Expressing Your Feelings And Emotions In Chinese: #1 Easy Guide

Feelings And Emotions in Chinese-ling-app-people

Feelings and emotions are a part of our everyday lives, whether we know them or not. They’re a natural way to express ourselves and help us understand other people’s feelings. But how do you talk about feelings and emotions in Chinese?

How do you know if someone is sad, angry, or happy? What do you say when you feel those emotions yourself? It’s easy to feel lost when talking about feelings in Chinese. Fortunately, we’re here to help!
We’ll walk you through a simple process to help you express your feelings in Chinese. So let’s get started!

Basic Chinese Vocabulary

The first step to expressing your feelings and emotions in Chinese is learning some basic vocabulary. We’ll start with a few Chinese words to help you express how you feel at any moment. 

Let’s take a look!

Positive Feelings In Chinese

Here are some words for Chinese emotions that can be used to express positive emotions:

EnglishChinesePinyinSound
Admiration 钦佩Qīnpèi
Adoration 崇拜Chóngbài
Amusement 娱乐Yúlè
Appreciation 欣赏Xīn shǎng
Brave 勇敢Yǒnggǎn
Calm 平静Píngjìng
Carefree 无忧无虑Wú yōu wú lǜ
Confident 自信Zì xìn
Craving 渴望Kěwàng
Curious 好奇Hàoqí
Determined 有决心Juéxīn
Excited兴奋/激动Xìngfèn/jīdòng
Funny 有趣Yǒuqù
Glad 欢乐Huān lè
Grateful 感激的Gǎnjīde
Happy 高兴Gāo xìng
Healthy 健康Jiànkāng
Honest 老实Lǎoshí
Hopeful 有希望Yǒuxīwàng
In love 恋爱Liàn’ài
Interested 有兴趣Yǒuxìngqù
Joyful 快乐Kuàilè
Like 喜欢Xǐhuān
Lucky 好命Hǎo mìng
Nostalgic 怀旧Huáijiù
Optimistic 乐观Lè guān
Pleasantly surprised惊喜Jīng xǐ
Relieved 放心Fàng xīn
Romantic 浪漫Làngmàn
Satisfied 满意Mǎnyì
Sympathy 同情Tóngqíng
Trust 信任Xìnrèn
Feelings and emotions in Chinese Ling App happy couple

Negative Feelings In Chinese

Now let’s learn the words to express negative feelings and emotions in Chinese.

EnglishChinesePinyinSound
Afraid 害怕Hàipà
Angry 生气Shēng qì
Anxious 焦虑Jiāolǜ
Ashamed 羞愧Xiūkuì
Bored 无聊Wúliáo
BusyMáng
Confused 困惑Kùnhuò
Depressed 苦闷Kǔ mèn
Disappointed 失望Shīwàng
Disgusted 厌恶Yàn wù
Disheartened 沮丧Jǔsàng
Embarrassed 尴尬Gāngà
Frustrated 沮丧的Jǔsàngde
Guilty 愧疚Kuì jiù
Hungry 饿了è le
Hurt 伤心Shāngxīn
Jealous 嫉妒Jídù
Lonely 孤独Gūdú
Miserable 悲惨Bēicǎn
Nervous 紧张Jǐnzhāng
Sad 难过Nánguò
Scared 害怕的Hàipà de
Shocked吃惊Chījīng
Shy 害羞Hàixiū
Tired Lèi
To dislike 讨厌Tǎoyàn
To feel apologetic 抱歉Bàoqiàn
To hate Hèn
To miss 想念Xiǎngniàn
To regret 遗憾Yíhàn
Upset 闹心Nào xīn
Worried 担心Dānxīn

How To Express Your Emotions

Mastering the vocabulary is fantastic. But how do you put them to use?

Look at these sentence structures to help you express your emotions more accurately.

I Feel (我感觉) + Any Emotion.

To form an “I feel” sentence, say 我感觉 (wǒ gǎn jué) followed by any of the emotions mentioned.

For example:

  • I feel calm. 我感觉平静。 (Wǒ gǎn jué píng jìng)
  • I feel sad. 我感觉难过。 (Wǒ gǎn jué nán guò)
  • I feel excited. 我感觉兴奋。 (Wǒ gǎn jué xīng fèn)

You can also change the subject of this structure to express how other people feel.

For example:

  • The teacher feels calm. 老师感到平静。 (Lǎo shī gǎn dào píng jìng)
  • The baby feels hungry. 婴儿感觉饿了。 (Yīng ér gǎn jué è le)
Feelings and emotions in Chinese Ling App sad kid

I’m A Little… (有点) + Any Emotion

To show that you feel just ‘a little bit’ of emotion, you can say 有点 (yǒudiǎn) followed by any of the emotions mentioned.

