Feeling words
Find words for how you feel. On your own, or together with someone who helps you.
Feeling words
Feeling words
Which feeling fits best?
Choose one. Then you will see words that are more precise.
My words
No words chosen yet. First choose a feeling, then the words that fit. They will appear here.
You can leave this empty. For example: the conversation this morning.
You can show your words to someone you trust.
All feeling words
Choose the words that fit you: circle them or write them down. Write next to them how strong the feeling is: a bit, quite or very.
Happy
- happy: You feel good.
- cheerful: You laugh easily and feel like doing everything.
- content: Things are fine the way they are.
- relieved: Something you were dreading is over.
- proud: You are pleased with what you did, or with who you are.
- grateful: You are glad about what someone did for you.
- excited: You are really looking forward to something.
- hopeful: You think it will turn out all right.
Scared
- scared: You feel that something bad could happen.
- nervous: Something exciting or scary is coming up, and you can already feel it.
- tense: Your body feels tight and it is hard to relax.
- unsure: You are not sure if you are doing it right.
- worried: You are worried about something or someone.
- shocked: Something suddenly happened that you did not expect.
- restless: Your head or your body cannot settle.
- unsafe: You do not feel safe, with someone or somewhere.
Angry
- angry: You think something is not right or not fair, and you feel it strongly.
- annoyed: Something or someone is bothering you.
- frustrated: Something is not working, even though you want it to.
- impatient: You want something to go faster.
- furious: You are so angry you can hardly hold it in.
- jealous: Someone else has something you want too.
- insulted: Someone said or did something mean to you.
- treated unfairly: It was not fair, and it affected you.
Sad
- sad: You hurt inside. Maybe you want to cry.
- disappointed: Something went differently from what you hoped.
- lonely: You feel alone, even when there are people around you.
- hurt: Someone said or did something that hurt you.
- down: Everything feels heavy and grey.
- empty: You feel almost nothing, as if there is nothing inside you.
- helpless: You cannot do anything about it, however much you want to.
- guilty: You think you did something wrong.
Calm
- calm: Your head and your body are still.
- steady: You stay calm, even when something happens.
- relaxed: Your muscles are loose and you don't have to do anything for a while.
- safe: You feel protected, here and with these people.
- at ease: You can be yourself.
- rested: You have had enough sleep or rest.
- free: Nothing is holding you back. You choose for yourself.
- confident: You trust in what you can do.
It is because of:
You can show your words to someone you trust.
How it works
- Choose the feeling that is closest to how you feel: happy, scared, angry, sad or calm.
- You see words that are more precise, each with a short explanation. Tick the words that fit.
- In My words, choose for each word how strong it is: a bit, quite or very.
- If you like, write down what is causing it.
- Under This is how you can say it there is a sentence with your words. Read it out, show it or print it.
On your own or together
You can use Feeling words on your own, for example to prepare for a conversation. Or together with someone you trust, such as your care worker.
Do you find it hard to say how you feel? Then you can write down beforehand what you want to say. Print your words and take them with you to the conversation.
Are you a care worker? Then you can also print the worksheet and circle the words together on paper.
Good to know
- You can choose words from different feelings, even if they do not seem to go together. Like happy and scared at the same time.
- Is your word not there? Then choose the word that comes closest. Or write your own word on paper.
- Feeling words does not tell you what is wrong with you.
- Have you been feeling down, scared or restless for a long time, or is it getting in the way of your daily life? Talk about it with your GP or a care worker.
On paper
Have you chosen words? With Print your words only your words go on paper, with the sentence and the date. Have you not chosen anything yet? Then Print the worksheet prints all the words, to circle by hand.
Your data
What you choose and type stays on this page until you refresh or close it. We do not save it and do not send it anywhere. With Start again you clear everything straight away, for example on a computer you share with others. Did you clear it by mistake? Undo brings it back, as long as you have not changed anything else.
If you choose ‘Save as PDF’ when printing, it is saved as a file on your device.
Sources
- Nederlands Jeugdinstituut (NJi, the Netherlands Youth Institute), How do I talk to someone about how I feel? (external website) In Dutch. Read on 30 September 2026.
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Is something missing?
Does something not work, or are you looking for a tool that does not exist yet? Let us know, a few words is enough. We read everything.