Feelings in Turkish: worry, excitement and hurt

The idea

Choose the word for the feeling itself: endişeli points to worry, while heyecanlı describes excitement or anticipation and does not always mean happiness. Kızgın highlights anger; kırgın highlights hurt feelings. Say Mutluyum or Kendimi mutlu hissediyorum: in the second pattern the adjective stays bare. Add biraz, çok or daha to express degree.

Examples

• Bugün kendimi mutlu hissediyorum.Today I feel happy.
• Ablam sonuç için endişeli.My older sister is worried about the result.
• Yarınki gezi için heyecanlıyız.We are excited about tomorrow’s trip.
• Sana kızgın değilim ama biraz kırgınım.I’m not angry with you, but my feelings are a little hurt.
• Arkadaşım taşındı, bu yüzden üzgünüm.My friend moved away, so I’m sad.
• Bu sürpriz karşısında hepimiz şaşkınız.This surprise has left us all amazed.
• Şimdi daha sakinim, artık endişeli değilim.I’m calmer now; I’m no longer worried.
• Film çok sıkıcı, izlerken sıkıldım.The film is very boring; I got bored watching it.

Watch out

Sıkıldım says you felt bored; sıkıcıyım says you are a boring person. For a dull film, separate the cause from the feeling: Film sıkıcı, sıkıldım. These words are not interchangeable descriptions of your mood.

Try it yourself

1. The bus still hasn’t arrived; I’m afraid of being late. Choose: Endişeliyim or Heyecanlıyım.

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   Endişeliyim

   Endişeliyim: the speaker fears arriving late, so the key feeling is worry. Heyecanlıyım alone would not make that fear clear.

2. My friend forgot my birthday; I’m not angry, but my feelings are hurt. Fill the gap: kırgınım or sakinim.

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   kırgınım

   kırgınım: the forgotten birthday hurts the speaker’s feelings, although they explicitly deny being angry. Sakinim would describe calmness instead of that hurt.

3. The film didn’t interest me at all; I got very bored. Choose: sıkıldım or sıkıcıyım.

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   sıkıldım

   sıkıldım: the film failed to hold the speaker’s interest, and this is the reaction while watching. Sıkıcıyım would describe the speaker as boring to other people.

4. Today I feel very happy. Complete Kendimi bugün çok ___ hissediyorum: mutlu or mutluyum.

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   mutlu

   mutlu: hissediyorum already carries the first-person ending. Mutluyum can be a complete statement, but does not fit before this verb in the given pattern.

Use it today

Invent two short situations: a pleasant surprise and a disappointment. Give each person a feeling and a reason. In one sentence use kendimi … hissediyorum, and in another use biraz or çok.