Learn to express your feelings in French
Whether you're happy or sad, you should know how to express it. Knowing the emotions in French is acrucial part of your fluency.So here's everything you need to know to start talking about your feelings. Learn how to ask someone how they feel and all the different ways you can respond to such questions. This useful vocabulary of emotions in French will surely come in handy when conversing with locals. You actually talk a lot about your feelings in everyday conversations.
Rules Adjectives in French
Before you learn to express your feelings in French,It is important to know the grammarBehind them. French adjectives follow certain rules. The adjectives you use to describe emotions in French are governed by the rules of subject agreement. This means that French adjectives change their endings according to two factors:
- Is the object or subject it describes male or female?
- Is the object or subject singular or plural?
Let's take the adjective heureux (happy) to show examples of such modifications:
- masculine singular: He is happy.
- Feminine singular: She is happy.
- masculine plural: Are you happy.
- feminine plural: Are you happy
Be sure to go through our guide on how to match adjectives that describe emotion in French with the correct noun gender if you're still struggling to understand the context.With that said, we can now move on to the emotional words or phrases you should use to express your feelings in French.
Asking someone how they feel
While these questions are mostly about asking someone how they feel in French, they can be more than that. Very often you will hear them as greetings instead.
1. How are you? | How are you ? | How are you ?
Translation: How are you?
All sentences can be translated into English with "how are you". The difference lies in their formality, the most formal being the first phrase and the most casual being the last. This is mostly a greeting phrase that rarely elicits detailed answers, especially when asked from people you're not very close to.
2. What is this?
This translates to "What's up?" It's a more detailed way to look for feelings, especially when the person looks visibly distressed. If you want to express your feelings in French and show that your question is aggressive, try Qu’est-ce que tu as ? which translates to: “What is wrong with you!
3. How are you feeling?
Translated as "How are you feeling?" this is a great phrase to use when addressing someone who is ill. It will be a valuable asset if you are a doctor or a nurse.
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Start a sentence in French about your feelings
Now that you've figured out how other people are feeling, it's time to learn how to express your own feelings in French. In most cases, these phrases can be perfect answers to some of the questions we addressed in the section above.
There are three ways to start a sentence in French about your feelings:
I am …
This phrase means "I am". This simple phrase is widely used. All you need to match it with your current feeling adjusted for your gender and you're good to go!
I feel …
If you want to express emotion in French and make it clear that it is a feeling, you can use this opening phrase, which translates to "I feel". You must combine it with the right emotion to complete it.
I have …
The other way to express your feelings is by using this phrase, which means "I have." This movement uses the construction "Avoir" and "Etre". Here are some popular uses of the combination:
- I'm hungry.- I'm hungry
- I have painin the head.–my head hurts
- I am ashamed of someone.– I am ashamed of someone
Emotion adjectives in French
Not that you know how to start a sentence, let's take a look at how you might be feeling. Luckily, there are many emotional words in French. These 12 are very common, but of course there are countless more. Expand your vocabulary and develop your fluency with them.
1. Happy| Happy happy
These sentences can be roughly translated as "happy". Heureux is more about the intense feeling of happiness and content is the feeling of contentment.
Example:She is happy about a new dog.(She's glad she has a new dog.)
2. Sad
Triste is the opposite of content(s). It means sad. The adjective has no gender, making it easier to use for beginners.
Example:I was sad after the end of the series.(I was sad after the TV series ended.)
3. Surprised
This French sentiment means surprised or amazed.
Example:I was very surprised by what she told me.(I was very surprised by what she told me.)
4. Busy
This adjective means "busy". This phrase comes in handy when making plans as it can help you let others know when you are busy or available. It's a good way to symbolize your feelings, for example when you don't want to meet someone but can't say you don't like them.
Example:i will be busy(I'll be busy)
5. Sorry
Unlike désolé(e), the French word for apology, navré(e) is used to express deeper regret and sorrow. It means in French to feel sorry or desperate. It's a fitting way to show your remorse to someone in great need, when you've made a big mistake, or when something really terrible happened to you.
Example:He was sorry after losing my car.(He was sad/worried after losing my car).
6. He would piss
Énervé(e) means to be irritated. You can quickly remember this word when you imagine that someone is getting on your nerves. The verb for énervé(e) is énerver, meaning to annoy.
Example:Pierre is upset because his guests are late.(Jacques is irritated because his guests are late.)
7. Hurry up
This French adjective means in a hurry or to be in a hurry. You can use this to signal your urgency.
Example:I'm in a hurry! The movie starts soon!(I'm in a hurry! The movie starts soon!)
8. Angry/Angry
You can say this French adjective when you are very angry. While using fâché(e) is fairly straightforward, en colère is not. If you want to say that something makes you angry, you have to use the verb mettre first.
Example:I'm angry at/against him!(I'm mad at him!)
Example:You make me angry(You make me angry!).
9. Tired
Everyone knows this feeling. Fatigue(e) means "tired" in French. Whether you're up all night or just back from a 12-hour shift, you can definitely complain about this French emotion. It's easy to remember this adjective because the English "fatigued" is very similar.
Example:I am tired.I only slept for 4 hours.(I'm tired. I only slept 4 hours.)
10. Getting bored
If you are bored, you can express it with s'ennuyer. It is not an adjective but a pronominal verb. Conjugate it to express emotion in French.
Example:There's nothing to do there. I'm bored!(There's nothing to do. I'm bored!)
11. Exhausted
Very similar to Fatigué(e), épuisé(e) means exhausted. It's a bit stronger than tired.
Example:He's exhausted from work.(He is exhausted after work).
12. Sick
Malade means sick. This is a very important word to know. If you ever feel uncomfortable, you can express that feeling in French.
Example:She can't sing, she's sick.(She can't sing, she's sick.)
Useful phrases to describe your feelings in French
Sometimes you can use idioms to express your feelings. Idioms are fun because their direct translation doesn't make sense, but mastering them makes you more of a native speaker. A good example in English is "cry over spilled milk". Knowing a couple is a great way to delve deeper into French language and culture.
1. Feel blue
Meaning: to be upset
Literally translated, this means "to have a cockroach", butFrench speakers used itto express the feeling of being down for ages.
2. Being scared to death
This phrase means to be afraid. When used, it should be properly conjugated to get phrases like "J'ai une peur bleue." The literal translation of the phrase is “be afraid of blue”.
3. Having a hangover
This is a good phrase to use after a long weekend as it translates to 'hangover'. The literal translation is "to have the wooden face".
Find out more French Emotions
You'd be surprised how often you have to talk about emotions in French. Now you know some useful adjectives to keep up with those conversations. But there is much more to fluent French. If you want toLearn the most useful French words and phrases effortlessly, you need to download OptiLingo.
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