Below are 60 French words for emotions and personality, from heureux to se fâcher, with adjectives in the masculine form and their feminine forms explained. Learn these five first: heureux (happy), triste (sad), inquiet (worried), en colère (angry) and avoir peur (to be afraid). Real story sentences show how they are used.
- Words
- 60: feelings, personality, nouns and verbs
- Variety
- France French
- Level
- A1–A2
- Read them in
- Contos stories (chapters 1–2 free)
60 French words for feelings and character
Adjectives are given in the masculine. The next section shows how to make them feminine. This is the same word pack the Contos web app uses for flashcard review.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| heureux | happy |
| triste | sad |
| en colère | angry |
| inquiet | worried |
| nerveux | nervous |
| calme | calm |
| détendu | relaxed |
| enthousiaste | excited |
| surpris | surprised |
| déçu | disappointed |
| fier | proud |
| gêné | embarrassed |
| se sentir seul | lonely |
| reconnaissant | grateful |
| confus | confused |
| satisfait | satisfied |
| gentil | kind |
| sympathique | friendly |
| timide | shy |
| drôle | funny |
| intelligent | clever |
| honnête | honest |
| patient | patient |
| généreux | generous |
| poli | polite |
| courageux | brave |
| paresseux | lazy |
| travailleur | hard-working |
| curieux | curious |
| sérieux | serious |
| joyeux | cheerful |
| optimiste | optimistic |
| sûr de soi | confident |
| créatif | creative |
| fiable | reliable |
| le sentiment | feeling |
| l'émotion | emotion |
| l'humeur | mood |
| la joie | joy |
| le bonheur | happiness |
| la tristesse | sadness |
| la peur | fear |
| la colère | anger |
| l'amour | love |
| l'espoir | hope |
| la personnalité | personality |
| l'amitié | friendship |
| le courage | courage |
| la confiance | trust |
| la gentillesse | kindness |
| avoir peur | to be afraid |
| manquer | to miss someone |
| serrer dans ses bras | to hug |
| tomber amoureux | to fall in love |
| embrasser | to kiss |
| se calmer | to calm down |
| pardonner | to forgive |
| s'excuser | to apologise |
| profiter | to enjoy |
| se fâcher | to get angry |
Masculine and feminine: how these adjectives change
A French adjective agrees with the person it describes, so a woman is heureuse, not heureux. The endings in this list follow a handful of patterns.
| Ending | Masculine | Feminine | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| -eux → -euse | heureux, nerveux, curieux, sérieux, paresseux, généreux, courageux, joyeux | heureuse, nerveuse, curieuse, sérieuse, paresseuse, généreuse, courageuse, joyeuse | happy, nervous, curious, serious, lazy, generous, brave, cheerful |
| -et → -ète | inquiet | inquiète | worried |
| -er → -ère | fier | fière | proud |
| -if → -ive | créatif | créative | creative |
| -il → -ille | gentil | gentille | kind |
| -eur → -euse | travailleur | travailleuse | hard-working |
| add -e | déçu, gêné, seul, surpris, confus, détendu, satisfait, poli, patient, reconnaissant | déçue, gênée, seule, surprise, confuse, détendue, satisfaite, polie, patiente, reconnaissante | disappointed, embarrassed, alone, surprised, confused, relaxed, satisfied, polite, patient, grateful |
| already ends in -e: no change | triste, calme, timide, drôle, honnête, optimiste, fiable, sympathique, enthousiaste | the same | sad, calm, shy, funny, honest, optimistic, reliable, friendly, excited |
With -e added, you hear the final consonant: surpris ends in a vowel sound, surprise ends in a z sound, and confus and confuse follow the same pattern; satisfait and satisfaite, patient and patiente work the same way. For déçu, gêné and seul, the feminine sounds the same as the masculine.
Elle est triste, ou nerveuse.Feelings that French says differently
Several of these words are not used the way the English translation suggests.
Fear uses avoir, not être
French "has" fear: avoir peur. You say j'ai peur (I'm scared), never je suis peur. Shame and confidence work the same way: avoir honte, avoir confiance.
Monsieur Leclerc commence à avoir peur.Manquer works backwards
With manquer (to miss someone), the person you miss is the subject of the sentence. Tu me manques means "I miss you": literally, "you are missing to me".
Tu me manques.
I miss you.
Mes parents me manquent.
I miss my parents.
Je me sens seul ici.
I feel lonely here.
Seul on its own means alone, which is why the list gives se sentir seul (to feel lonely).
J'ai hâte de te voir.
I'm excited to see you, or I can't wait to see you.
Don't say "je suis excité"
Excité looks like "excited", but it can mean worked up, agitated or sexually aroused, so avoid it when you mean looking forward to something. Use j'ai hâte for something coming up, and enthousiaste (the word in the list) for being keen on an idea.
Angry: en colère or fâché?
Both mean angry. En colère is the general word; fâché is often used for being cross with someone (je suis fâché contre toi), and se fâcher is to get angry. Sympathique, usually shortened to sympa, means nice or friendly, not sympathetic.
Mixed feelings in a short sentence
Beginner stories at A1 describe feelings directly, with être plus an adjective. That makes them a good place to see these words: you get the feeling, the agreement and the reason in two or three short sentences. In this chapter a young tenant has just received a job offer.
Il est heureux mais aussi inquiet.At A2 and above, the same words move into longer phrases. Characters exchange un regard inquiet (a worried look), and inquiet now describes the look rather than the person, so it agrees with regard, a masculine noun.
Read a French story at A1: tap any word to see its meaning and save it as a flashcard.
Read free in your browserFrequently asked questions
How do you say "I miss you" in French?
Tu me manques (or vous me manquez, to more than one person or politely). The verb manquer works backwards: the person you miss is the subject, so "I miss my parents" is mes parents me manquent.
Can I say "je suis excité" in French?
Better not. Excité can mean agitated or sexually aroused, so it can sound odd or embarrassing. Say j'ai hâte (I can't wait) for something coming up, or je suis enthousiaste for being keen on an idea.
How do you say "I'm scared" in French?
J'ai peur, literally "I have fear". French uses avoir, not être, with peur. To say what you are scared of, add de: j'ai peur des chiens (I'm scared of dogs).
What is the feminine of heureux?
Heureuse. Adjectives ending in -eux change to -euse for a woman or a feminine noun: nerveux becomes nerveuse, curieux becomes curieuse. In the plural, the masculine stays heureux and the feminine becomes heureuses.