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In this post, we’ll look at some simple Portuguese vocabulary and sentence constructions on the topic of feelings and emotions. There aren’t too many grammatical issues in this area–learning it is mostly a case of working on the vocabulary with your tutor, applying it to some real-life scenarios so you can get a feel for how it works.
Below, we’ll go through some useful verb conjugations and vocabulary for talking about emotions in Portuguese, and then use them to assemble some simple phrases and sentences.
Estar, Sentir, and Conjugations
In order to talk about feelings and emotions, you’ll need to learn a few basic verb conjugations, as well as the necessary Portuguese vocabulary. For the sake of simplicity, in this post we’ll limit ourselves to talking about emotions in the present tense. In most situations, you’ll need either the verb estar (to be), the verb sentir (to feel), or both. Below, we list the conjugations of those verbs for the most common Portuguese personal pronouns.
Estar
Eu estou
I am
Tu estás
You are
Ele/ela/você está
He/she/it is, you are
Nós estamos
We are
Eles/elas/vocês estão
They/you (plural) are
Sentir
Eu sinto
I feel
Tu sentes
You feel
Ele/ela/você sente
He/she/it feels, you feel
Nós sentimos
We feel
Eles/elas/vocês sentem
They/you (plural) feel
Vocabulary
Below is a list of some of the Portuguese vocabulary that can be used when talking about feelings and emotions.
Happy
Feliz
Sad
Triste
Scared
Assustado(a)
Bored
Entediado(a)
Tired
Cansado(a)
Excited
Animado
Angry
Raivoso(a) / Com raiva (lit: “with anger”)
Worried
Preocupado(a)
Surprised
Surpreso(a)
Calm
Calmo(a)
Embarrassed
Envergonhado(a)
Depressed
Depressivo(a) / Deprimido(a)
Pain
Dor
Joy
Alegria
Fear
Medo
Putting It Together
Now we have the Portuguese vocabulary and the verb conjugations, we can start assembling phrases and sentences. Below are some examples of simple Portuguese phrases talking about feelings and emotions.
I’m happy.
Eu estou feliz.
You’re sad.
Tu es triste.
He’s scared.
Ele está assustado.
She’s bored.
Ela está entediada.
Are you tired?
Você está cansado?
We’re excited.
Nós estamos animados.
They’re angry.
Eles estão com raiva.
Are you guys worried?
Vocês estão preocupados?
She feels depressed.
Ela se sente deprimida.
I feel fear.
Eu sinto medo.
Do you feel joy?
Tu sentes alegria?
A note on tu vs. você: both of these words translate as “you,” but exactly which one you use depends both on the situation and whether you’re learning Brazilian or European Portuguese (and even on which Brazilian regional dialect is being used). Your tutor can help you with this subject.
Learn More on This Subject
There’s still more to cover on this subject–for instance, talking about emotions in the past tense is something that people do quite frequently. The easiest way of getting your Portuguese vocabulary for this subject up to scratch is to work on it with a tutor, who can help you with all the material in this post and much more, and answer any questions that you might have.