16 Tip-top Words + Top Tips to Express Your German Feelings

fluentu.com/german/blog/german-feelings/

Some may think the German language sounds cold or harsh.

I beg to differ!

Deutsch can be a wonderfully expressive language wrought with drama, oozing with emotion and seething with
passion.

Those who have read the classic poets Goethe, Schiller and Brecht or listened in on a modern German poetry slam
know what Im talking about.

So lets get dramatic.

Dont hold back.

To help you fully express yourself, Ive put together a tip-top list of German feelings vocabulary, plus top tips on how
to learn and use it.

Its time to talk about your feelingsin German!

Making Sense of Emotion in German

Basics & beyond

Before you peruse our list of handy feelings words below, check out some basic phrases you can use to start
expressing your feelings in Germanincluding bonus vocab!

Ich fhle mich (I feel) gut, schlecht, froh, traurig (good, bad, happy, sad) will get your point across to start.

Furthermore, youll almost never go wrong using Ich fhle mich/mir gehts (Im feeling/Im) with most
adjectives.

Youre also good using Ich habe (I have) Durst, Kummer, Heimweh (thirst, worry, homesickness) with a
noun.

You can even resort to Ich finde das (I find that) falsch, richtig (wrong, right).

Dont be afraid to step beyond your basic learner status when it comes to feelings and to start learning new nouns
and adjectives right away. Eventually, youll want to stock up on new, more advanced words, phrases and
constructions, but youre off to a great start with these basic phrases. Before you know it, youll be sounding more
and more local!

Feeling your way further with cognates, idioms and slang

As with learning any new concept, take your journey with German feelings slow. Ease into the new vocabulary first,
then move on to a couple of the ideas in this section if youre still hungry.

First, try taking advantage of cognatesrelated words that are common between English and Germanlike these
ones, used in context:

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 Ich bin optimistisch. (Im optimistic.)
Du bist so negativ. (Youre so negative.)
Ich fhle mich euphorisch. (I feel euphoric.)

To name a few. Next, try translating expressions you often use in English and start using em in German! (This will
be easier once youve had a look at our tip-top list below, in which youll find some common expressions you
probably already use.) Make sure all the words you choose make sense first, of course, and be careful of idiomatic
speechwhich if used incorrectly will at least get a laugh.

For example, You animalistically get on my cookies just does not work in English, but in German, Du gehst mir
tierisch auf den Keks is a great idiom to express frustration with someone! Or how about Du hast wohl den Arsch
offen, or You plainly have the a** open, really meaning youre out of your mind/unreasonable.

That brings us to slang, which can also work well for expressing feelings:

Ich war total baff! (I was totally perplexed, astounded!)

Ich bin voll down. (Im totally down.)
Mir gehts tip-top! (I feel tip-top/great!)

Indeed, many English words are used in slang, mostly jargon and curse words. So keep your eyes and ears open,
and before you know it, youll be feeling more comfortable expressing your German feelings.

How to Practice Your Feelings Vocabulary

Hark! The poets

Alas, one would think youd have to be quite advanced in the language to understand and even utilize elements of
the great German poets and literary giants. Looking to set examples, such as quotes, however, is actually a good
place to start.

There are short lines of poetic speech that can be easily translated. The content conveys emotion and expression
from which you can extract loads of cool little tidbits to add to your repertoire of vocabulary.

Imagine your next German Stammtisch gathering (meet-up of German language learners to practice, often with
Germans to help) with you not only impressing with expressing your feelings c/o Goethe, but also seriously
progressing towards mastering Germaneven if not at the advanced level. Simply find a quote you particularly like,
memorize it, repeat, and sooner or later the situation to use it will arise.

Take this famous quote from Goethe:

Unsere Wnsche sind Vorgefhle der Fhigkeiten, die in uns liegen. (Our wishes are presentiments of the abilities
within us.)

Or how about this odd yet poetic beauty by Schiller:

Der Einfall war kindisch, aber gttlich schn. (The notion was childish, but divinely beautiful.)

Heres one by Bertolt Brecht:

Wer kmpft, kann verlieren. Wer nicht kmpft, hat schon verloren. (Those who fight, can lose. Those who dont fight,
have already lost.)

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It inspired me, in those early days of learning German, to keep on advancing!

Of course, learning quotes not only gives you access to ready-made phrases. It also adds more single words to that
invaluable vocabulary cache!

Train your tongue further with exercises by perusing, translating and practicing quotes from the German masters
with selections from Zitate.net.

