Italian Emotions Vocabulary: Emotions Words in Italian

Italian Emotions Vocabulary

Start with the most common words, then expand your knowledge with intermediate and advanced vocabulary.

Beginner (A1)

bored annoiato
cheerful allegro
frightened spaventato
confused confuso
content contento
amused divertito
excited emozionato
angry arrabbiato
happy felice
impatient impaziente
nervous nervoso
surprised sorpreso
calm calmo
sad triste
shy timido

Elementary (A2)

exhausted esausto
grateful grato
relieved sollevato
loving amorevole
anxious ansioso
disgusted disgustato
ashamed imbarazzato
affectionate affettuoso
jealous geloso
pleased soddisfatto
disappointed deluso
depressed depresso
delighted entusiasta
enthusiastic elettrizzato
frustrated frustrato
irritated irritato
grumpy scontroso
miserable infelice
proud orgoglioso
lonely solo
tense teso
bashful schivo

Intermediate & Advanced (B1-C1)

satisfied appagato
overwhelmed sopraffatto
distressed angosciato
regretful pentito
terrified terrorizzato
guilty colpevole
doubtful dubbioso
hopeful speranzoso
weary affaticato
humbled commosso
indifferent indifferente
restless irrequieto
insecure insicuro
intimidated intimidito
offended offeso
optimistic ottimista
pessimistic pessimista
rejected respinto
gloomy cupo
yearning desideroso
apathetic apatico
compassionate compassionevole
dismayed sgomento
defiant ribelle
heartbroken affranto
despairing disperato
empathetic empatico
ecstatic estasiato
elated euforico
hostile ostile
melancholic melanconico
nostalgic nostalgico
thoughtful pensieroso
resentful risentito
sympathetic comprensivo
vulnerable vulnerabile
sullen taciturno
paranoid paranoico

Example Sentences

In proper context. With highlighted verbs and adjectives.

Beginner & Elementary (A1-A2)

Basic sentences about feelings and emotions using essential Italian verbs and adjectives.

Marco sorride quando vede i suoi amici. Marco smiles when he sees his friends.
Il bambino piange perché ha perso il giocattolo. The child cries because he lost his toy.
Paolo urla quando è molto arrabbiato. Paolo shouts when he is very angry.
La ragazza trema per la paura. The girl trembles from fear.
Maria abbraccia la madre con affetto. Maria hugs her mother with affection.
Il bambino è molto felice per il regalo. The child is very happy about the gift.
Oggi mi sento un po' triste. Today I feel a bit sad.
Luigi è molto arrabbiato con il suo collega. Luigi is very angry with his colleague.
Luca è nervoso prima dell'esame. Luca is nervous before the exam.
Il gatto è molto calmo oggi. The cat is very calm today.

Intermediate & Advanced (B1-C1)

More complex expressions describing emotional states and reactions in Italian.

Lei cerca di nascondere la sua delusione. She tries to hide her disappointment.
Luca continua a soffrire per la perdita del suo cane. Luca continues to suffer from the loss of his dog.
Il professore suole sospirare quando gli studenti arrivano in ritardo. The professor usually sighs when students arrive late.
Ho bisogno di sfogare la mia frustrazione con una corsa. I need to vent my frustration with a run.
Mia madre mi incoraggia sempre quando ho paura di sbagliare. My mother always encourages me when I am afraid of making a mistake.
Mi sento completamente sopraffatto dal carico di lavoro. I feel completely overwhelmed by the workload.
Era molto angosciato per le notizie ricevute ieri. He was very distressed about the news received yesterday.
Guardare le vecchie foto mi rende nostalgico. Looking at old photos makes me nostalgic.
Durante la riunione l'impiegato sembrava molto irrequieto. During the meeting the employee seemed very restless.
Il padre è orgoglioso dei successi di sua figlia. The father is proud of his daughter's achievements.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently asked questions about expressing emotions and emotional states in Italian.

To express how you feel in Italian, two main verbs are used: essere (to be) for current states of being and sentirsi (to feel) for internal emotions.

Use essere + adjective: "Sono felice" (I am happy) or "È triste" (He/She is sad).
Use sentirsi + adjective: "Mi sento nervoso" (I feel nervous) or "Ti senti bene?" (Do you feel well?).
Adjectives describing feelings must agree in gender and number with the subject: "Marco è contento" vs "Sofia è contenta".

In Italian, several physical and emotional states use avere (to have) with a noun, whereas English uses 'to be' with an adjective.

Avere paura (to be afraid / frightened): "Ho paura del buio" (I am afraid of the dark).
Avere fretta (to be in a hurry): "Ho fretta" (I am in a hurry).
Avere vergogna (to feel ashamed): "Ha vergogna di parlare" (He is ashamed to speak).
Avere rabbia (to be angry / harbor anger): "Ha molta rabbia dentro" (He has a lot of anger inside).

While all three adjectives translate to 'happy' or 'cheerful', they express different shades of joy in Italian.

Felice: Expresses deep, general, or lasting happiness ("Una vita felice").
Contento: Means pleased, satisfied, or glad about a specific situation ("Sono contento del risultato").
Allegro: Describes a cheerful, lively, or buoyant mood or demeanor ("Un ragazzo allegro").

Italian adjectives of emotion follow standard agreement rules according to who is feeling the emotion.

Adjectives ending in -o (e.g., arrabbiato): change to -a for feminine singular, -i for masculine plural, and -e for feminine plural.
Adjectives ending in -e (e.g., triste, felice): end in -e for both singular genders and change to -i in the plural.
Invariable adjectives like entusiasta end in -a in singular for both genders, becoming -i (masculine) or -e (feminine) in plural.

Italian offers specific verbs and idiomatic expressions for expressing or releasing strong internal emotions.

Sfogarsi: To vent or let out bottled-up emotions ("Ho bisogno di sfogarmi").
Trattenere: To suppress or hold back feelings ("Trattenere le lacrime" - To hold back tears).
Mordersi la lingua: To bite one's tongue when angry or irritated.
Avere i brividi: To get goosebumps or chills from excitement, awe, or fear.

Italian Emotions Vocabulary