To talk about feelings, use "I am…" or "I feel…": "I am tired" · "She feels happy" · "Are you OK?" Remember: feelings are adjectives — they follow the verb "to be".
Feelings & emotions
😊
happy
/ˈhæp.i/
I am happy today!
😢
sad
/sæd/
She is sad because her cat is ill.
😠
angry
/ˈæŋ.ɡri/
He is angry with me.
😨
scared / afraid
/skeəd/ /əˈfreɪd/
She is scared of dogs.
🤩
excited
/ɪkˈsaɪ.tɪd/
I am excited about the party!
😟
worried
/ˈwʌr.id/
I am worried about the exam.
😬
nervous
/ˈnɜː.vəs/
She is nervous before the test.
😮
surprised
/səˈpraɪzd/
She is surprised by the news.
😐
bored
/bɔːd/
The children are bored.
😕
confused
/kənˈfjuːzd/
I'm confused — can you explain again?
😳
embarrassed
/ɪmˈbær.əst/
He was embarrassed when he fell over.
🏆
proud
/praʊd/
She is proud of her new job.
🙈
shy
/ʃaɪ/
The new student is very shy.
🧘
calm
/kɑːm/
Stay calm, everything is OK.
😣
upset
/ʌpˈset/
Don't be upset, it's not a big problem.
😒
jealous
/ˈdʒel.əs/
He's jealous of his brother's new bike.
How your body feels
😴
tired
/ˈtaɪəd/
I am very tired after work.
🥱
sleepy
/ˈsliː.pi/
The baby looks sleepy.
😋
hungry
/ˈhʌŋ.ɡri/
I am hungry — let's eat!
🥤
thirsty
/ˈθɜː.sti/
Are you thirsty? Have some water.
🍽️
full
/fʊl/
No more food for me, I'm full!
🥶
cold
/kəʊld/
I am cold — close the window!
🥵
hot
/hɒt/
She is hot — open the window.
🤒
ill / sick
/ɪl/ /sɪk/
He is ill and needs to rest.
🙂
well / fine / OK
/wel/ /faɪn/
I am fine, thank you!
🤕
in pain
/ɪn peɪn/
My leg is in pain after the run.
😶
dull
/dʌl/
I feel a bit dull today — not sad, just flat.
🧊
numb
/nʌm/
She felt numb after hearing the shocking news.
🦥
lethargic
/ləˈθɑː.dʒɪk/
I feel lethargic after such a big lunch.
More feelings
😌
relaxed
/rɪˈlækst/
I feel relaxed on the beach.
😫
stressed
/strest/
She's stressed about her exams.
😞
disappointed
/ˌdɪs.əˈpɔɪn.tɪd/
I was disappointed with the film.
🥺
lonely
/ˈləʊn.li/
He feels lonely in the new city.
🤔
curious
/ˈkjʊər.i.əs/
The kids are curious about the box.
🙏
grateful
/ˈɡreɪt.fəl/
I'm grateful for your help.
💪
confident
/ˈkɒn.fɪ.dənt/
She feels confident about the interview.
🏠
homesick
/ˈhəʊm.sɪk/
He feels homesick during his first week abroad.
😤
frustrated
/frʌˈstreɪ.tɪd/
I'm frustrated with this slow computer.
😍
in love
/ɪn lʌv/
They are in love.
Stronger feelings
😱
terrified
/ˈter.ɪ.faɪd/
She was terrified of the thunderstorm.
🤬
furious
/ˈfjʊər.i.əs/
He was furious when they cancelled his flight.
🥰
delighted
/dɪˈlaɪ.tɪd/
We were delighted with the news.
😖
miserable
/ˈmɪz.ər.ə.bəl/
He felt miserable after losing his job.
😩
exhausted
/ɪɡˈzɔː.stɪd/
I'm exhausted after the marathon.
🙌
ecstatic
/ɪkˈstæt.ɪk/
She was ecstatic when she won the prize.
😭
devastated
/ˈdev.ə.steɪ.tɪd/
He was devastated by the bad news.
💔
heartbroken
/ˈhɑːt.brəʊ.kən/
She was heartbroken when they broke up.
😰
anxious
/ˈæŋk.ʃəs/
She felt anxious before the interview.
😵
overwhelmed
/ˌəʊ.vəˈwelmd/
I feel overwhelmed with all this work.
💗
cherished
/ˈtʃer.ɪʃt/
She felt cherished by her family's love and attention.
🤍
comforted
/ˈkʌm.fə.tɪd/
She felt comforted by her friend's words after her father's death — she didn't feel so alone in her grief.
🥀
mournful
/ˈmɔːn.fəl/
He felt mournful after his grandmother's funeral.
Everyday feelings
🙄
annoyed
/əˈnɔɪd/
He was annoyed by the noise next door.
😦
vexed
/vekst/
She felt vexed by the constant interruptions.
😡
ticked off
/tɪkt ɒf/
He felt ticked off when his flight was delayed.
🤯
pissed off
/pɪst ɒf/
She felt pissed off when he cancelled again without warning. (informal, a bit rude)
☺️
content
/kənˈtent/
She feels content with her simple life.
🤞
hopeful
/ˈhəʊp.fəl/
She feels hopeful about the exam results.
😔
guilty
/ˈɡɪl.ti/
He felt guilty for forgetting her birthday.
😥
ashamed
/əˈʃeɪmd/
He was ashamed of what he had said.
🛡️
safe
/seɪf/
I feel safe at home.
🛋️
comfortable
/ˈkʌm.f(ə).tə.bəl/
I feel comfortable in this chair.
🥴
uncomfortable
/ʌnˈkʌm.f(ə).tə.bəl/
I felt uncomfortable at the party — I knew nobody.
👍
satisfied
/ˈsæt.ɪs.faɪd/
She was satisfied with her exam results.
🌟
fulfilled
/fʊlˈfɪld/
She feels fulfilled in her career as a teacher.
😄
glad
/ɡlæd/
I'm glad you came to the party.
😂
amused
/əˈmjuːzd/
The children were amused by the clown.
😲
shocked
/ʃɒkt/
We were shocked by the sudden news.
😏
aroused
/əˈraʊzd/
He felt aroused when she kissed him.
👎
turned off
/tɜːnd ɒf/
She felt turned off by his rude comments.
🙊
self-conscious
/ˌself ˈkɒn.ʃəs/
He felt self-conscious about his accent when speaking English.
👀
paranoid
/ˈpær.ə.nɔɪd/
She felt paranoid that everyone was talking about her.
🔒
inhibited
/ɪnˈhɪb.ɪ.tɪd/
He felt inhibited about dancing in front of strangers.
😅
bashful
/ˈbæʃ.fəl/
The little boy was bashful when the teacher praised him.
Saying how you feel:
"How are you?" → "I'm fine, thanks." · "How do you feel?" → "I feel tired." · "Are you OK?" → "Yes, I'm OK." / "No, I'm not — I'm a bit ill." Physical feelings like hungry, cold and tired also use "to be": "I'm hungry," not "I have hungry."
Exercise — How do they feel?
Read the situation and write the feeling.
1.My stomach is empty. I am ___.
2.It's midnight and I've been awake for 20 hours. I feel ___.
3.Tomorrow is my driving test. I feel ___.
4.How do you feel? 🏠 (first week living abroad, missing home)
5. Which sentence is correct?