When it comes to Spanish conversation, many learners feel stuck when they need to express their moods and feelings in Spanish. It often happens due to a limited vocabulary and a lack of speaking practice.
It can get a bit boring if you can only use “Me gusta” or “No me gusta” when you describe your feelings in Spanish. Spanish is a romance language, and it is considered to be very emotional. Therefore, expanding your speech with the right vocabulary will help you to have more in-depth conversations.
This post provides the most common words in Spanish to express love, happiness, joy, frustration, and a bunch of other feelings.
What you will learn:
- How to form the phrases to express your feelings in Spanish
- How to emphases your emotions
- Tips how to memorize the new vocabulary more efficiently
Choose a verb to talk about Feelings in Spanish
Before going straight to adjectives, we should review the grammar rules on how to describe your moods and feelings in Spanish.
These three verbs are commonly used together with adjectives that describe feelings.
Estar + Adjective ( To be )
Sentirse + Adjective ( To feel )
Tener + Noun ( To have )
Let’s review them in more detail.
Estar and Sentirse can be interchangeable
Estar and Sentirse are used with adjectives, and they are often interchangeable since they can mean the same thing.
For example, in English, we can say “I am sad” or “I feel sad”. Similarly, in Spanish, you would say:
- “Estoy triste”
- “Me siento triste”
There is a slight difference between these verbs, “Sentirse” expresses the emotion you feel, and “Estar” describes your current state of being. And you choose the verb you want to use the same way you would do in English.
Important point to note:
Adjectives always change depending on the gender of the person who is experiencing the feeling.
The ending is -o for male and -a for me female.
For example, if Juan is angry, you would say:
“Juan esta enojado“
If Maria is angry, you would say:
“Maria esta enojada“
Verb Tener for feelings in Spanish
With the verb “Tener” ( To have ) is a little bit different story. It’s more tricky, but you get used to it with time.
Some of the feelings in Spanish you HAVE, instead of FEEL.
For example, in English, we usually say that we are hungry or we are thirsty, but in Spanish, you say you have hunger or you have thirst.
Tener is used together with a noun rather than an adjective.
And as we are using a noun, we don’t need to change the end to agree with the gender.
You will just need to remember the most common feelings which Spanish speakers use with the verb Tener. The most popular examples are :
- Tengo sed – I am thirsty
- Tengo hambre – I am hugry
- Tengo sueño – I am sleepy
- Tengo frio– I am cold
- Tengo calor – I am hot
- Tengo miedo – I am afraid
- Tengo prisa – I am on a hurry
How to emphasize your feelings in Spanish
When we need to describe how strong the moods and feelings in Spanish are, we can use the following phrases before adjectives:
- Very – Muy
Cristina está muy contenta => Cristina is very happy - A little – Un poco
Me siento un poco enfermo hoy. => I feel a little sick today.
- A tiny bit / A little bit – Un poquito
Pedro está un poquito preocupado => Pedro is a little bit worried - So – Tan
Estoy tan aburrido aquí => I am so bored here
When we use the verb Tener, we will have to add “de” for “a little bit” or “a little”, and use “mucha” instead of “muy” for very / a lot.
- Very – Mucha
Pedro tiene mucha hambre => Pedro is very hungry - A little – Un poco de
Tengo un poco de sed => I am a little thirsty - A tiny bit => Un poquito de
El bebé tiene un poquito de sueño. => The baby is a little bit sleepy.
When you feel like something
If you’re feeling like something, you can use “como”
Me siento como + noun
Me siento como un niño cuando estoy con ellos. => I feel like a young boy when I am with them.
How to effectively memorize the new vocabulary
Finally, we learned how to form expressions to describe how we feel. Now we got to the point when we need to learn the essential vocabulary.
It’s not easy to remember the list of new 50 words at once.
So how to make sure that the new vocabulary sticks to our brain?
I researched the most effective techniques to memorize new vocabulary. And here are the tips that I found extremely useful.
Put the words in context
Instead of reading the long list of new words, try to put them in sentences. That way, you will remember how to use the new vocabulary in real life.
You can also draw images to show the feelings to put the words in their natural habitat.
Make the learning interactive. Don’t just read the words – say them out loud yourself and write or type them.
Under each word, you will find a short phrase or sentence in English that you should translate yourself to Spanish. After you finish all the phrases, download the free PDF file with the correct translations to check yourself.
