Oh, my. That all depends on context, on relationship (friend or stranger), tone of voice, and situation. It also depends on whether "funny" is used in its sense of "comical, ludicrous" or in its since of "strange, peculiar." Do not worry about accidentally insulting someone. It's an automatic insult. People will sense what you mean. "Funny" does _not_ mean "full of fun." If you want to tell someone that they are fun to be with, say "you're fun to be with." If you want to tell someone that they make you laugh, and that they are full of jokes and say funny things, say "You have a great sense of humor."

Hmmm, I hesitated to respond here as the previous comments do cover the subject pretty well. All agree that context is necessary to answer your question. All cover the general meaning of the word "funny". However, it's important to realize that a speaker's intention and meaning does not necessarily directly influence how a listener interprets what has been said. Complimentary intention or not, a listener may see being called "funny" as insulting (as Dan and Cherry wrote). However, Bia is equally correct when she addresses the humorous meaning of "funny". Being humorous may or may not be situationally appropriate, but being referred to as being humourous is seldom a negative thing in my opinion. Ultimately, I'd have to say that there is no such thing as a "bad" word. There are words used to insult, to convey negativity, and those which are slang. But in and of themselves, no words are "bad" or even "better" than others. Sometimes, it's not what you say, but how you say it and when you say it.

Hi! I'm not a native speaker of English, but I consider myself fluent and I've lived in the US for almost 2 years - so I guess I know a little something. From my experience, I wouldn't say the word 'funny' is a bad word, but it's one of those words that, depending on the context (or the way you say it, for instance), that it might sound like criticism. If you are talking to someone you know, and this person tells a joke or does something funny, then it is no problem to say that he or she is funny. But if it is someone you are not close to, maybe it's best to keep it to yourself, since you don't know whether the person will perceive it as a compliment or not (especially these days when people get offended so easily). Maybe you can use the word ENTERTAINING instead: "You are very entertaining!". Dear native speakers of English, what do you think? :)

Whether it is a bad connotation or not depends on the context and the person means . You can understand from the situation . It really could mean many things. " You are funny " could mean you are weird or odd. It is used many times in a sarcastic way to mean you are stupid , weird or silly. It could also literally mean you are entertaining and make one laugh , which is the positive sense. You can't just generalize and say it is a bad word !