Spanish emotions vocabulary: how you feel and who you are
Short answer: Spanish separates passing feelings from lasting character. Feelings use estar: estoy nervioso, “I’m nervous (right now)”. Personality uses ser: soy nervioso, “I’m a nervous person”. Strong feelings often work like gustar, with the person first: me encanta, me da miedo.
¿Cómo estás? · pick a mood
Estoy contento.
EstoyI-amcontento.happy
es-TOY kon-TEN-toh · “I’m happy.”Why:A man says contento, with -o. Estar, because a mood passes.
Feelings
Feelings with estar, mapped by energy
Estar is the “to be” for states that can change. It is a verb (a doing or being word) that changes with the person: estoy (I am), estás (you are), está (he / she is). An adjective (describing word) ending in -o becomes -a for a woman; those ending in -e or a consonant stay the same. More in ser and estar.
High energy · unpleasant
High energy · pleasant
Low energy · unpleasant
Low energy · pleasant
Feelings sorted by how pleasant they are and how much energy they carry. Tap a word to hear it. Enfadado is “angry” in Spain; Latin America says enojado.
Character vs mood
Same word, two meanings: ser or estar
With ser (the “to be” for what something is), an adjective describes character; with estar, a state right now. For a few words the meaning changes completely. Tap a row to hear both.
← ser · who he isestar · how he is now →
Personality
Describing character with ser
Personality words come in opposites. Use them with ser: Mi hermana es muy trabajadora, “My sister is very hard-working”. Words ending in -or add -a for a woman: trabajador, trabajadora.
Back-to-front verbs
Me encanta, me da miedo: feelings that work like gustar
With these verbs the thing you feel about is the subject (the word the verb agrees with), and the person comes first as me (to me), te (to you) or le (to him / her). So the verb is plural when the thing is plural, whoever is feeling it. Try it: change one choice at a time and watch which word moves.
Build it: pick a person, a feeling and a thing
Who feels
Feeling
About
EnglishI love dancing.
Person · to whommeto me
Verb · agrees with the thingencantadelights
Subject · the thingbailarto dance
meh en-KAN-tah bay-LAR
Why:Change the person and the verb stays the same: it agrees with bailar, which is an activity, and activities count as singular, so encanta. In English “I” is the subject; in Spanish me just means “to me”.
Meto-memolestabotherseltheruido.noise
meh moh-LES-tah el RRWEE-doh · “The noise bothers me.”Why:Molestar means “to bother”.
Meto-medagivespena.sorrow
meh DAH PEH-nah · “I feel sorry about it.”Why:In Spain this is sadness or pity; in Mexico and Colombia it can also mean embarrassment.
Atomímemeto-meencanta.delights
ah MEE meh en-KAN-tah · “I love it (personally).”Why:A mí adds emphasis: “as for me”. It never replaces me.
Meto-mecaesyou-fallbien.well
meh KAH-es BYEN · “I like you (as a person).”Why:Caer bien / mal is how Spaniards say they like or dislike someone.
Eight verbs that work this way · tap a row to hear it
Verb
Literally
Example
English
gustargoos-TAR
to please
Me gusta el café.
I like coffee.
encantaren-kan-TAR
to delight
Me encanta el mar.
I love the sea.
interesareen-teh-reh-SAR
to interest
Me interesa la historia.
I’m interested in history.
molestarmoh-les-TAR
to bother
Me molesta el humo.
The smoke bothers me.
preocuparpreh-oh-koo-PAR
to worry
Me preocupa el examen.
I’m worried about the exam.
dar miedodar MYEH-doh
to give fear
Me da miedo volar.
I’m scared of flying.
dar igualdar ee-GWAL
to give the same
Me da igual.
I don’t mind.
dolerdoh-LEHR
to hurt
Me duele la cabeza.
My head hurts.
Reactions
Reacting to news
Someone tells you something; you react. ¡Qué …! + an adjective or noun is the most common pattern. Read the news, think of a reaction, then tap to see what a Spaniard would say.