Essential Phrases to Speak FEARLESSLY about Your Emotions in Spanish 😱

¿Cómo te sientes hoy? (How are you feeling today?) Yo estoy muy feliz (I’m very happy) because the beach is finally open in my hometown and I’m planning on going there very soon. I mean… ¡es verano! (It’s summer!)

In this article you will learn how to express your Spanish emotions! ¿Te gusta? (Do you like that?) ¡Comencemos!

Vocabulary: Most important emotions

The following are basic adjectives you should learn to express how you are feeling: 

• Feliz (Happy)
• Triste (Sad)
• Enojado or enojada (Angry) — Remember, the ending in O is for masculine and the ending with an A is for feminine 
• De malas / Molesto or molesta (In a bad mood / moody) 
• Cansado or cansada (Tired) 
• Enamorado or enamorada (In love) 
• Sorprendido or sorprendida (Surprised) 
• Confundido or confundida (Confused) 
• Desilusionado or desilusionada (Disappointed) 
• Preocupado or preocupada (Worried)
• Aburrido or aburrida (Bored)

Full phrases and examples

Now let’s go over some ejemplos (examples):

• Estoy muy feliz de verte. (I’m very happy to see you.)
• Mi amiga está triste porque no puede viajar. (My friend is sad because she can’t travel.)
• Mi mamá está enojada conmigo. (My mom is angry with me — enojada because it’s mi mama, feminine)
• Después de caminar, mi perro está cansado. (After walking, my dog is tired — and this is off the record, Jagger es el perrito más flojo del mundo / Jagger is the laziest dog in the world.)
• Los novios están enamorados. (The couple is in love — enamorados because this word refers to “los novios” (girlfriend and boyfriend), that is, plural)
• Estoy sorprendida de lo caro que es. (I’m surprised by how expensive it is.)
• María está confundida. (Maria is confused.)
• Estoy muy desilusionada de no haber ganado. (I am very disappointed for not having won.)
• Nos preocupamos porque no te veíamos. (We were worried because we didn’t see you.)
• La película estuvo aburrida. (The movie was boring.)

Yo estoy instead of yo soy

You might have noticed this already, but in Spanish, we use the verb estar (to be) instead of ser (to be) because emotions are temporary.

We feel happy and excited when watching a game, but that’s not our permanent state of mind.

Of course some lucky people may say “Yo soy feliz” (I am happy) and that’s fine, that makes me happy! For a better explanation about “Ser” and “Estar”, feel free to check out our video about this topic! 

Mexican Spanish Slang

These were only some basic expressions, but how can we talk about these feelings ¿sin ser tan especificos? (without being too specific?) In Mexico, there are plenty of slang expressions: 

• ¡Qué padre! 🤩

This is an expression used to show happiness or how much you like something, and even though the word “father” (padre) is there, we are not talking about him, it’s just an expression.

Example: ¡Qué padre que pudiste venir! (It’s great you could come!)

• ¡No manches! 😳

This literally means “Don’t stain it”. However, it may acquire different meanings depending on the intonation or the context:

Examples:

• ¡No manches, qué susto me diste! (OMG! You scared me!)
• ¿Aún no te llega el paquete? ¡No manches! (The package hasn’t arrived yet? Can’t believe it!) 

• ¡Me lleva la que me trajo! 🤬

This expression literally means “the one that brought me takes me away”, but you may use this when you are very angry, after hitting your pinky toe with the bedpost or so. 

• Tengo hueva 🥱

There’s no translation for this one, and this might be the least elegant expression, but it means “I’m tired”, and Mexicans use it very often.

Example: Hoy no quiero salir, tengo hueva (I don’t want to go out today, I’m tired). 

• ¡Chin! 😅

Mexicans use this expression to show anger. Let’s imagine you are having un helado (an ice cream) and you drop it. In that case, you may say ¡Chin!

This word may also be used to express disappointment: ¡Chin! Perdí mi cartera! (Woops! I lost my wallet!)

• Me da igual 😶

Mexicans use this to phrase express disappointment, indifference, or to show that they are upset or moody. It basically means “I don’t care”.

Nota importante (Important note): In English, the word “upset” seems to be a solution that fits a lot of feelings. You are upset if you are sad, you are upset if you are angry, you are upset if you are confused; but Spanish speakers have a word for each of those feelings and that's why it's best to learn them in context. That way, you will also know how and when to use them! 

FREE Spanish Training

¡Muy bien! How do you feel now? I hope that knowing that we have a whole series of Spanish beginner videos will make you feel muy feliz (very happy). So feel free to visit our YouTube channel! 

Now, si estás emocionado or emocionada por aprender español (if you feel excited about learning Spanish), we have a free Spanish training on our website where you'll discover the method we use in our Spring Spanish Academy to teach students to speak fluent Spanish. You also get some free sample Spanish lessons there that come straight from our Academy!