narrative «A Boring Story» by A. P. Chekhov. The main attention is drawn to the two semantic components of the title concept: to monotony which characterizes the life of the world around the hero and estrangement which presents his own sensation. It is shown how these semantic components gradually reveal their existential essence. The main motives which form the indicated semantic groups are singled out. These motives are represented by the lexical units «the same», «usually», «always», «constantly», «often», «out of habit», «gray»; indifference, laziness, carelessness, loneliness. It is shown how the tragic sense of the narrative is realized through a complicated system of logo-figurative motives, organized by the main concept boredom.