Emotions in French: Être Content or Avoir Peur?
French emotions split between être + adjective (je suis content) and avoir + noun (j'ai peur). The full feelings vocabulary, organized by which pattern to use.
French splits emotions into two grammar patterns: être + adjective (je suis content - I am happy) and avoir + noun (j’ai peur - I’m scared, literally “I have fear”). Both patterns are common and must be learned per emotion rather than guessed.
Quick answer
French splits emotions into two grammar patterns: être + adjective (je suis content - I am happy) and avoir + noun (j’ai peur - I’m scared, literally “I have fear”). Both patterns are common and must be learned per emotion rather than guessed.
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Être + adjective emotions
| French | English |
|---|---|
| content(e) | happy, pleased |
| triste | sad |
| heureux/heureuse | happy |
| fâché(e) | angry |
| surpris(e) | surprised |
Avoir + noun emotions
| French | English |
|---|---|
| avoir peur | be scared |
| avoir honte | be ashamed |
| avoir hâte | be eager, looking forward to |
| avoir marre (casual) | be fed up |
See French avoir expressions for the wider family this belongs to.
Emotion intensifiers
Très (very), un peu (a little), vraiment (really), tellement (so much) + adjective/noun: je suis très content, j’ai vraiment peur.
Asking how someone feels
Comment tu te sens ? (how do you feel - reflexive verb se sentir), qu’est-ce qui ne va pas ? (what’s wrong?). See French adjectives and French conjugation for the grammar underneath both patterns.
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Questions about this note
How do you say happy in French?
Content(e) or heureux/heureuse, used with être.
How do you say scared in French?
Avoir peur - j'ai peur (I'm scared), using avoir, not être.
What's the difference between content and heureux?
Both mean happy; heureux is slightly stronger/deeper, content more everyday.
How do you ask how someone feels?
Comment tu te sens ?
What does avoir hâte mean?
To be eager or looking forward to something: j'ai hâte de te voir.