Published on May 10, 2023
How to describe emotions in Spanish
Describing your feelings and emotions in Spanish is a smart way to improve your vocabulary. When you express yourself in another language, you get the opportunity to explain your feelings, make friends and connect with others on a deeper level. Emotions are a central part of communication in any language.
There are plenty of words to describe how you feel in Spanish. You don’t need to memorize hundreds of words though. Learn to recognize the basic emotions and expand from there and take your language skills to the next level. Today we’ll cover the most common ways to describe emotions in Spanish. With a focus on your typical moods, you’ll be expressing yourself with confidence in no time at all.
Before we jump into some specific examples of emotions, let’s review how to use them in Spanish: Emotions are adjectives. As we have talked about before, adjectives in Spanish must agree in number and gender to the noun (person, place, thing or idea) they are modifying. Let’s compare some sentences in English and Spanish.
| English | Spanish |
| He is happy/pleased. | Él está contento. |
| She is happy. | Ella está contenta. |
| They (masculine) are happy. | Ellos están contentos. |
| They (feminine) are happy. | Ellas están contentas. |
The adjective ‘happy’ or ‘pleased’ never changes its spelling in English. In Spanish, the root adjective contento changes to contenta for ella, a feminine noun. It changes to contentos for the masculine plural noun ellos. It changes to contentas for the feminine plural noun ellas. Check the chart to see how the endings match up.
Adjectives that end in a consonant or –e are not masculine or feminine, they are neutral. These can be used for either without changing. For example, feliz also means happy.
To make an adjective plural, add –s or –es to the ending of the adjective.
Let’s review some common emotions in Spanish. These words will help you describe how you feel.
| English | Spanish | Examples |
| Happy | Feliz | Estoy feliz. (I am happy.)Me siento feliz. (I feel happy.) |
| Sad | Triste | Estoy triste. (I am sad.)Me siento triste. (I feel sad.) |
| Angry | Enojado | Ella está enojada. (She is angry.)Se siente enojada. (She feels angry.) |
| Scared | Asustado | Ellos están asustados. (They are scared.)Se sienten asustados. (They feel scared.) |
| Surprised | Sorprendido | Las niñas están sorprendidas. (The girls are surprised.)Las niñas se sienten sorprendidas. (The girls feel surprised.) |
Now let’s go beyond the basics in order to sound more natural. Let’s review some typical phrases that use our new vocabulary. Copy these example sentences to describe your emotions in Spanish. Take a moment to review how to use ser and estar. These two are the most important verbs for expressing emotions.
| English | Spanish | Example |
| Excited | Emocionado | Estoy emocionado. (I am excited.)Me siento emocionado. (I feel excited.) |
| Embarrassed | Avergonzado | Están avergonzados. (They are embarrassed.)Se sienten avergonzados. (They feel embarrassed.) |
| Worried | Preocupado | Está preocupado. (He is worried.)Se siente preocupado. (He feels worried.) |
| Tired | Cansado | Está cansada. (She is tired.)Se siente cansada. (She feels tired.) |
| In love | Enamorado | Estamos enamorados. (We are in love.)Nos sentimos enamorados. (We feel in love.)Estar enamorado de alguien. (To be in love with someone.) |
Tip: To get your Spanish accent correct, we always recommend that you listen to a native Spanish speaker. For example, social media accounts often feature native speakersl. Here is a TikTok where you can listen to the proper pronunciation of the emotions in Spanish.
Learning Spanish feels comfortable when you can finally express your true emotions and personality. Knowing how to describe emotions in Spanish is an essential part of communicating who you are. With just these basic words and phrases, you will start to feel less preocupado (worried) and more contento (happy) about your speaking ability. Don’t be afraid to practice these expressions in the real world. You never know, you might need to tell a Spanish-speaking friend about falling in love someday!
