Talk About Feelings in Portuguese: Estou Feliz, Cansado, or Nervoso — Practice

Use estar to describe a current feeling

Use estar plus an adjective to describe how you feel now: estou feliz (I’m happy), estou cansado or cansada (I’m tired), estou nervoso or nervosa (I’m nervous). The adjective agrees with the speaker’s gender in these examples.

A current feeling is usually presented as a state. For a broader guide to states, identity, and change, see our article comparing ser and estar.

Ask someone how they feel

Como você está? can ask how someone is doing. If you want to ask about a specific feeling, say você está bem? or você está animado para o evento? (are you excited about the event?).

Tone and relationship shape how personal the question feels. Give the other person room to answer, and avoid treating a short reply as a full explanation.

Add a reason with porque

Use porque to explain why you feel a certain way. A short reason such as dormi pouco (I slept little) or tenho uma apresentação (I have a presentation) makes the sentence more informative.

Choose the amount of detail that fits the conversation. If you do not want to discuss the reason, you can answer briefly and change the topic.

Remember: Pick three adjectives that match your daily life and create one sentence for each with estar and a specific day or reason.

Check your understanding

Choose the English meaning of each Portuguese example. Answer before looking back at the tables. These questions check the written examples in this guide; they are not a listening or proficiency test.

Recall the Portuguese, then say it

Read the English prompt and say a Portuguese version before opening the answer. The answer shows the example from the lesson; other natural translations may also work. Compare the meaning and the situation rather than counting a different word as automatically wrong.

1. I’m a little tired today.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Estou um pouco cansada hoje.

2. He’s excited about the trip.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Ele está animado com a viagem.

3. We’re worried about the schedule.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   A gente está preocupada com o horário.

4. How are you feeling today?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Como você está hoje?

5. Are you okay?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Você está bem?

6. Do you feel like going out?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Você está com vontade de sair?

Make the phrase useful to you

Choose one example you could actually use. Say it once from memory, then change one detail that fits your life, such as the person, place, time, or object. Check whether your change also needs a different verb form, article, or adjective ending. If it does, compare it with the pattern in the explanation.

Pick three adjectives that match your daily life and create one sentence for each with estar and a specific day or reason.

Return to two prompts tomorrow without opening the answers first. If a phrase still feels difficult, shorten it to a useful chunk and build the complete sentence again.

Sources and your next lesson

This I Speak Portuguese practice guide builds on our Talk About Feelings in Portuguese: Estou Feliz, Cansado, or Nervoso lesson on Real Life Portuguese, with written recall tasks and additional speaking practice. The explanations and examples are teaching material; the practice questions are exercises, not a transcript of a recording.

To add Brazilian audio to your routine, choose a lesson in the Real Life Portuguese app. The app offers its own lessons and practice; this page does not imply that every example here has an app recording.