Slam your German

If youre planning a visit to, or living in, Germany (hands down the best way to learn the lingo), you absolutely must
go to a poetry slam. These modern urban poet competitions convey just as much feeling as the classic masters
albeit while often being edgier, urbanite and perhaps more relevant to our world today. Sure, its significantly more
difficult to understand a live performance often wrought with slang. Nevertheless, its a great experience in which
something is certain to stick.

You may even catch a German slam in larger cities internationally and in North Americatheyve happened in NYCs
Goethe Institut. To keep up with events like poetry slams and Stammtisch meetings internationally, check out
Meetup.com. In the meantime, watch this slam video or this one with subtitles!

16 Tip-top Words to Express Your German Feelings

All right, lets have a look at our collection of words and examples of how they can be used, changed and exchanged
to further your ability in expressing how you feel and your state of mind. Some of these examples dont necessarily
have to do with expressing your feelings, but are there to give you a better understanding of how the words
themselves can be used.

1. Langeweile (boredom)

Mir ist langweilig. (Im bored.)

Ich bin langweilig. (Im boring.)

Ich habe Langeweile. (Im bored.)

2. bel (ill, sick, bad)

Mir ist bel. (Im ill/feel sick.)

Ich bin bel. (Im bad.)

Das ist bel. (Thats bad.)

Nimm es mir nicht bel. (Dont take it the wrong way.)

3. Peinlich (embarrassed)

Mir ist peinlich. (Im embarrassed.)

Das ist mir peinlich. (Thats embarrassing.)

Ich bin peinlich. (Im embarrassing.)

Oh, I almost forgot! The first three words above can give you insight into using the nominative/dative constructions
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correctly in German.

Heres a short run-down that wont bore you: Take the word for bored, langweilig. Im bored is the simple
expression in English. But German also uses the dative construction often to express feelings. In this case, Mir
ist langweilig. With the nominative construction describing a state of being, if you said Ich bin
langweilig, youd actually be saying Im boring!

And onwards with some common expressions

4. Begeisterung (enthusiasm, thrill)

Ich bin begeistert! (Im thrilled!)

Ich bin ein begeistigter Fuballspieler. (Im an avid football player.)

5. Sorge (worry, concern)

Ich habe Sorgen. (Im worried.)

Keine Sorge. (No worries/dont worry.)

Ich werde dafr sorgen. (Ill take care of it.)

Danke, Ich bin versorgt. (Thanks, Im taken care of/provided for.)

6. Geduld (patience)

Ich habe Geduld. (I have patience.)

Ich bin geduldig. (Im patient.)

7. Elend (misery)

Ich fhle mich elend. (I feel awful.)

Mir ist ganz elend. (Im completely miserable.)

Ach, du Elender! (Oh, you wretch/poor thing!)

8. Neugier (curiosity)

Ich bin neugierig. (Im curious.)

Ich platze vor Neugier. (Im bursting with curiosity/Im dying to know.)

Sei nicht so neugierig. (Dont be so nosy.)

9. Aufgefallen (noticed, caught attention)

Es ist mir aufgefallen. (I noticed.)

Ich bin aufgefallen. (I caught attention/was noticed.)

10. Satt (full, satiated)

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Ich bin satt. (Im full.)

Ich habe es satt. (Im fed-up.)

Ich habe nie satt. (Im insatiable.)

11. Erleichterung (relief)

Ich bin erleichtert. (Im relieved.)

Das ist eine Erleichterung. (Thats a relief.)

Das erleichtert viel. (That makes [it] a lot easier.)

12. Laune (mood)

Ich bin bei Laune. (Im in the mood/a good mood.)

Ich bin nicht gut gelaunt. (Im not in a good mood.)

Ich bin schlecht gelaunt. (Im in a rotten mood.)

Ich bin launisch. (Im moody.)

13. Sehnsucht (longing, craving)

Ich bin sehnschtig nach dir. (Im longing for you.)

Ich habe Sehnsucht nach Eis. (Im craving ice cream.)

Ich warte sehnschtig drauf. (Im longing for it/I cant wait.)

14. Verwirrung (confusion, puzzlement)

Ich bin verwirrt. (Im confused.)

Das ist verwirrend. (Thats puzzling.)

Lets finish off with a couple really strange yet cool slang words that will definitely turn heads!

15. Griesgrmig (grumpy, grouchy)

Ich bin etwas griesgrmig. (Im a little grumpy.)

Ich bin doch nicht griesgrmig! (Im not grouchy!)

16. Fracksausen (fright, horror, terrified)

Ich habe echt Fracksausen! (Im really terrified!)

Take the intensity one higher and add a juicy adverb into the mix like echt, voll, total, komplett (really, full/fully, totally,
completely): Ich bin echt begeistert!

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You should be really thrilled, because now you can better express yourselfand your feelingsin German!

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