I've Got a Feeling: 12 Chinese Emotion Words

Up for an in depth discussion about our feelings?  I thought so!  In this post we're going to discuss emotion words, and, in case your one of those people who doesn't have emotions (for example, if you work for the IRS), we'll talk a little about how these emotions are used within the context of everyday circumstances.

Happy

You might have heard the saying, "If momma ain't happy (gāoxìng 高兴), ain't nobody happy (gāoxìng)."   If not, there's a chance that you're sitting around scowling like a socialite whose botox didn't take because your wife is in "one of her moods".  The solution is simple - buy her some flowers, tell her she's never looked more beautiful (lie if you have to!) and offer to pretend to be her the next time a member of the PTA calls wanting to complain about something like the color of the tables in the cafeteria or the arrangement of the chairs at the last PTA meeting.  Chances are, she'll crack a smile, and if you're lucky enough to actually get her feeling happy (gāoxìng), she might forget about your cholesterol for one night and let you have that extra serving of steak.

Sad

Sad (bēishāng - 悲伤) is how you felt when you realized that parachute pants would not be making a comeback anytime soon.  Yes, those looks you've been getting at the bank are simply the concerned stares of your peers who are wondering if you fell out of the eighties and couldn't find your way back.

Scared

If you've ever eaten at a Taco Bell then you probably understand what it's like to feel scared (hàipà - 害怕).  Will your meal come back to haunt you in a few hours or not?  Who knows!  But one thing's for sure - you're scared (hàipà).

Silly

Silly (yúchǔn - 愚蠢) is how you felt when your mother made you wear that horrendous sweater that Aunt Sophie knit for you to the family Christmas party.  You stomped your feet and promised to hate everyone forever, but dear Mom didn't budge and now you're sitting on the couch next to crazy old Cousin Lou and you've had the horrifying revelation that at this present moment in time you look more like him than he does (his wife let HIM wear a t-shirt). Yep, you really must feel silly (yúchǔn).

Surprised

Surprised (gǎndào chījīng - 感到吃惊) is how your wife felt when you told her you'd go clothing shopping with her on Saturday.  Little does she know that you're planning to sneak away while she's in the dressing room and make yourself comfy in one of those massive plush chairs in front of the big screen TV's in the electronics department.  Boy won't she be surprised (gǎndào chījīng)! 

Confused

Remember when you got that ticket in the mail for running a red light on some street in Seattle?  Remember how you felt when you realized you've never been to Seattle?  You felt confused (hútu - 糊涂).  We won't discuss how you felt when you remembered that your brother-in-law borrowed your car that day - on second thought, why not?

Angry

So he made you angry (shēngqì - 生气).  What are you going to do about it?  You can't just sit around and pretend it didn't happen (though that's undoubtedly what he's trying to do) and you can't do anything too severe - he is family after all.  Perhaps inviting he and your sister over for a nice dinner is the answer.  Leave several hundred copies of the ticket laying around the house in places he can't help but see.  A dart board with his face as the target might also help to get the point across.  At the very least, it'll give you a way to release some aggression later if your plan fails.  You can't stay angry (shēngqì) forever - especially since you'll need to save up all your energy to deal with the next stunt he pulls!

Proud

Proud (jiāoào - 骄傲) is the feeling you got when your son brought home his first ever A on his report card.  Now if you could just get him to start dressing like a "normal" human being.  You just can't seem to figure out why he insists on wearing only black cargo pants that are holier than water blessed by the pope.  If only he'd exchange them for some nice parachute pants.  Then you'd really be proud (jiāoào).

Excited

You sure felt excited (xīngfèn - 兴奋) when you found out that you could get a camouflage tuxedo.  You were even more excited (xīngfèn) when you found out there were matching shoes!  Your wife, however, was not excited (xīngfèn) when you announced you'd be wearing them to your daughter's wedding.  It was a nice dream while it lasted.

Suspicious

You might feel a bit suspicious (huáiyí - 怀疑) if you notice that your name is nowhere to be found on the new birthday calendar at work.  You'd probably feel even more suspicious (huáiyí) if you overheard your boss referring to you as "that girl who used to work here".  And what if you saw your boss holding a pink slip while talking to two security guards and gesturing towards you at the end of the day on a Friday just a couple weeks after you completely mangled the most important business presentation of your career?  Suspicions confirmed.

Anxious

Anxious (dānxīn - 担心) was how you felt when the doctor said "Wait a minute - I think there's a second baby in there!"  You also felt anxious (dānxīn) when he said, "...and they're both girls!  That means you get to pay for two weddings!"  Relief is what you felt twenty-five years later when you found out that one of your daughters had eloped.



Frustrated

Been to the Department of Motor Vehicles lately?  Being frustrated (huīxīn - 灰心) at the DMV is just a part of American life.  Is it the way they make you wait in line until you can't remember why you're there in the first place?  Maybe it's the way they seem to lose your checks each time you try to pay via the mail.  It could also be their "highly skilled" employees who never seem to spell your three letter name correctly.  There are so many fun reasons to be frustrated (huīxīn) with the DMV, and there will likely be a multitude of new reasons cropping up continually for years and years to come.


