😊 Feelings - Sentimientos
Beginner Spanish · Feelings and emotions
Feelings in Spanish
Emotion words become much more useful when you can ask how someone feels, answer naturally, and explain what is making you happy, tired, nervous, or worried.
Your next small win: ask how someone feels, answer with estar or sentirse, and use common emotion adjectives with the right form.
Start with everyday emotions
Core Feelings
These six words give you a useful starting set for talking about how someone feels.
Happy
Sad
Angry
Tired
Scared
Excited
Agreement: many emotion adjectives change to match the person, such as cansado / cansada and emocionado / emocionada. Words such as feliz and triste keep the same masculine and feminine form.
Name two feelings
Say “happy and tired” in Spanish.
Feliz y cansado.
More emotion vocabulary
Relaxed
Confused
Proud
Nervous
In love
Bored
Worried
Surprised
Describe how someone feels now
Estar + Emotion
Spanish commonly uses estar + adjective to describe someone's emotional state at a particular moment.
I am happy.
I am tired.
She is nervous.
We are worried.
Add a reason or situation
I am very happy about the news.
I am tired after a long day.
She is nervous about the interview.
We are worried about the exam.
Describe a feeling
Say that she is nervous about the interview.
Ella está nerviosa por la entrevista.
Say how you feel
Using Sentirse
Sentirse gives you another natural way to talk about someone's feelings.
I feel tired.
How do you feel?
We feel relaxed.
The child feels sad.
Checking on someone
How do you feel today?
I feel a little tired.
Two useful choices: Estoy cansado means “I am tired.” Me siento cansado means “I feel tired.” Both appear naturally when talking about feelings.
Answer a check-in
Someone asks how you feel today. Say that you feel a little tired.
Me siento un poco cansado.
Check on another person
Questions About Feelings
Different questions fit different situations, from a casual greeting to noticing that something may be wrong.
How are you?
How do you feel?
Are you okay?
What's wrong?
Before an important event
Are you nervous about the interview?
Yes, but I am also excited.
Ask and answer
Ask whether someone is okay. Then imagine they are nervous but also excited.
¿Estás bien?
Estoy nervioso, pero también estoy emocionado.
More feelings in context
My friend is angry about what happened.
We feel relaxed when we are at the beach.
I am confused by these instructions.
We are bored because there is nothing to do.
I am very proud of you.
Your turn · 8 quick questions
Practice: Feelings
Choose the answer that fits each situation. Focus on emotion vocabulary, estar, sentirse, and adjective agreement.
Practice complete
You can ask about and describe everyday feelings.
A few feeling phrases to revisit
One last step: describe feelings without choices.
Ask someone how they feel. Then give your own answer with one emotion and a reason or situation.
¿Cómo te sientes hoy?
Me siento un poco cansado.
También estoy nervioso por la entrevista.
You want to ask specifically how someone feels today. What do you say?
- ¿Cómo te sientes hoy?
- ¿Cómo estás hoy?
- ¿Estás bien hoy?
- ¿Qué te pasa hoy?
¿Cómo te sientes hoy? directly asks how the person feels today using sentirse.
¿Cómo te sientes hoy?
Someone asks how you feel. You feel a little tired. Which answer fits?
- Me siento un poco cansado.
- Me siento un poco nervioso.
- Estoy un poco confundido.
- Estoy un poco preocupado.
Cansado means tired, and me siento expresses how you feel.
Me siento un poco cansado.
She is nervous about the interview. Which sentence matches?
- Ella está nerviosa por la entrevista.
- Ella está emocionada por la entrevista.
- Ella está preocupada por el examen.
- Ella está confundida con las instrucciones.
Nerviosa is the feminine form used in the lesson for someone who is nervous about the interview.
Ella está nerviosa por la entrevista.
You are nervous about an interview, but you are also excited. Which answer expresses both feelings?
- Estoy nervioso, pero también estoy emocionado.
- Estoy nervioso, pero también estoy cansado.
- Estoy preocupado, pero también estoy confundido.
- Estoy triste, pero también estoy aburrido.
Nervioso and emocionado express the two feelings in the prompt. Feminine speakers can use nerviosa and emocionada.
Estoy nervioso, pero también estoy emocionado.
Which pair keeps the same form for masculine and feminine?
- feliz / triste
- cansado / nervioso
- emocionado / preocupado
- relajado / confundido
Feliz and triste do not change between masculine and feminine forms.
feliz / triste
You and another person are worried about the exam. Which sentence fits?
- Estamos preocupados por el examen.
- Estamos emocionados por el examen.
- Estamos relajados por el examen.
- Estamos sorprendidos por el examen.
Preocupados means worried and agrees with the plural subject.
Estamos preocupados por el examen.
You notice that something seems wrong and want to ask what is happening. Which question fits?
- ¿Qué te pasa?
- ¿Cómo estás?
- ¿Cómo te sientes?
- ¿Estás nervioso?
¿Qué te pasa? is used to ask what is wrong or what is the matter.
¿Qué te pasa?
You want to tell someone that you are very proud of them. What do you say?
- Estoy muy orgulloso de ti.
- Estoy muy feliz con las noticias.
- Estoy muy emocionado por la entrevista.
- Estoy muy preocupado por el examen.
Orgulloso de ti means proud of you. Use orgullosa if appropriate for the speaker.
Estoy muy orgulloso de ti.