Here are 60 German words for feelings and personality, from glücklich (happy) and traurig (sad) to neugierig (curious) and mutig (brave). Learn these five first: glücklich, traurig, nervös (nervous), die Angst (fear) and vermissen (to miss someone). Many German feelings are reflexive verbs, such as sich freuen (to be glad), and a few words look English but are not.
- Words
- 60: adjectives, nouns and verbs
- Variety
- Germany German
- Level
- A1–A2
- Read them in
- Contos stories (chapters 1–2 free)
60 German words for feelings and character
Adjectives are given in their basic form, which is the form you use after sein: ich bin müde, sie ist stolz. Nouns come with their article. This is the emotions pack from the Contos web app's flashcard review.
| German | English |
|---|---|
| glücklich | happy |
| traurig | sad |
| wütend | angry |
| besorgt | worried |
| nervös | nervous |
| ruhig | calm |
| entspannt | relaxed |
| aufgeregt | excited |
| überrascht | surprised |
| enttäuscht | disappointed |
| stolz | proud |
| verlegen | embarrassed |
| einsam | lonely |
| dankbar | grateful |
| verwirrt | confused |
| zufrieden | satisfied |
| nett | kind |
| freundlich | friendly |
| schüchtern | shy |
| lustig | funny |
| klug | clever |
| ehrlich | honest |
| geduldig | patient |
| großzügig | generous |
| höflich | polite |
| mutig | brave |
| faul | lazy |
| fleißig | hard-working |
| neugierig | curious |
| ernst | serious |
| fröhlich | cheerful |
| optimistisch | optimistic |
| selbstbewusst | confident |
| kreativ | creative |
| zuverlässig | reliable |
| das Gefühl | feeling |
| die Emotion | emotion |
| die Laune | mood |
| die Freude | joy |
| das Glück | happiness |
| die Traurigkeit | sadness |
| die Angst | fear |
| die Wut | anger |
| die Liebe | love |
| die Hoffnung | hope |
| die Persönlichkeit | personality |
| die Freundschaft | friendship |
| der Mut | courage |
| das Vertrauen | trust |
| die Freundlichkeit | kindness |
| Angst haben | to be afraid |
| vermissen | to miss someone |
| umarmen | to hug |
| sich verlieben | to fall in love |
| küssen | to kiss |
| sich beruhigen | to calm down |
| verzeihen | to forgive |
| sich entschuldigen | to apologise |
| genießen | to enjoy |
| sich ärgern | to get angry |
How do you say how you feel in German?
The simplest pattern is ich bin + adjective: ich bin glücklich, ich bin nervös. After sein the adjective takes no ending. Put it in front of a noun and it does: eine glückliche Frau, ein trauriger Tag.
To say that a feeling arrives, use werden (to become): Er wird nervös, he is getting nervous. Fear works differently again. German says you have it, and what you fear follows vor + dative: Ich habe Angst vor Hunden (I'm afraid of dogs).
Und warum hat Dieter solche Angst vor diesem Namen?Mir ist langweilig: when the person goes in the dative
Some states are said with mir ist (to me it is) rather than ich bin. Mir ist langweilig means I'm bored, while Ich bin langweilig means I'm boring. The same trap catches learners with temperature: Mir ist kalt is I'm cold.
Adjective, noun and the endings that make them
Most feeling nouns are feminine, especially those ending in -heit, -keit and -schaft. Das Gefühl, das Glück, das Vertrauen and der Mut are the exceptions in this list.
| Adjective | Noun | English |
|---|---|---|
| traurig | die Traurigkeit | sad, sadness |
| wütend | die Wut | angry, anger |
| froh, fröhlich | die Freude | glad, joy |
| glücklich | das Glück | happy, happiness or luck |
| mutig | der Mut | brave, courage |
| freundlich | die Freundlichkeit | friendly, kindness |
| ehrlich | die Ehrlichkeit | honest, honesty |
| dankbar | die Dankbarkeit | grateful, gratitude |
Reflexive feelings: sich freuen, sich ärgern, sich verlieben
Several emotion verbs in German need a reflexive pronoun: ich freue mich, du ärgerst dich, sie verliebt sich. The preposition after them matters as much as the verb.
| Verb | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| sich freuen | auf + accusative (something coming) | Ich freue mich auf das Wochenende. |
| sich freuen | über + accusative (something here now) | Sie freut sich über die Blumen. |
| sich ärgern | über + accusative | Er ärgert sich über den Lärm. |
| sich verlieben | in + accusative | Sie verliebt sich in ihren Nachbarn. |
| sich entschuldigen | bei + dative (person), für + accusative (thing) | Ich entschuldige mich bei dir für gestern. |
| sich beruhigen | no preposition | Beruhig dich! |
Sich freuen is how German says "I'm excited" or "I'm looking forward to it". Aufgeregt in the list does mean excited, but it also covers nervous and flustered, so Ich freue mich so! is the safer choice before a holiday or a date.
Er schreibt: "Ich freue mich, dich wiederzusehen."Vermissen works like English: the person you miss is the object, Ich vermisse dich. More ways to say it are on how to say I miss you in German, and the apology verbs are on how to say sorry in German.
Which personality words are false friends?
A few German words look like English ones and mean something else. These cause real misunderstandings, so learn them early.
- selbstbewusst means confident, the opposite of self-conscious. Self-conscious is unsicher or gehemmt.
- brav means well-behaved (of a child or a dog), not brave. Brave is mutig.
- sympathisch means likeable: Er ist mir sympathisch, I like him. Sympathetic is mitfühlend or verständnisvoll.
- komisch means strange more often than funny. Funny, as in making you laugh, is lustig.
- ernst is serious, and Ist das dein Ernst? means "Are you serious?"
Verlegen or peinlich?
The list gives verlegen for embarrassed, which describes a person who is shy or awkward. In everyday speech Germans more often use peinlich, embarrassing, about the situation: Das ist mir peinlich (I'm embarrassed about it).
Sophie findet das peinlich.Nett (kind, nice) and freundlich (friendly) overlap. Das ist nett von dir is the everyday way to thank someone for a kind gesture. Klug means clever in a thoughtful way; schlau is clever in a quick, sometimes crafty way.
Read an A2 German story and watch the characters' feelings change from chapter to chapter: tap any word to see what it means.
Read free in your browserFrequently asked questions
How do you say "I'm excited" in German?
Usually Ich freue mich, or Ich freue mich darauf when you mean something coming up. Ich bin aufgeregt exists, but it can sound nervous or agitated rather than happy.
What does selbstbewusst mean?
Confident or self-assured. It is a false friend: it does not mean self-conscious. If you feel awkward or insecure, say Ich bin unsicher.
How do you say "I'm bored" in German?
Mir ist langweilig, with mir in the dative. Ich bin langweilig means "I'm boring", which is probably not what you want to say.
Is Angst used in everyday German?
Yes. In English angst means existential dread, but in German die Angst is ordinary fear: Ich habe Angst (I'm scared), Keine Angst! (Don't worry!), Angst vor Spinnen (fear of spiders).