As you probably already know, Italian people can be very expressive. Learning to express emotions in Italian is essential if you want to connect and make friends with Italian people.
It encompasses verbal, facial and gestural communication. Communicating feelings and emotions seems to come easy to Italians, but for those of us who come from more reserved cultures, we sometimes need to learn it.
You’ve come to the right place if you want to start communicating your emotions and feelings in Italian, whether you need to talk to a friend about an important matter or you just want to chat with the bartender while sipping an Aperol Spritz.
Talking about feelings and emotions in Italian
If you need to have a conversation about how someone is feeling, the best thing to do is to ask, and then just listen carefully.
You probably know the easiest expression to ask someone how they are: Come stai? (How are you?). This can be used in all occasions, from the casual encounter to a more intimate talk with a close friend or partner.
| Italian | English |
| Come ti senti? | How do you feel? |
| Ti senti bene? | Are you feeling ok? |
| C’è qualcosa che non va? | Is there something wrong? |
| Va tutto bene? | Is everything ok? |
How to say how you feel in Italian
To answer the question ‘Come stai?’ we can either use the construction: Sto… (with bene / benissimo, male / malissimo) or the verb essere (to be) with other expressions:
| Italian | English |
| Sto bene, grazie. | I’m ok, thank you. |
| Oggi sto davvero malissimo. | Today I am really bad. |
| Sono felice! | I am happy! |
| Sono un po’ triste oggi. Tu invece come stai? | I am a bit sad today. And how are you? |
How to say happy in Italian
| English | Italian |
| Cheerful | allegro |
| Joyful | gioioso |
| Satisfied | soddisfatto |
| Delighted | lieto |
| Excited | emozionato |
How to say peaceful in Italian
To say peaceful in Italian you can use the word tranquillo or calmo. There is a difference between stare tranquillo / calmo and essere tranquillo / calmo.
In the first case, it is an invitation not to get agitated, while in the second it describes a quality of the person.
Calmarsi and tranquillizzarsi are also verbs.
Pacifico is also a translation for “peaceful”, but it is not as commonly used as the other two to describe moods. It is more common to describe a situation of peace (i.e. not war).
| English | Italian |
| Serene | sereno |
| Quiet | pacato |
| Placid | placido |
| Calm (noun) | calma |
| Tranquility | tranquillità |
How to say sad in Italian
The word for “sad” in Italian is triste. This, like its opposite, felice, does not change in the masculine and feminine, but only in the singular and plural.
The emotion is tristezza.
| English | Italian |
| I’m sad | Sono triste |
| Unhappy | Infelice |
| Unhappy | Scontento |
| It’s so depressing | È deprimente |
| He is depressed | Lui è depresso |
| She is in low spirits | È giù di morale |
How to say angry in Italian
Arrabbiato means angry in Italian. It comes from rabbia (anger) and it can be used in all kinds of situations. A slang word for the same feeling is incavolato or the slightly more rude incazzato.
If something ‘makes you angry’, use the construction “mi fa arrabbiare/incavolare/incazzare”.
| English | Italian |
| Angry | Arrabbiato |
| Are you angry? (f) | Sei arrabbiata? |
| Angry (slang) | Incavolato |
| Pissed off (‘rude’ slang) | Incazzato |
| To get angry | Arrabbiarsi |
| It makes me angry | Mi fa arrabbiare |
How to say relaxed in Italian
Relaxed in Italian is simply rilassato. The English word relax as a noun, however, has become part of the Italian vocabulary as well. The verb, on the other hand, is rilassarsi.
| English | Italian |
| Relaxed | Rilassato |
| Are you relaxed? | Sei rilassato? |
| To relax | Rilassarsi |
| Relax | Relax |
How to say afraid / scared in Italian
| English | Italian |
| To be afraid / scared | Avere paura |
| Afraid / scared | impaurito |
| He is afraid / scared | Ha paura |
| He i’s afraid / scared | È impaurito |
| To scare | Spaventare |
| To scare | Fare paura a |
How to say surprised in Italian
Sorpreso is the Italian word for surprised. A surprise is una sorpresa and the verb is sorprendere (to surprise). So straight forward it’s almost sorprendente (surprising)!
| English | Italian |
| Surprised | Sorpreso |
| To surprise | Sorprendere |
| Surprise | Sorpresa |
| Surprising | Sorprendente |
| What a surprise! | Che sorpresa! |
Other common words to describe emotions in Italian
| English | Italian |
| Amazed | Colpito |
| Annoyed | Infastidito |
| Embarrassed | Imbarazzato |
| Frustrated | Frustrato |
| Disappointed | Deluso |
| Proud | Orgoglioso |
| Lonely | Solo |
| Hopeful | Speranzoso |
| Hopeless | Disperato |
| Intrigued | Intrigato |
Useful Italian expressions and slang for feelings
Here are some more expressions that you might want to know when talking about your emotions and moods in Italian!
| Italian | English |
| Rimanerci male | To be disappointed |
| Farsi le paranoie | To overthink |
| Essere in para | To be in a loop |
| Farsi mille problemi | To create oneself a thousand problems |
| Mi dispiace che…* | I am sorry that… |
| Lascia perdere! | Get over it! |
| Che noia mortale! | So boring! |
| Che palle! | What a drag! |