1.  gāoxìng - 高兴 happy

2.  bēishāng - 悲伤 sad

3.  hàipà - 害怕 scared 

4.  yúchǔn - 愚蠢 silly
 
5.  gǎndào chījīng - 感到吃惊 surprised 

6.  hútu - 糊涂 confused

7.  shēngqì - 生气 angry 

8.  jiāoào - 骄傲 proud

9.  xīngfèn - 兴奋 excited

10.  huáiyí - 怀疑 suspicious
 
11.  dānxīn - 担心 anxious
 
12.  huīxīn - 灰心 frustrated 

Don't forget to check out this week's interactive vocabulary list!

If you missed it, be sure to check out Friday's post: Hearing and Understanding: Big Bird and Little Bird for some great practice understanding what you hear in Chinese!


If you liked this post, you might also like Self Loathing Broke My Think Box: How Self Esteem Affects Second Language Learning.

Image by Jtneill (Own work) [CC-BY-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Backseat Driving for Students of Chinese

New vocabulary words are in bold.  Old vocabulary words are linked to the lesson wherein they were introduced.

It's happened to all of us.  You're driving down the interstate at full speed with your friend at the wheel when you suddenly realize, "Oh gosh, he (tā) drives like an old blind woman!"  After the initial panic wears off, you come to your senses and decide that there's only one thing to do - pray and make use of your "back seat driver's license."  You thank God that the front seat of the car was taken, but you feel twinges of sympathy for the mutual acquaintance who yelled "Shotgun!" and now finds himself hyperventilating as he (tā) searches his seat like a crazy person, hoping to find a couple extra seat belts hiding somewhere.


Meanwhile, your friend has accelerated.  As you zoom by other cars at warp speed, your friend nearly side swipes a bus full of orphans.  "Um, going a bit fast (kuài 快), aren't we?" you suggest uncomfortably as you adjust your glasses in a way that implies that maybe you just can't see how very well he's driving. Your friend slaps you on the back with the finesse of a warthog and laughs at your "joke" while cutting off a minivan.

"I (wǒ) really think you're going too (tài) fast (kuài)." you say, as you feel the car begin to levitate.  You wedge your toes under the seat in front of you because that's what people do when their friends drive like maniacs.  Your friend smiles again and assures you that he's been driving for years and has only had five speeding tickets to date.  You're not impressed.  In fact, you're downright scared (hàipà).  Just as you begin to wonder if his car has a flux capacitor, your friend exits the freeway and you breathe a sigh of relief as you come to a stop at half a stop sign covered in graffiti.  A pigeon locks eyes with you from atop the sign and laughs.  You look to your left (zuǒ) and notice a less than upscale, but not altogether frightening downtown shopping area.  There are actually a great deal of pigeons loitering there, enough perhaps to feed all of the laid off Detroit auto workers, but the shops in general look friendly and clean aside from all the decorative contributions from the previously mentioned birds.  Your friend turns right (yòu) and begins to drive the wrong way down a one way "street" that is, in fact, an alley.  A sparkling clean Mercedes appears and makes its way down the alley, coming towards you at a slow (màn) crawl.  Unlike your friend, its driver is clearly aware that two cars being driven straight at each other will eventually meet, and not in the "how pleasant to make your acquaintance" fashion.

The mutual acquaintance has now given up seat belts entirely and has curled himself into a ball on the floor.  He begins to sing show tunes. 

"Maybe we should turn around." you suggest.  "I (wǒ) think we were supposed to go left (zuǒ) at that last intersection."  Your friend floors it.  "Why bother!" he (tā) replies with gusto. "We're almost there!"  The Mercedes comes to a sudden stop and quickly backs into a side street to get out of the way.  You sink down into your seat hoping they won't catch a look at you as you go flying by in your four-wheeled torpedo.

Your friend adjusts his helmet.  You begin to wonder why you didn't think to wear a helmet.

Finally your friend hangs a right (yòu), nearly taking out a mail box, and the car comes to a screeching halt on the sidewalk in front of the courthouse.  "Hope you don't mind" he (tā) says as you peel yourself off the back of your seat, "I need to make a quick stop to take care of a couple parking tickets!"


 1.  zuǒ ("dzwoah") 左 left 
On the left (zuǒ) you'll find a painting of dogs playing monopoly.
 
2.  yòu ("yoh") 右 right 
On the right (yòu) you'll find a painting of cats winning the lotto.
 
3.  kuài ("kwai") 快 fast 
He was so fast (kuài) he got there before he left.

4.  màn ("mahn") 慢 slow
He was slow (màn), like like a turtle out for a leisurely stroll.

 
5.  tài (like "tie") 太 too
The toast was too (tài) burned to eat, so we used it to insulate the garage.
 
6.  hàipà ("high-pah") 害 怕 scared
I'm so scared (hàipà) that my goose bumps are shaking. 

Don't forget to check out this week's interactive vocabulary list.



For more help with Mandarin pronunciation, click here. 

Photo: See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons