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Spanish greetings
How to say hello and goodbye
Question words in Spanish
Who? What? When? Where? Why? How to ask questions in Spanish
Formal vs. Informal "You"
The two kinds of address and when to use each one
Spanish plurals
How to get more than one of something
Definite and indefinite articles
The difference between "the" and "a", and how to say these in Spanish
Negating statements
How to say you don't know what you're doing
Adjectives in Spanish
Where to put them and how to use them
Ser vs Estar: The two kinds of "to be"
How to know when to say yo soy vs. when to say yo estoy.
Weather vocabulary
The ultimate icebreaker
Feelings and moods
How to talk about how you're feeling using the verbs estar and sentirse
Spanish false cognates ("false friends")
9 Spanish words that seem similar to English, but are actually dangerously different
Telling the time
How to ask and give the time in Spanish
¿Dónde está? or ¿Dónde hay?
How to know whether to use estar or haber when talking about something's existence
Comparisons of inequality
Bigger, smaller, faster, slower: How to compare two things and use superlatives in Spanish
Directions in Spanish
How to ask directions, and a few common prepositions that will help you get there
Being sore or sick
How to talk about illnesses and afflictions in Spanish

Feelings and moods in Spanish

The 3 steps to feeling in spanish

Step 1: Choose whether you want to be or feel

To talk about how someone is feeling, there are two main verbs you can use. (I won't go through their full conjugations in this lesson, so click these links if you're not familiar with these verbs.)

  • Estar (which is "to be" for temporary states)
  • Sentirse (which is "to feel")
Play
Pedro está enojado
Pedro is angry
Play
Pedro se siente enojado
Pedro feels angry

Can you use estar and sentirse interchangeably? 

Kind of.

It's like the difference in English between "Amanda feels sick", and "Amanda is sick". 

When Amanda feels sick, she might have a horrible bout of gastro. But she might also have a headache because she hasn't had her coffee this morning. It's more about how she feels rather than whether she actually has some affliction.

When Amanda is sick, it sounds a bit more definite. It sounds more like a proven fact. 

Sometimes you can use either to be or to feel and it'll mean exactly the same thing. (E.g., I feel annoyed vs I am annoyed), but sometimes it can subtly change the meaning of what you're saying.

The same is true with estar and sentirse. Often you can use them interchangeably, but sometimes there's a subtle difference between feeling and being.

Once you've decided if you're feeling or being, move onto the next step.

Step 2: Choose your feeling adjective (and modify it if necessary)

Once you've chosen your verb, it's time to pick your feeling adjective.

(Angry, happy, annoyed, etc.)

I'll have an array of feelings you can feel shortly, but the important thing to note is that these are adjectives. That means they behave like other adjectives, and need to change depending on the gender of the person who is feeling the feeling.

For example, if I'm talking about someone else (Pedro, who is male):

Play
Pedro está enojado
Pedro is angry

And if I'm talking about myself (and I happen to be female, despite the manliness of the audio here... )

Play
Estoy enojada
I am angry

See how the ending is -o for Pedro (male) and -a for me (female)? If you're a bit confused by the gender-matching idea, go and take a look at this lesson on adjectives first. That'll clear things up.

But once you've got all those tricks sorted, here are a tremendous array of moods and feelings you could try today!

Play
Felipe está contento
Felipe is happy
Play
Mía está triste
Mía is sad
Play
Patricia está tranquila
Patricia is calm
Play
Daniela está nerviosa
Daniela is nervous
Play
Mariano está sorprendido
Mariano is surprised
Play
Andrés está preocupado
Andrés is worried
Play
Pedro está borracho
Pedro is drunk
Play
Víctor está serio
Víctor is serious
Play
Horacio está aburrido
Horacio is bored
Play
Cristina se siente enferma
Cristina feels sick
Play
Araceli está confundida
Araceli is confused
Play
Estoy cansado
I am tired
Play
Eugenia está ocupada
Eugenia is busy

Step 3: Decide if you're a little or a lot

If you're just "a little" worried, or "a tiny bit" drunk, or you're not just "happy" but "VERY happy", here's how to do that.

Play
Andrés está un poco preocupado
Andrés is a little worried
Play
Pedro está un poquito borracho
Pedro is a tiny bit drunk
Play
Felipe está muy contento
Felipe is very happy

When you have feelings

In English we say that we are hungry, but in Spanish you say that you have hunger.

There are a few feelings like this: These use the verb tener (to have) together with a noun, rather than an adjective like we used above.

And because we're dealing with nouns here, you don't need to change the end to agree with the gender of the person you're talking about.

Play
Isabel tiene sed
Isabel is thirsty (Literally: Isabel has thirst)
Play
Omar tiene hambre
Omar is hungry (Literally: Omar has hunger)
Play
Liliana tiene sueño
Liliana is sleepy (Literally: Liliana has sleepiness)
Play
Luis tiene calor
Luis is hot (Literally: Luis has hot)
Play
Marisa tiene frío
Marisa is cold (Literally: Marisa has cold)
Play
Ciro tiene prisa
Ciro is in a hurry (Literally: Ciro has hurry)
Play
Fabio tiene miedo
Fabio is afraid (Literally: Fabio has fear)

And when you have a lot of feelings?

To be very hungry, or a little sleepy, it's just a tiny bit different.

Because we're talking using nouns, we just need to say that we have "a lot" of that feeling, or "a little bit of" that feeling.

Play
Isabel tiene un poco de sed
Isabel is a little thirsty (Literally: Isabel has a little thirst)
Play
Omar tiene mucha hambre
Omar is very hungry (Literally: Omar has a lot of hunger)
Play
Fabio tiene un poquito de miedo
Fabio is a tiny bit afraid (Literally: Fabio has a tiny bit of fear)
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Free Spanish Lessons

Spanish greetings
Question words in Spanish
Formal vs. informal "you"
Spanish plurals
Definite and indefinite articles in Spanish
Negating statements
How to use adjectives in Spanish
Ser vs Estar: The two kinds of "to be"
Weather vocabulary!
Feelings and moods
Telling the time
¿Dónde está? or ¿Dónde hay?
Comparisons of inequality
Directions in Spanish
Being sore or sick

Spanish Children's Stories

Pollito Tito
Chicken Little
El Pájaro y la Ballena
The Bird and the Whale
Los Tres Cerditos
The Three Little Pigs
Ricitos de Oro y Los Tres Osos
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Caperucita Roja
Little Red Riding Hood
Spanish false cognates ("false friends")

Spanish course reviews

Best Spanish course reviews
Rocket Spanish review
Ouino Spanish review
The best way to learn Spanish
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