A beginner-friendly list of 20 French words for emotions and feelings (bonus material: opinions), each with an example sentence to show it in context.
| French | English | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| préférer | to prefer | Je préfère le thé au café. I prefer tea to coffee. |
| s’intéresser à … | to be interested in | Elle s’intéresse à la musique. She is interested in music. |
| crier | to shout | Le bébé crie fort. The baby shouts loudly. |
| aimer | to like/love | J’aime le chocolat. I like chocolate. |
| s’amuser | to enjoy oneself | Les enfants s’amusent au parc. The children enjoy themselves at the park. |
| avoir peur (de) | to be afraid (of) | J’ai peur des araignées. I am afraid of spiders. |
| détester | to hate | Il déteste le froid. He hates the cold. |
| espérer | to hope | Nous espérons venir demain. We hope to come tomorrow. |
| la fatigue | tiredness | La fatigue se voit sur son visage. Tiredness shows on his face. |
| la surprise | the surprise | Quelle belle surprise ! What a nice surprise! |
| l’horreur | horror | Elle a horreur des mensonges. She hates lies. |
| la peur | fear | La peur se lit dans ses yeux. Fear shows in his eyes. |
| l’amour | love | L’amour rend heureux. Love makes you happy. |
| le plaisir | pleasure | C’est un plaisir de te voir. It is a pleasure to see you. |
| un rire | a laugh | On entend un rire derrière la porte. We hear a laugh behind the door. |
| heureux | happy | Je suis heureux de te voir. I am happy to see you. |
| gentil | kind | Ce chien est très gentil. This dog is very kind. |
| malheureux | unhappy | Il est malheureux sans elle. He is unhappy without her. |
| fatiguant | tiring | Ce travail est fatiguant. This work is tiring. |
| se sentir | to feel | Je me sens bien aujourd’hui. I feel good today. |
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