Talking about how you feel is one of the most important skills in any language. Spanish has a rich set of emotion words, but it also has three distinct grammatical patterns — estar + adjective, tener + noun, and sentirse + adjective — that determine exactly how a feeling is expressed. This guide walks you through all three, gives you the core vocabulary, and explains the common mistakes that trip up learners.
Most Spanish emotion adjectives have masculine and feminine forms. When describing a male subject (or using the adjective yourself if you are male), use the -o ending; for a female subject, use the -a ending. Adjectives ending in -e or a consonant stay the same for both genders.
| Spanish (m / f) | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| feliz | feh-LEES | happy |
| contento / contenta | kon-TEN-toh / kon-TEN-tah | content, pleased |
| alegre | ah-LEH-greh | cheerful, merry |
| emocionado / emocionada | eh-moh-syoh-NAH-doh / -dah | excited, moved (emotionally) |
| orgulloso / orgullosa | or-goo-YOH-soh / -sah | proud |
| tranquilo / tranquila | tran-KEE-loh / -lah | calm, at ease |
| relajado / relajada | reh-lah-HAH-doh / -dah | relaxed |
| enamorado / enamorada | eh-nah-moh-RAH-doh / -dah | in love |
| agradecido / agradecida | ah-grah-deh-SEE-doh / -dah | grateful, thankful |
These adjectives describe difficult or uncomfortable feelings. Notice that triste (sad) ends in -e and does not change for gender, while most others follow the -o / -a pattern.
| Spanish (m / f) | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| triste | TREES-teh | sad |
| enojado / enojada | eh-noh-HAH-doh / -dah | angry (common in Latin America) |
| enfadado / enfadada | en-fah-DAH-doh / -dah | angry (common in Spain) |
| preocupado / preocupada | preh-oh-koo-PAH-doh / -dah | worried |
| nervioso / nerviosa | ner-VYOH-soh / -sah | nervous, anxious |
| cansado / cansada | kan-SAH-doh / -dah | tired |
| aburrido / aburrida | ah-boo-REE-doh / -dah | bored |
| asustado / asustada | ah-soos-TAH-doh / -dah | scared, frightened |
| celoso / celosa | seh-LOH-soh / -sah | jealous |
| estresado / estresada | es-treh-SAH-doh / -dah | stressed |
| avergonzado / avergonzada | ah-ver-gon-SAH-doh / -dah | embarrassed, ashamed |
In Spanish, temporary states — including most emotions — use the verb estar (to be), not ser. This is the single most important rule for expressing feelings. Combine any form of estar with an emotion adjective, making sure the adjective agrees in gender and number with the subject.
The formula is: Subject + estar (conjugated) + emotion adjective
| Spanish | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Estoy cansado. (male speaker) | es-TOY kan-SAH-doh | I am tired. |
| Estoy cansada. (female speaker) | es-TOY kan-SAH-dah | I am tired. |
| Estás triste. | es-TAHS TREES-teh | You are sad. |
| Él está enojado. | el es-TAH eh-noh-HAH-doh | He is angry. |
| Ella está preocupada. | EH-yah es-TAH preh-oh-koo-PAH-dah | She is worried. |
| Estamos contentos. | es-TAH-mohs kon-TEN-tohs | We are content. (mixed/male group) |
| Están nerviosos. | es-TAHN ner-VYOH-sohs | They are nervous. |
Common mistake: English speakers sometimes say “soy feliz” (I am happy) using ser. This is actually grammatically possible with feliz to express a general personality trait (“I’m a happy person by nature”), but for the everyday statement “I feel happy right now,” estoy feliz is the natural choice. For all other emotion adjectives in this guide, use estar.
A number of common physical and emotional states in Spanish use the verb tener (to have) followed by a noun — not an adjective. This is a key difference from English: where we say “I am hungry,” Spanish says tengo hambre — literally “I have hunger.” These are fixed expressions and must be memorized as units.
The formula is: Subject + tener (conjugated) + noun
| Spanish Expression | Pronunciation | English Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| tener miedo | teh-NER MYEH-doh | to be afraid (lit. “to have fear”) |
| tener hambre | teh-NER AHM-breh | to be hungry (lit. “to have hunger”) |
| tener sed | teh-NER SED | to be thirsty (lit. “to have thirst”) |
| tener sueño | teh-NER SWEH-nyoh | to be sleepy (lit. “to have sleep”) |
| tener frío | teh-NER FREE-oh | to be cold (lit. “to have cold”) |
| tener calor | teh-NER kah-LOR | to be hot (lit. “to have heat”) |
| tener prisa | teh-NER PREE-sah | to be in a hurry (lit. “to have haste”) |
| tener razón | teh-NER rah-SOHN | to be right (lit. “to have reason”) |
| tener vergüenza | teh-NER ver-GWEN-sah | to be embarrassed / to feel shame |
In use, conjugate tener for the subject: tengo miedo (I’m afraid), tienes sueño (you’re sleepy), tiene hambre (he/she is hungry), tenemos frío (we’re cold). Do not add “mucho” with an adjective here — instead, intensify with mucho/a before the noun: tengo mucho miedo (I’m very afraid), tenemos mucha hambre (we’re very hungry). Note that mucho agrees in gender with the noun it modifies.
