Here are some of the ways you can express your feelings of happiness and sadness in English.
Saying how happy you are
You can be…
– (absolutely) delighted
– thrilled to bits
– over the moon
– really pleased
– so happy
“She was absolutely delighted with her present!”
“Dave was thrilled to bits with his new computer.”
“Jenny’s over the moon with her promotion.”
Or you can say…
– I couldn’t be happier.
– That is fantastic / wonderful / great / marvellous!
When you hear good news you can say:
– What great / wonderful / fantastic news!
– We’ve been waiting so long for this (moment).
– Thank God! / Thank God for that!
(British English speakers tend not to be particularly religious)
Pronunciation tip
Stress the adverbs and adjectives for greater emphasis:
– I’m really pleased.
– What great news!
Saying how sad you are
Here are some ways you can talk about unhappiness.
You can be…
– really sad about (something)
– really sad (to hear…)
– upset / unhappy about (something)
– a little down
– down in the dumps
– a bit depressed
– miserable
– in pieces
– distraught (pronounced “dis – trort”)
– devastated
– heart-broken
– absolutely gutted
“She was absolutely gutted when she heard she hadn’t got the job.”
“He was heart-broken at the loss of his wife.”
“We were devastated to hear your terrible news.”
“She’s in pieces after the performance.”
We can also talk about the help or extra support that somebody might need when they’re in a difficult situation.
“She’s going to need all the support she can get.”
“We’re going to have to rally round them for the time being.”
“It’s going to take time for them to pick up the pieces.”
“They’ll need some moral support.”
“It’s going to take her ages to get over it.”
If someone is a little down (over something minor), you can try these expressions:
“Chin up!”
“Look on the bright side!”
“Oh well, things could be worse!”
“Cheer up! It might never happen!”
Feeling Happy
Choose the correct answer.