Use tools that will work for you
Flashcards or language learning apps can be a great idea to memorize the new vocabulary. There is plenty of flashcards that you can use for free.
A great flashcard app I can recommend is Quizlet.
You will find loads of useful vocabulary created by other users. You don’t even have to create your own if you don’t want to. To access the free materials, you need to:
- Download the app
- Open the search and type “Spanish emotions.”
- Choose any of the free study sets that you prefer.
Hack your brain by using spaced repetition technique
Learn words using the spaced repetition technique, simple but extremely effective way to hacks the way your brain works.
The concept is based on taking information that you need to memorize and repeating it at gradually increasing intervals.
The more you repeat the words, the better you will remember them.
For example, you learn the word “A” today at 9 am.
You will repeat it at 9 pm on the same day. Then again 24 hours later at 9 pm the next day. The next review can be done in 48 hours and so on. The interval basically keeps increasing. Roughly, the next review can happen in 7 days, then 30 days, then 3 months, then 6 months.
Some of the flashcards apps are built on this technique, which makes them stand out from all other apps.
Words to describe your moods and feelings in Spanish
- Before you start learning, prepare a notebook to write or a computer file to type.
- Learn the words and write/type the translation to each phrase under the words.
- Keep the file saved on your phone and review the vocabulary according to the spaced repetition technique.
Positive feelings and emotions
- contento / contenta – happy, pleased
“Adrian feels happy” - emocionado/ emocionada – excited
“I am very excited today“ - enamorado/ enamorada – in love
“Marco is in love with his new girlfriend.”
( With his new girlfriend – de su nueva novia) - agradecido/ agradecida – thankful
“Patricia is very thankful to you.” - encantado/ encantada – delighted
“I am delighted“ - satisfecho/ satisfecha – satisflied
“I feel satisfied“ - orgulloso/ orgullosa – proud
“I am proud of you“ - relajado/ relajada – relaxed
“I feel very relaxed here“ - sorprendido/ sorprendida – surprised
“I am a little bit surprised“ - optimista – optimistic
“Jose is very optimistic“ - fabuloso/fabulosa – fabulous/fantastic
“Maya feels fantastic today“ - interesado/interesada – interested
“I am not interested” - aliviado/aliviada – relieved
“I felt relieved when I received his call“
( when I received his call – cuando recibí su llamada.) - dichoso/dichosa – lucky / fortunate
“I am lucky today“ - cómodo/cómoda – comfortable
“I feel comfortable on this sofa”
Negative feelings and emotions
- infeliz – unhappy
“Anna feels unhappy “ - triste – sad
“Why are you sad?“ - angry – enojado /enojada
“Luis is a little bit angry today.“ - bored – aburrido/aburrida
“I am so bored here “ - anxious – ansioso/ansiosa
“Rafael feels anxious“ - deprimido/deprimida – depressed
“Maria is depressed” - desesperado/desesperada – desperate
“He’s desperate because he can’t find a job.“
(porque no puede encontrar trabajo -because he can’t find a job ) - preocupado/preocupada – worried
“I am a little bit worried “ - avergonzado/avergonzada – embarrassed / ashamed
“I was so embarrassed about his behavior”
( por su comportamiento – about his behavior) - nervioso/nerviosa – nervous
“I am so worried about my exam“
(por mi examen – about my exam) - confused – confundido/confundida
“I am more confused than I was before” - frustrado/frustrada – frustrated
“I feel very frustrated“ - asustado/asustada – frightened
“He was so frightened that he couldn’t talk“ - dolido/dolida – hurt
“She feels hurt after the letter“ - inseguro/insegura – insecure
“Tom feels insecure“ - impaciente – impatient
“I feel so impatient when she is late”
(cuando llega tarde – when she is late) - celoso/celosa – jealous
“Her husband feels jealous if she comes home late“
(si llega tarde a casa- if she comes home late) - tímido/tímida – shy
“Carla feels shy to talk to you”. - fatal –terrible
“I feel so terrible after the news “ - furioso/furiosa – furious
“Her dad was furious“ - incómodo/incómoda – uncomfortable
“Do you feel uncomfortable?“ - cansado/cansada – tired
“Patrick was so tired yesterday“ - solitario/solitaria – lonely
Sometimes I feel lonely - disgustado/disgustada – disgusted, upset, disappointed
Paulina is very disappointed with the service
( with the service – con el servicio)