Below are 60 Italian words for feelings and personality, from felice to arrabbiarsi. Adjectives are given in the masculine; those ending in -o change to -a for a woman, those in -e stay the same. Learn five first: felice (happy), triste (sad), arrabbiato (angry), preoccupato (worried) and avere paura (to be afraid).
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- 60: adjectives, nouns and verbs
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- Standard Italian
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- A1–A2
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60 Italian words for feelings and character
Adjectives are in the masculine singular; the next section shows the other forms. Verbs ending in -si are reflexive. This is the same word pack the Contos web app uses for flashcard review.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| felice | happy |
| triste | sad |
| arrabbiato | angry |
| preoccupato | worried |
| nervoso | nervous |
| calmo | calm |
| rilassato | relaxed |
| emozionato | excited |
| sorpreso | surprised |
| deluso | disappointed |
| orgoglioso | proud |
| imbarazzato | embarrassed |
| sentirsi solo | lonely |
| grato | grateful |
| confuso | confused |
| soddisfatto | satisfied |
| gentile | kind |
| simpatico | friendly |
| timido | shy |
| divertente | funny |
| intelligente | clever |
| onesto | honest |
| paziente | patient |
| generoso | generous |
| educato | polite |
| coraggioso | brave |
| pigro | lazy |
| lavoratore | hard-working |
| curioso | curious |
| serio | serious |
| allegro | cheerful |
| ottimista | optimistic |
| sicuro di sé | confident |
| creativo | creative |
| affidabile | reliable |
| il sentimento | feeling |
| l'emozione | emotion |
| l'umore | mood |
| la gioia | joy |
| la felicità | happiness |
| la tristezza | sadness |
| la paura | fear |
| la rabbia | anger |
| l'amore | love |
| la speranza | hope |
| la personalità | personality |
| l'amicizia | friendship |
| il coraggio | courage |
| la fiducia | trust |
| la gentilezza | kindness |
| avere paura | to be afraid |
| mancare | to miss someone |
| abbracciare | to hug |
| innamorarsi | to fall in love |
| baciare | to kiss |
| calmarsi | to calm down |
| perdonare | to forgive |
| scusarsi | to apologise |
| godersi | to enjoy |
| arrabbiarsi | to get angry |
Arrabbiato or arrabbiata? How these adjectives agree
An Italian adjective matches the person it describes in gender and number. The adjectives in this list fall into two main groups.
| Group | Man | Woman | Men or mixed | Women | Also in the list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -o: four forms | preoccupato | preoccupata | preoccupati | preoccupate | arrabbiato, nervoso, calmo, rilassato, emozionato, sorpreso, deluso, orgoglioso, imbarazzato, grato, confuso, soddisfatto, timido, onesto, generoso, coraggioso, pigro, curioso, serio, allegro, creativo |
| -e: two forms | felice | felice | felici | felici | triste, gentile, divertente, intelligente, paziente, affidabile |
| -ista | ottimista | ottimista | ottimisti | ottimiste | pessimista works the same way |
Phrases agree too: a confident woman is sicura di sé. A mixed group always takes the masculine plural, so a man and a woman together are preoccupati.
Marco è felice. Paola è meno stressata. Anche Giulia è contenta.Which feelings does Italian say differently?
Fear is something you have
Italian "has" fear: avere paura. You say ho paura (I'm scared), never sono paura. To say what you are afraid of, add di, which joins the article: ho paura del buio (of the dark), ho paura dei cani (of dogs).
Ha paura del grande giorno.Mi manchi: missing someone works backwards
The pack gives mancare for "to miss someone", and it works backwards: the person you miss is the subject. Mi manchi means "I miss you", literally "you are lacking to me". Sentire la mancanza di means the same, but it is formal. See how to say I miss you in Italian.
Reflexive verbs for feelings
Arrabbiarsi, calmarsi, innamorarsi, scusarsi and godersi are reflexive, so they need mi, ti, si. In the past tense they take essere, and the ending agrees: mi sono arrabbiata (a woman speaking).
Mi manchi.
I miss you.
Non ti arrabbiare!
Don't get angry!
Non arrabbiarti! is equally correct.
Si è innamorato di una collega.
He has fallen in love with a colleague.
Innamorarsi di: in love with is di in Italian.
Calmati, va tutto bene.
Calm down, everything's fine.
Goditi la vacanza!
Enjoy your holiday!
Educato, solo, emozionato: words to handle with care
- educato means polite or well-mannered, not educated. An educated person is istruito or colto.
- solo means alone. It can suggest lonely, which is why the pack gives sentirsi solo to say it clearly: mi sento solo (I feel lonely).
- emozionato is excited in the sense of moved or thrilled. For looking forward to something, Italians say non vedo l'ora (I can't wait). Avoid eccitato, which often has a sexual meaning.
- simpatico (the pack's word for friendly) describes a friendly, likeable person. Amichevole also means friendly, but it suits a tone or a match: una partita amichevole.
- lavoratore (the pack's word for hard-working) is a noun as well as an adjective: è un gran lavoratore, or say lavora sodo. Laborioso exists, but it is formal and can also mean laborious.
Pensa a Marco, nervoso e solo.Felice and contento both translate as happy. Contento is the everyday "pleased" or "glad" (sono contento di vederti); felice is stronger, the happiness of a good day or a good life: una vita felice.
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Read free in your browserFrequently asked questions
How do you say "I miss you" in Italian?
Mi manchi, to one person you know well, or Mi manca to someone you address as Lei. The verb mancare works backwards: the person you miss is the subject, so "I miss my parents" is mi mancano i miei genitori.
Does educato mean educated?
No. Educato means polite or well brought up: un bambino educato is a well-behaved child. For educated, say istruito (with schooling) or colto (cultured, well-read). Maleducato means rude.
How do you say "I'm excited" in Italian?
For something coming up, non vedo l'ora (I can't wait). Sono emozionato means you are moved or thrilled, for instance before a wedding. Avoid sono eccitato, which usually sounds sexual.
What is the feminine of felice?
Felice. Adjectives ending in -e have the same form for men and women; only the plural changes, to felici. Adjectives ending in -o change: contento, contenta, contenti, contente.