160 creative ways to express joy, calm, angry + more in German

Most of us don’t even know how to express our feelings in our native tongue, much less in a second language - but don’t worry. We’ll make it very easy for you, so you’ll walk away from this article feeling light, happy and encouraged!

Talking about your feelings in German is a lot easier than it sounds. It can be as simple as asking someone:

• “How are you?” (Wie geht’s dir?) or
• “How are you feeling today?” (Wie fühlst du dich heute?).

We rarely answer that question with anything beyond “good” (gut), but if we’re honest, we have a million different feelings and they just keep bubbling up because that’s a natural part of being human.

When you’re learning German, you’ll encounter many situations that will make you wish you knew how to express your feelings. So we’ll teach you how to say happy, sad and angry in German, plus many, many more German words for emotions.

How to talk about feelings and emotions in German

Germans aren’t known to be the most expressive people in the world but of course we have the same emotions - and sometimes it’s inevitable to voice them.

These are some common situations in which you’ll need to express your moods and emotions in German:

I. During smalltalk with a German-speaker

How cool would it be if you went on a trip to Germany and when someone asks you how you’re doing, you could surprise them by saying “Ich freu mich heute richtig, weil ich das erste Mal in Deutschland bin” (I’m actually really excited to be in Germany for the first time!) - in fluent German?

II. When clearing the air with a German friend or colleague

Relationships are complicated. You might feel overlooked because your boss didn’t give you that promotion or you’re feeling betrayed because your new partner went to a party and didn’t invite you.

You can’t expect others to say sorry unless they know what they did wrong. So it’s important that you manage to explain your feelings and give them a chance to understand.

III. When confessing your feelings to a German love interest

When you like someone from a different country, it’s extra special if you confess your feelings in their language. Once you’re ready, we have a whole guide on how to say I love you in German in 131 extra special ways.

IV. At the doctor’s office

Going to the doctor’s in a different country can be a little intimidating. Therefore, it’s especially helpful if you speak the language, so you can tell the doctor how you feel - whether that’s sick (krank), nauseous (mir ist übel) or weak (schwach). Also, remember German body parts to help them locate your symptoms.

How to say happy in German

Hopefully, happiness is your emotional status quo! In German, happy is “glücklich”, from the German word for “luck” (Glück). Happiness definitely has something to do with luck, but luckily, happiness also has to do with choice.

Synonyms for expressing you’re happy in German

Example sentences using “happy” in German.

• I’m happy because I just got a promotion.
  Ich bin glücklich, weil ich gerade eine Beförderung bekommen habe.
• He is so content because his girlfriend is here.
  Er ist so zufrieden, weil seine Freundin hier ist.
• I’m not satisfied with their customer support.
  Ich bin nicht mit ihrem Kundendienst zufrieden.
• That movie made me happy because I could relate to so many scenes.
  Der Film hat mich glücklich gemacht, weil ich mich mit so vielen Szenen identifizieren konnte.
• I’m glad you came!
  Ich bin froh, dass du hier bist!

How to say peaceful in German

Just imagine being on vacation in the beautiful Swiss Alps and overlooking the quiet morning serenity of those gorgeous mountains. In case the view doesn’t leave you completely speechless, here’s what you can say.

Synonyms for peaceful in German

Example sentences using “peaceful” in German.

• I’m so peaceful because I just trust it will be okay.
  Ich bin so friedlich, weil ich einfach darauf vertraue, dass alles gut wird.
• He’s got a calm personality.
  Er hat eine ruhige Persönlichkeit.
• This scenery is so peaceful.
  Die Landschaft ist so friedlich.
• Please calm down before you say something you’ll regret.
  Bitte beruhige dich, bevor du etwas sagst, das du bereuen wirst.

How to say sad in German

Sadly, we all get sad sometimes, but as we say in German: Geteiltes Leid ist halbes Leid (A sorrow shared is a sorrow halved), so learn to share what makes you sad and I promise it will get easier!

Synonyms for sad in German

Example sentences using “sad” in German.

• I’m so down because I lost my job.
  Ich bin so niedergeschlagen, weil ich meinen Job verloren habe
• He is depressed because he lost a loved one.
  Er ist deprimiert, weil er einen geliebten Menschen verloren hat.
• That movie was so sad because they didn’t get their happy ending.
  Der Film war so traurig, weil sie ihr Happy End nicht bekommen haben.
• I have a personal issue that’s weighing me down.
  Ich habe ein persönliches Problem, das mich runterzieht.

How to say angry in German

It may come as no surprise that German has some very unique and graphic expressions for “angry”:

“Bitterböse” means “bitterly angry”, “hitzköpfig” means “heat-headed”, “fuchsteufelswild” means “fox-devil-wild” and “wutentbrannt” means “burnt from wrath”.

