English vocabulary: emotions and feelings — 48 words and expressions
"I'm fine" stops working very quickly. To have real conversations in English, you need to say what you actually feel: joy, disappointment, the nerves before an exam, the relief after good news. This page brings together the 48 words and expressions that cover almost every everyday emotion, grouped by family — positive emotions, difficult emotions, finer shades, and the verbs you use to talk about them — with an example sentence for each. Test yourself with the mini-quiz at the bottom of the page, then put these words to work in real speech today.
Joy and positive emotions
English shades happiness finely: glad for a reaction, delighted for real delight, relieved when a worry disappears. Learning these shades is how you move past "I'm happy" to exactly what you feel.
| English | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| happy | feeling pleasure and contentment | She looks really happy today. |
| glad | pleased about something that happened | I'm glad to see you. |
| joyful | full of joy | It was a joyful moment. |
| excited | enthusiastic, looking forward to something | The kids are excited about the trip. |
| delighted | very pleased, charmed | I'm delighted with the result. |
| proud | pleased with what you or someone close achieved | I'm proud of my daughter. |
| grateful | thankful | I'm grateful for your help. |
| relieved | relaxed after a worry ends | I was relieved to hear the news. |
| calm | relaxed, not worried | Stay calm, everything is fine. |
| confident | sure of yourself and your abilities | She feels confident about the exam. |
| hopeful | full of hope | We're hopeful about the future. |
| amazed | very surprised, in a good way | I was amazed by the view. |
Sadness, anger and fear
Difficult emotions come in degrees too: annoyed is a small irritation, angry is real anger, furious is black rage. In the same way, scared and terrified do not describe the same fear. Choosing the right degree means being understood without exaggerating or playing things down.
| English | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| sad | unhappy, sorrowful | He felt sad after the movie. |
| unhappy | not happy, often for a longer period | She was unhappy at work. |
| angry | feeling strong displeasure | He was angry about the decision. |
| furious | extremely angry | She was furious when she found out. |
| annoyed | a little angry or irritated | I'm annoyed by the noise. |
| frustrated | annoyed because something keeps failing | I feel frustrated when it doesn't work. |
| afraid | frightened of something | The child is afraid of the dark. |
| scared | frightened | Don't be scared, it's just a dog. |
| terrified | extremely frightened | She is terrified of spiders. |
| nervous | worried about something about to happen | I always get nervous before an interview. |
| worried | thinking about possible problems | She's worried about her exam. |
| stressed | under pressure, unable to relax | I'm stressed about the deadline. |
Finer shades of feeling
Between joy and sadness lies a whole territory: embarrassment, shame, guilt, disappointment, boredom. These are often the words that go missing in conversation — even though they describe exactly what we live through at work, with family and with friends.
| English | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| surprised | feeling unexpected wonder | We were surprised by the news. |
| shocked | very surprised, often unpleasantly | Everyone was shocked. |
| embarrassed | uncomfortable because of a mistake or a gaze | I was embarrassed by my mistake. |
| ashamed | feeling shame about something you did | He felt ashamed of his behaviour. |
| guilty | feeling responsible for something bad | She felt guilty about lying. |
| jealous | wanting what someone else has | He's jealous of his brother. |
| lonely | sad because you are alone | She felt lonely in the new city. |
| bored | with nothing interesting to do | The students were bored. |
| curious | wanting to know or learn something | Children are naturally curious. |
| confused | unable to understand clearly | I'm confused by these instructions. |
| disappointed | sad because something was worse than hoped | We were disappointed by the result. |
| overwhelmed | feeling there is too much to deal with | I feel overwhelmed at work. |
Verbs to talk about feelings
Adjectives describe a state, but conversations revolve around verbs: calming down, cheering someone up, holding back tears. The most famous trap is in this list: in English, the person who feels the absence is the subject — I miss you literally puts the feeling on your side.
| English | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| to feel | to experience an emotion or sensation | I feel tired today. |
| to cheer up | to make someone (or yourself) happier | This song always cheers me up. |
| to calm down | to become calm again | Take a deep breath and calm down. |
| to cry | to shed tears | The baby started to cry. |
| to laugh | to make sounds when something is funny | They laughed at the joke. |
| to smile | to curve your mouth up in pleasure | She smiled at the camera. |
| to miss someone | to feel sad because someone is away | I miss my family. |
| to worry about | to feel anxious about something | Don't worry about me. |
| to get upset | to become angry or sad about something | He gets upset very easily. |
| to lose your temper | to suddenly become very angry | She lost her temper in traffic. |
| to be in a good/bad mood | to be in a happy or irritable state | Why are you in a bad mood? |
| mood | the way you feel at a particular time | Music changes my mood. |
Expressions to know
Six image-based expressions English speakers use every day to talk about what they feel. Several have a near-identical equivalent in other languages — butterflies in the stomach exist in many of them — which makes them easy to remember.
- To be over the moon — to be extremely happy, overjoyed: She was over the moon when she got the job. Much stronger than a simple happy.
- Butterflies in your stomach — that nervous flutter before an exam, a date or a presentation: I had butterflies before the interview.
- To be down in the dumps — to feel low and discouraged, without one precise reason: He's been down in the dumps since the holidays.
- Mixed feelings — partly happy, partly worried, all at once: I have mixed feelings about moving abroad. Very useful when you want nuance instead of a verdict.
- On cloud nine — in a light, lasting state of happiness: They've been on cloud nine since the wedding.
- To wear your heart on your sleeve — to show your emotions openly, hiding nothing of what you feel: He wears his heart on his sleeve, you always know how he feels.
Common mistakes
- "I am exciting" instead of "I am excited": adjectives ending in -ed describe what you feel (excited, bored, interested); adjectives ending in -ing describe what causes the feeling (exciting, boring, interesting). Saying I'm exciting means you are a thrilling person — not that you are enthusiastic.
- "Sympathetic" does not mean "nice": in English, sympathetic means compassionate — someone who understands other people's pain. Many learners use it for the word that means friendly and pleasant in their language; in English, that word is nice or friendly.
- "I feel myself happy": English does not add a reflexive pronoun after feel. Just say I feel happy, she feels tired. The "myself" is a word-for-word transfer from languages like French, Spanish or German.
Progress with Saloo
Emotions are practised the way they are lived: by telling stories. In Saloo English, you describe your day to Emma and Alex — what made you proud, what is stressing you, what made you laugh — and the AI tutor helps you find the right word and corrects your pronunciation live. It is by recounting real days that these 48 words become natural. Combine them with the vocabulary of food and meals: talking about what you eat and what you feel covers most everyday conversation.
To anchor the pronunciation of these words, take their example sentences through our English shadowing routine — several emotion words (proud, ashamed, worried) contain sounds that learners from many languages find tricky.
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FAQ
What is the difference between "happy" and "glad"?
Both mean pleased, but glad is mostly a reaction to news or an event: "I'm glad to see you", "I'm glad it worked". Happy describes a more general, lasting state: "She's a happy person."
How do you say "I am stressed" in English?
"I'm stressed" or "I'm stressed out". Be careful not to say "I'm stressful": stressful describes what causes the stress (a stressful day), not what you feel.
How do I talk about what a situation makes me feel?
Use the structure "It makes me + adjective": "It makes me sad", "It makes me happy", "This song makes me cry". It is the simplest way to connect a situation to the emotion it creates in you.