The reflexive verb sentirse (to feel oneself) offers a third, very natural way to talk about emotions. It is used with adjectives, just like estar, but the phrasing often sounds more personal and introspective. You will hear it frequently in everyday conversation.
The formula is: Reflexive pronoun + sentir (conjugated) + adjective
| Spanish | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Me siento bien. | meh SYEN-toh BYEN | I feel well / good. |
| Me siento mal. | meh SYEN-toh MAL | I feel bad / unwell. |
| Me siento feliz. | meh SYEN-toh feh-LEES | I feel happy. |
| Te sientes triste. | teh SYEN-tes TREES-teh | You feel sad. |
| Se siente solo. | seh SYEN-teh SOH-loh | He/she feels lonely. |
| Nos sentimos agradecidos. | nohs sen-TEE-mohs ah-grah-deh-SEE-dohs | We feel grateful. |
| ¿Cómo te sientes? | KOH-moh teh SYEN-tes | How do you feel? |
Sentirse can also be followed by como + noun for metaphorical feelings: me siento como un rey (I feel like a king). Note that bien and mal are adverbs, not adjectives — they do not change for gender or number, which is why you say me siento bien regardless of who is speaking.
While emotions use estar to express a current state, Spanish speakers sometimes use ser with the same adjective to express a permanent personality trait. The meaning shifts significantly:
| With ser (trait) | With estar (state) | How the meaning differs |
|---|---|---|
| Es aburrido. | Está aburrido. | Ser: He is a boring person. / Estar: He is bored (right now). |
| Es nervioso. | Está nervioso. | Ser: He is a nervous/anxious person (by nature). / Estar: He is nervous (at this moment). |
| Es triste. | Está triste. | Ser: He is a sad/somber person. / Estar: He is sad (today). |
This ser/estar contrast is one of the most important distinctions in Spanish. For a full treatment, see the Ser vs. Estar grammar guide.
Knowing the vocabulary is only half the job — you also need to ask and respond naturally. Here are the most common questions and answers for talking about emotions in everyday Spanish conversation.
| Spanish | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| ¿Cómo estás? | KOH-moh es-TAHS | How are you? (informal) |
| ¿Cómo está usted? | KOH-moh es-TAH oos-TED | How are you? (formal) |
| ¿Cómo te sientes? | KOH-moh teh SYEN-tes | How do you feel? |
| ¿Qué te pasa? | KEH teh PAH-sah | What’s wrong? / What’s the matter? |
| ¿Estás bien? | es-TAHS BYEN | Are you okay? |
| Estoy bien, gracias. | es-TOY BYEN GRAH-syahs | I’m fine, thanks. |
| No estoy muy bien. | noh es-TOY mwee BYEN | I’m not very well. |
| Estoy un poco triste. | es-TOY oon POH-koh TREES-teh | I’m a little sad. |
| Estoy muy feliz. | es-TOY mwee feh-LEES | I’m very happy. |
| Más o menos. | MAHS oh MEH-nohs | So-so. / More or less. |
| No me siento bien. | noh meh SYEN-toh BYEN | I don’t feel well. |
| Tengo mucho sueño. | TEN-goh MOO-choh SWEH-nyoh | I’m very sleepy. |
Spanish uses a small set of common words to make emotions stronger or weaker. Placing these before the adjective (or after estar/sentirse) gives you much more expressive range than the bare vocabulary list.
| Spanish | Pronunciation | Effect & Example |
|---|---|---|
| muy | mwee | very — estoy muy cansado (I’m very tired) |
| un poco | oon POH-koh | a little — estoy un poco nervioso (I’m a little nervous) |
| bastante | bahs-TAN-teh | quite, rather — estoy bastante preocupado (I’m quite worried) |
| demasiado | deh-mah-SYAH-doh | too, excessively — estoy demasiado estresado (I’m too stressed) |
| nada | NAH-dah | not at all — no estoy nada triste (I’m not sad at all) |
• Always check gender agreement. When you use an -o/-a adjective, the ending must match the subject’s gender, not yours as the speaker. If you are describing your male friend: está cansado. For a female friend: está cansada.
• Learn tener idioms as complete phrases. Unlike adjective-based expressions, the tener + noun phrases (“to have hunger,” “to have fear”) do not follow predictable patterns. Memorize each one as a fixed unit rather than trying to construct them logically from English.
• Use estar as your default for emotions. When in doubt about ser vs. estar for a feeling, choose estar. It will be correct the vast majority of the time. The ser + emotion combination (to describe a personality trait) is less common and carries a noticeably different meaning.
• Practice the question-and-answer pairs. The fastest way to internalize these expressions is to drill the back-and-forth: someone asks ¿cómo estás? and you answer using a real emotion word from your day. Even one minute of mental practice per day builds fluency quickly.
• Don’t confuse emocionado with “emotional.” In Spanish, emocionado means “excited” or “moved (emotionally)” in a positive sense. The English word “emotional” (prone to showing emotions) is closer to emocional or sentimental in Spanish. Context makes the difference, but it is a common false-friend trap.
Try constructing these sentences in Spanish before checking yourself with the vocabulary tables above. Use all three patterns you have learned.