🔤 Grammar
Feelings with estar & tener
For temporary feelings, Spanish uses estar + adjective (estoy cansado — I'm tired). But many physical sensations use tener + noun: tengo hambre (I'm hungry, literally 'I have hunger'), tengo miedo (I'm afraid), tengo sueño (I'm sleepy).
Conjugation tables
Tener expressions
| Spanish | Literal | English |
|---|---|---|
| tengo hambre | I have hunger | I'm hungry |
| tengo sed | I have thirst | I'm thirsty |
| tengo frío | I have cold | I'm cold |
| tengo calor | I have heat | I'm hot |
| tengo miedo | I have fear | I'm afraid |
| tengo sueño | I have sleep | I'm sleepy |
Examples
- Estoy triste hoy.I'm sad today.
- Tengo mucha hambre.I'm very hungry.
Practice
Match each feeling to its meaning.
Tap a english below, then tap the spanish it belongs to — or drag it.
Spanish
English