So in case you were wondering what angry German sounds like, you see it sounds… well, very German.

Synonyms for angry in German

Example sentences using “angry” in German.

• I’m so angry because you lied to me.
  Ich bin so wütend, weil du mich angelogen hast.
  
• He is irritated because his friend is ignoring him.
  Er ist genervt, weil sein Freund ihn ignoriert.
  
• That article upset me because it was culturally insensitive.
  Der Artikel hat mich aufgeregt, weil er kulturell unsensibel war.
  
• My boss is furious because I didn’t meet her deadline.
  Meine Chefin ist fuchsteufelswild, weil ich ihre Deadline nicht eingehalten habe.

How to say relaxed in German

Relaxed in German is “entspannt” or “gelassen”. You can also use the English word “relaxed” as it found its way into the German language, just like the word “to chill”.

The German version of the verb is “chillen” and the respective adjective is “chillig”.

Synonyms for relaxed in German

Example sentences using “relaxed” in German.

• I’m so relaxed because I slept eight hours.
  Ich bin so entspannt, weil ich acht Stunden geschlafen habe.
• A spa bath always helps me relax.
  Ein Spa-Bad hilft mir immer beim Entspannen.
• Loosen up!
  Mach dich mal locker!
• You can relax about this.
  Du kannst dich diesbezüglich entspannen.

How to say afraid / scared in German

Spiders, global warming and rising costs of living - there’s no shortage of things to be afraid of. “Afraid” in German is “ängstlich”. More commonly, you use the expression “Ich habe Angst” (I have fear).

Synonyms for afraid / scared in German

Example sentences using “afraid” in German.

• I’m so afraid because I’m home alone.
  Ich habe solche Angst, weil ich allein zu Hause bin.
• He got scared because the scene had a jump scare in it.
  Er hat sich erschreckt, weil die Szene einen Jumpscare hatte.
• I’m terrified of the test because I didn’t study enough.
  Ich habe schreckliche Angst vor der Prüfung, weil ich nicht genug gelernt habe.
• I can’t even look at bees because I have a phobia of them.
  Ich kann Bienen nicht mal ansehen, weil ich eine Phobie habe.

How to say surprised in German

Surprised in German is “überrascht”. If you’re surprised in a negative way, you’re “erschrocken”, the kind of surprise that comes with fear and if you’re surprised and a little puzzled, you’re “verblüfft”.

Synonyms for surprised in German

Example sentences using “surprised” in German.

• I’m so surprised because I never saw any signs.
  Ich bin so überrascht, weil ich nie irgendwelche Zeichen gesehen habe.
• He was shocked by their response.
  Er war von ihrer Antwort schockiert.
• That scene surprised me.
  Die Szene hat mich überrascht.
• I didn’t see that coming.
  Damit habe ich nicht gerechnet.

How to say stressed in German

Stressed in German is “gestresst” and just like in English, it’s no fun! So make sure you and everyone around you get plenty of rest, so you’ll never need any of these sentences:

Synonyms for stress in German

Example sentences using “stressed” in German.

• I’m so stressed because of my job.
  Ich bin so gestresst wegen meiner Arbeit.
• That meeting was stressful.
  Das Meeting war stressig.
• I’m exhausted from all these tasks.
  Ich bin erschöpft von all diesen Aufgaben.
• My nerves are raw.
  Meine Nerven liegen blank.

Expressing emotions in German by text message

Texting gives us an abundance of emojis to express our feelings without even typing a word. If you want to add the bare minimum of letters, you can use these English abbreviations that are also common in German:

• OMG!
• LOL
• WTH?

Other common German words for emotions

Not all emotions are as obvious as happiness, sadness or anger. Many of them are more nuanced. Here is a list of emotions that can be tricky to identify sometimes.

Considerations when discussing moods in German

When you’re trying to start a conversation with a German stranger, keep in mind that Germans tend to be a lot more reserved than Americans. We’re not grumpy. We just don’t like smalltalk and we’re not used to sharing our feelings with anyone but our close friends and family members.

Our most important emotions work just the same and are expressed with the same facial expressions across all cultures. It’s just the words that differ a little, and with German-speakers specifically, you might need to be a little patient until you get to that level of vulnerability, where we’re comfortable sharing our feelings.

Language learning itself can trigger a lot of different emotions

At times, we might get frustrated at our learning pace or jealous of other people’s progress and sometimes studying long vocabulary lists may simply feel very boring.

All our emotions are valid and normal. Just keep in mind that there are only very few experiences as rewarding as learning something new, so in the end, all the positive emotions will follow.

Somewhere down the road, you’ll discover the pleasures of ordering (and eating!) local German foods, your love for the beautiful German language and the pure joy of laughing out loud about all its weird quirks.

Are you excited to learn some more German? Then it would make us very happy if you checked out more articles on our fun and educating language blog!