Common French Adjectives to Describe Feelings
Let’s talk about feelings in French! Do you know how to say that you are feeling tired, angry, or worried?
In this French lesson, we will learn 20 French adjectives to describe feelings. All adjectives are translated into English, of course, and they all include an example and audio.

Download the Free PDF of the Lesson 📄
Gender of French Adjectives
French adjectives agree in gender and number with what they describe, which can be an object, a subject, or a person, …
Adjectives are either masculine or feminine when talking about gender and singular or plural when talking about numbers.
Here are how gender and number affect the endings of French adjectives, especially the ones we are going to see in this lesson:
Masculine Adjectives
Singular - Plural
eux – eux
t – ts
e – es
I – is
u – us
é – és
Feminine Adjectives
Singular - Plural
euse – euses
te – tes
e – es
Ie – ies
ue – ues
ée – ées
French verbs to Talk about Feelings
We can use a lot of different verbs to talk about feelings, but we will mostly use the verbs être to be and se sentir to feel.
Note: Sometimes, the adjectives will be followed by DE / D’.
Let’s review the conjugation of the two verbs in the present tense.
Être - To be
Je suis – I am
Tu es – You are
Il est – He is
Elle est – She is
On est – We are
Nous sommes – We are
Vous êtes – You are
Ils sont – They are
Elles sont – They are
Se sentir - To feel
Je me sens – I feel. I am feeling
Tu te sens – You feel, You are feeling
Il se sent – He feels, He is feeling
Elle se sent – She feels, She is feeling
On se sent – We feel, We are feeling
Nous nous sentons – We feel, We are feeling
Vous vous sentez – You feel, You are feeling
Ils se sentent – They feel, They are feeling
Elles se sentent – They feel, They are feeling
Common French Adjectives to Describe Feelings
The first adjective is masculine/singular, the second one is feminine/singular.
1. Heureux - Heureuse
Happy
Elle est heureuse de te voir. – She is happy to see you.
2. Content - Contente
Happy
Est-ce que tu es content ? – Are you happy?
3. Optimiste
Optimistic
Il faut rester optimiste. – We have to stay optimistic.
4. Ravi - Ravie
Delighted
Nous sommes ravis du résultat. – We are delighted with the result.
5. Détendu - Détendue
Relaxed
Je me sens détendue. – I am feeling relaxed.
6. Triste
Sad
Elle est toujours triste. – She is always sad.
7. Pessimiste
Pessimistic
Elle essaye d’être moins pessimiste. – She is trying to be less pessimistic.
8. Malheureux - Malheureuse
Unhappy - Sad
Pourquoi es-tu malheureux ? – Why are you unhappy?
9. Déprimé - Déprimée
Depressed
Il est déprimé depuis quelques mois. – He has been depressed for a few months.
10. Fâché - Fâchée
Angry
Ne sois pas fâchée ! – Don’t be angry!
11. Furieux - Furieuse
Furious
Elle était furieuse d’apprendre la nouvelle. – She was furious to learn the news.
12. Fatigué - Fatiguée
Tired
Je suis fatigué(e) de cette histoire. – I am tired of this story.
13. Exténué - Exténuée
Exhausted
Nous étions exténuées après la randonnée. – We were exhausted after the hike.
14. Cassé - Cassée
Broken - Exhausted
Je dois aller dormir. Je suis cassé. – I have to go to sleep. I am “broken” / exhausted.
15. Anxieux - Anxieuse
Anxious
Ils sont anxieux quand ils sont seuls. – They are anxious when they are alone.
16. Nerveux - Nerveuse
Nervous
Aller chez le dentiste me rend nerveuse. – Going to the dentist makes me nervous.
17. Inquiet - Inquiète
Worried
Il est inquiet de recevoir ses résultats. – He is worried to get his results.
18. Choqué - Choquée
Shocked
Elles étaient choquées de découvrir la vérité. – They were shocked to discover the truth.
19. Horrifié - Horrifiée
Horrified
Le juge était horrifié après avoir vu la vidéo. – The judge was horrified after seeing the video.
20. Impatient - Impatiente
Impatient
Je suis impatiente de voir mon chien. – I am impatient to see my dog – I can’t wait to see my dog.
