Saying How You Feel - The Words for Feelings in English

To speak English, we must be able to say how we feel.

Tests of competency in the English language ask students to write essays giving personal opinions. To pass these essay questions, you will need to be aware of the feelings that determine your personal point of view.

The Difference Between Feelings and Sensations
"I feel sick" is not a feeling. It is a sensation. Sensations come from specific body parts, usually from a certain organ, like the feet or the skin. "My feet are hot" is a sensation. “My shoulder hurts" is a sensation."I have a headache" is a sensation.

Feelings are also felt in the body but reflect your inner life.

Vocabulary List

This list is to be used as a reference or resource. Please do not try to memorize it overnight!

abandoned     absurd      abused      accommodating       accountable     active      agitated      agreeable      alarmed      alone      aloof     amused      angry      anxious      appeased      apprehensive      arrogant ashamed      attracted      bashful      benevolent      betrayed     bewildered      bitter      blessed      blissful      blue      bold      bored      brisk      calm      capable      cautious     chaotic      charitable      chastised      cheerful     closed      competent      complete      compliant      composed      confident      confined       congenial       contaminated     content      controlled      cordial     cowardly       cranky      cross      defeated      degraded      dejected      delighted      depressed      despised     destitute      determined      dignified      disappointed      discarded      discontented      disgraced      dishonored      disillusioned      disinterested     dissatisfied      distant      disturbed      docile      dominated      dominating      “down in the dumps”      drained      dull      dangerous      ecstatic     elated      embarrassed      empathetic      encouraged      encouraging      energetic      enthusiastic       exasperated       excited      exhausted      extravagant      fatigued      fearful      feeble      flustered      foolish      forlorn      forsaken      fortunate      free      fulfilled      futile      generous      gentle      glad      gloomy      gluttonous      grateful      gratified      grief-stricken      grouchy      guilty     hampered      happy      harassed      healthy      heavy-hearted      helpful      helpless      hindered      holy      honorable      honored      hopeless      humiliated      ignorant      ignored      imprisoned      inadequate      infatuated     influenced       infuriated       inhibited     inhospitable      inspired      interested      intuitive      invigorated      involved      irritated      isolated      jittery      jolly      joyful      jumbled      jumpy      limited      limp      lively      livid      lonely      loyal      lucky      malicious      melancholy      merry     mild      miserable      miserly     misunderstood      modest      moody      mortified      motivated      neglected      nervous      noticed      oppressed  overreacting      overwhelmed     overworked      paranoid     passionate      peaceful      perplexed     persecuted      petty      placid      plagued      pleasant      pleased      poised       powerful      private      provoked      qualified      rage       regretful      relaxed      relieved      remote      resentful      rested      restless      restored       revengeful     ridiculous      robust      rough      sad      satisfied      scared      scorned     secretive     selfish      sensitive      sentimental      shamed      sheltered     shocked       simple      sluggish      solemn      sparkling      stimulated      stingy      strained     stricken      strong      stupid      successful      suicidal      sulky      sullen      surprised      sympathetic    teary-eyed      tempted     terrified      thrilled     thwarted      timid      tired      tormented      tranquil      trapped     triumphant      troubled      unclean     uninterested      unnerved  unwelcome      useless      vague      vain      vigorous      virile      vital      vivacious      wanted      wasteful      weak      weary      weepy     whole      wicked      withdrawn      worried

Question for Discussion:

(1) Have you ever been unclear about specific words for feelings in English? Let’s discuss them now.

Homework:

Whenever you identify a feeling that is not on this list, add it to the list. This list can become your master list of the words for feelings in English.

Copyright © 2011      Barbara A. English      All rights reserved.

Why You Can't Understand English

The eight main reasons you cannot understand English are:

(1) Idioms. In everyday life we use idioms most of the time. Nobody knows them all, and they are always changing.

(2) Confusion. Advertisers use confusion to make you stop, look—and buy. We see many odd words coming from stores and merchants.

(3) Slang. People are trying to be cool, to use a slang word. (If you don’t know what cool means, type ‘What does cool mean?’ into your search engine.) Don't spend money to take a class in slang expressions. By the time you have memorized a list, those slang words will be out of date!

(4) Accents. If he has a Spanish accent and you are Korean, his Spanish accent will make his vowels sound different to you. You may not be able to understand one sentence he says. Even native speakers of English have a hard time understanding people with accents. For this reason, a student of English who wants to be clearly understood may need to work with an accent reduction tutor.

(5) Speaking Too Fast. Maybe he thinks he is speaking better English if he talks fast, like a machine. However, if you cannot understand him, ask him to please speak more slowly.

(6) You Cannot See the Person. Experts in communication say that 70% of the message comes from seeing the other person, the visual part. To understand, we need to see the other person's face, body, and hands. Making eye contact is also important to good communication.

A few decades ago, people used to turn to face each other when they spoke. That changed with advances in technology. Nowadays many of us prefer prefer communicating with people far away and don't really care to get together with people close proximity to us.

(7) He Does Not Want You To Understand Him. Communication is a two-way street. If you cannot understand somebody, maybe he does not want to be understood. You may never know the reason.

(8) English Has Too Many Words. Have you ever seen the complete dictionary of the English language? It is five inches thick and almost too heavy to lift! English has many levels of diction and usage, and even college professors meet to discuss what is correct and what is not correct.So never feel bad if you cannot understand English! Just try again!

What to Say When You Cannot Understand Someone

Say: 'Please repeat that, using different words' ...

Otherwise the person will just say again the same thing! And you will not understand him the second time ... the third time ... or the fourth time!

Some Questions for Discussion:

1. Many people have studied English for a long time. But when they come to New York City, they discover they cannot understand English as we speak it in everyday life. Does this describe you? What could you do to remedy this uncomfortable situation?
2. Is it okay to be ‘good enough’ in another language—or is it important to be perfect?
3. Do you think cell phones enhance communication, or block communication?

Copyright © 2011           Barbara A. English         All rights reserved.