For example:

  • I am a little confused. 我有点困惑。(Wǒ yǒudiǎn kùnhuò)
  • I am a bit scared. 我有点害怕。(Wǒ yǒudiǎn hàipà.)
  • I am a little curious. 我有点好奇。(Wǒ yǒudiǎn hàoqí)

You can also change the subject of this structure to express how other people feel.

For example:

  • Mary is a little worried. 玛丽有点担心。(Mǎlì yǒudiǎn dānxīn.)
  • John is a bit relieved. 约翰有点放心。(Yuēhàn yǒudiǎn fàngxīn.)

I’m Very (我很) + Any Emotion.

To express how much you feel a specific emotion, you can say 我很 (wǒ hěn) followed by the emotion you want to convey.

For example:

  • I’m very hurt. 我很伤心 (Wǒ hěn shāngxīn)
  • I’m very satisfied. 我很满意。(Wǒ hěn mǎnyì.)
  • I’m very lonely. 我很孤独。(Wǒ hěn gūdú.)

I’m Not… (我不) + Any Emotion.

Conversely, if you want to say that you don’t feel an emotion, you can use 不(bù) followed by any of the emotions mentioned.

Again, this structure is used in the same way as 我很 (wǒ hěn).

  • I’m not busy. 我不忙。(Wǒ bù máng.)
  • I’m not afraid. 我不害怕。(Wǒ bù hàipà.)
  • I’m not jealous. 我不嫉妒。(Wǒ bù jídù.)

I Am Too/So… (我太) + Feeling/Emotion + 了

Sometimes, you might want to emphasize that something you feel is strong. In these cases, you can use 我太 (wǒ tài) followed by a feeling or emotion, then add 了 (le) at the end.

For example:

  • I am too tired. 我太累了。(Wǒ tài lèile.)
  • I am so excited. 我太激动了。(Wǒ tài jīdòngle.)
  • I am so grateful. 我太感激了。(Wǒ tài gǎnjīle.)

You can also change the subject of this structure to express how other people feel.

  • His wife’s too angry. 他的妻子太生气了。(Tā de qīzi tài shēngqìle.)
  • You are too nervous. 你太紧张了。(Nǐ tài jǐnzhāngle.)

Learning Tip

If you want to perfect expressing your feelings and emotions in Chinese, watch Chinese dramas and movies. They are a great way to learn more about Chinese culture and how people express themselves emotionally.

They are also an excellent way to learn Chinese because they use everyday speech.

Feelings and emotions in Chinese Ling App happy family

Feeling And Emotions In The Chinese Culture

When it comes to feelings and emotions, Chinese people tend to be more reserved than Westerners. This can cause some confusion for visitors who are accustomed to the open, expressive nature of many Western cultures.

Although the Chinese are generally warm and welcoming, they’re not known to be very open with their feelings. Chinese people often use subtle gestures and expressions to indicate their real emotions.

Moreover, overtly emotional displays of affection are not common in Chinese culture. For example, it’s unlikely that you’ll see a man holding hands with his girlfriend or wife on the street. 

Likewise, most Chinese people don’t show their feelings by hugging friends or acquaintances when they meet them for the first time.

Sometimes, expressing emotions can be considered rude. So, it is better to observe the situation and gauge its appropriateness before expressing your opinion or showing any strong emotion.

Express Your Feelings And Emotions

Expressing your feelings and emotions in Chinese can be a little intimidating at first, especially with the cultural difference. But don’t let that stop you! With the proper knowledge of the language and a few simple tips, you’ll be able to express yourself like a native speaker in no time.

Just remember, Chinese culture is very different from Western culture. The Chinese are generally more reserved and don’t show much emotion, so it’s important to respect that when you’re in China.

If you want to learn more about the Chinese language and culture, check out the Ling app!

Learn chinese with Ling CTA

Learn Chinese With Ling

If you’re interested in learning Chinese, the Ling app is the resource you need. 

With the Ling app, you can learn Chinese and 60+ other languages in a fun and interactive way. 

We offer lessons for all levels, from beginner to advanced. You can even test your knowledge with quizzes every day!

Download it on App Store or Google Play app today and start learning Chinese!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

What makes learning with Ling special

Interactive exercises

Improve your pronunciation by starting a conversation with our app’s interactive chatbot

Engaging activities

Practice your skills with mini-games and track your progress with fun quizzes

Mix of languages

Choose from over 60 languages, both big and small, and listen to audio from native speakers

Proven results

Backed by linguistic research, our learning methods can help you achieve fluency in record time