Here are 60 Spanish words for feelings and personality, from feliz to enfadarse, with adjectives in the masculine form. Learn these five first: feliz (happy), triste (sad), preocupado (worried), nervioso (nervous) and tener miedo (to be afraid). Feelings usually take estar and personality takes ser; the first section shows where that changes the meaning.
- Words
- 60: feelings, character, nouns and verbs
- Variety
- Spain Spanish (enfadado; enojado in Latin America)
- Level
- A1–A2
- Read them in
- Contos stories (chapters 1–2 free)
60 Spanish words for feelings and character
Adjectives are shown in the masculine; change -o to -a for a woman (nervioso, nerviosa). This is the emotions pack the Contos web app uses for flashcard review.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| feliz | happy |
| triste | sad |
| enfadado | angry |
| preocupado | worried |
| nervioso | nervous |
| tranquilo | calm |
| relajado | relaxed |
| emocionado | excited |
| sorprendido | surprised |
| decepcionado | disappointed |
| orgulloso | proud |
| avergonzado | embarrassed |
| solo | lonely |
| agradecido | grateful |
| confundido | confused |
| satisfecho | satisfied |
| amable | kind |
| simpático | friendly |
| tímido | shy |
| gracioso | funny |
| listo | clever |
| honesto | honest |
| paciente | patient |
| generoso | generous |
| educado | polite |
| valiente | brave |
| perezoso | lazy |
| trabajador | hard-working |
| curioso | curious |
| serio | serious |
| alegre | cheerful |
| optimista | optimistic |
| seguro de sí mismo | confident |
| creativo | creative |
| fiable | reliable |
| el sentimiento | feeling |
| la emoción | emotion |
| el estado de ánimo | mood |
| la alegría | joy |
| la felicidad | happiness |
| la tristeza | sadness |
| el miedo | fear |
| el enfado | anger |
| el amor | love |
| la esperanza | hope |
| la personalidad | personality |
| la amistad | friendship |
| la valentía | courage |
| la confianza | trust |
| la amabilidad | kindness |
| tener miedo | to be afraid |
| echar de menos | to miss someone |
| abrazar | to hug |
| enamorarse | to fall in love |
| besar | to kiss |
| calmarse | to calm down |
| perdonar | to forgive |
| disculparse | to apologise |
| disfrutar | to enjoy |
| enfadarse | to get angry |
Ser or estar with feelings?
A feeling is a state, so it takes estar: estoy preocupado, está nerviosa, están tranquilos. A personality trait describes what someone is like, so it takes ser: es tímida, es muy trabajador. With some adjectives in this list, swapping the verb changes the meaning.
| Adjective | with ser | with estar |
|---|---|---|
| listo | es listo: he is clever | está listo: he is ready |
| seguro | es seguro: it is safe | está seguro: he is sure |
| orgulloso | es orgulloso: he is proud by nature, a bit arrogant | está orgulloso de ti: he is proud of you |
| tranquilo | es tranquilo: he is a calm person | está tranquilo: he is calm right now |
| feliz | es feliz: happy in life | está feliz: happy at the moment |
Feliz is the one that works both ways, and both are correct. Seguro de sí mismo (confident) takes ser: es muy seguro de sí mismo.
Making them agree
Adjectives ending in -o change to -a for a woman: enfadado, enfadada. Those ending in -e or -ista stay the same: triste, alegre, amable, valiente, paciente, optimista. Trabajador becomes trabajadora, and feliz becomes felices in the plural.
Marta lo mira, enfadada.Fear, shame and excitement: feelings with tener
Spanish "has" some feelings instead of "being" them. Tener miedo is to be afraid, tener vergüenza to be ashamed or embarrassed, and tener ganas de to really want to do something. Because miedo is a noun, you make it stronger with mucho, not muy: tengo mucho miedo.
Alba tiene miedo, pero quiere saber la verdad.Three false friends to avoid
- Embarazada means pregnant, not embarrassed. Say me da vergüenza or estoy avergonzado.
- Excitado suggests sexual arousal. For excited, use emocionado, the word in the list, or in Spain me hace mucha ilusión (I'm really looking forward to it).
- Solo means alone. To say lonely, add a verb of feeling: me siento solo (I feel lonely). The noun is la soledad.
Simpático is also not sympathetic: it means friendly or nice. And gracioso is funny in the sense of amusing; something strange is raro.
Echar de menos and other verbs of feeling
To miss someone, Spain says echar de menos; most of Latin America says extrañar. Both take the person directly: te echo de menos, te extraño.
Empieza así: "Mi amor, te echo de menos cada día. Cada día sin ti es imposible."Several verbs in the list are reflexive, because the feeling happens to you: enfadarse, calmarse, enamorarse. Note the preposition with falling in love: enamorarse de alguien, not con.
No te enfades conmigo.
Don't be angry with me.
Cálmate, no pasa nada.
Calm down, it's fine.
Se enamoró de su vecino.
She fell in love with her neighbour.
Estoy muy orgulloso de ti.
I'm very proud of you.
| English | Spain | Much of Latin America |
|---|---|---|
| angry | enfadado | enojado |
| to get angry | enfadarse | enojarse |
| to miss someone | echar de menos | extrañar |
| embarrassed | avergonzado | avergonzado, apenado (Mexico, Central America) |
Read an A1 Spanish story and watch the characters' feelings change: tap any word to see what it means.
Read free in your browserFrequently asked questions
How do you say "I miss you" in Spanish?
Te echo de menos in Spain, te extraño in most of Latin America. Both are understood everywhere. To say you miss a place, the structure is the same: echo de menos Madrid.
Is it enfadado or enojado?
Both mean angry. Enfadado is the usual word in Spain and enojado in most of Latin America. The verbs follow the same split: enfadarse and enojarse, to get angry.
Does estoy embarazada mean I'm embarrassed?
No, it means I'm pregnant. For embarrassed, say me da vergüenza (it makes me feel ashamed) or estoy avergonzado, avergonzada for a woman.
How do you say "I'm scared" in Spanish?
Tengo miedo, literally "I have fear". To say what scares you, add de: tengo miedo de los perros. For very scared, use mucho, because miedo is a noun: tengo mucho miedo.