German · A1 · Family moment
Feelings After School in German
Use these gentle phrases after school to share your feelings and help your child name their own. In German, many feelings use “Ich bin + adjective,” but hunger and thirst use haben (to have).
What you'll learn
- Share simple feelings with your child.
- Use “Ich bin + adjective” to say how you feel.
- Say you are hungry or thirsty using haben.
German phrases for feelings after school
Ich bin froh, dich zu sehen.
I am happy to see you.
Froh means happy or glad. Dich is the informal form of “you” used here with your child.
Ich bin stolz auf dich.
I am proud of you.
German uses stolz auf for “proud of.” Learn stolz auf dich as a chunk.
Ich bin heute müde.
I am tired today.
Heute means today. Müde describes how you feel.
Ich habe auch Hunger.
I am hungry too.
German says “I have hunger,” not “I am hunger.” Auch means too or also.
Nach unserem Spaziergang habe ich Durst.
I am thirsty after our walk.
German says “I have thirst.” The verb habe comes before ich when the sentence starts with the time phrase.
Ich bin gespannt auf dein Spiel.
I am excited about your game.
Use this before the game. Gespannt auf expresses eager curiosity about something coming up.
Ich bin traurig über das kaputte Spielzeug.
I am sad about the broken toy.
Traurig über means sad about. Das kaputte Spielzeug means the broken toy.
Ich bin bereit zuzuhören.
I am ready to listen.
Bereit means ready. Zuzuhören means to listen.
Hear these phrases and practise them
Tildi plays every phrase out loud, tests you in five-minute lessons and builds them into bedtime stories from your own picture books.
Try it free for 7 daysKey words
froh
happy; glad
Useful for expressing happiness about a situation.
stolz
proud
Use stolz auf when saying whom you are proud of.
müde
tired
Practise the ü sound: say “ee” while rounding your lips.
Hunger / Durst
hunger / thirst
Both are nouns, so they start with capital letters. Use them with haben.
gespannt
excited; eager to find out
With auf, it expresses anticipation, not excitement in every situation.
traurig
sad
Say Ich bin traurig to name the feeling simply.
bereit
ready
Use it to show that you are prepared to do something.
das Spiel / das Spielzeug
the game / the toy
These similar-looking words have different meanings.
Saying “I am + adjective”
Ich means I, and bin means am. After bin, an adjective describes how you feel. It does not need an extra ending.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Basic pattern | Ich bin + adjective. | Ich bin müde. — I am tired. |
| Add today | Ich bin heute + adjective. | Ich bin heute froh. — I am happy today. |
| Add a person | Ich bin stolz auf + person. | Ich bin stolz auf dich. — I am proud of you. |
Hunger and thirst use haben
For these everyday expressions, German uses habe (have) instead of bin (am).
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Hungry | Ich habe Hunger. | Ich habe auch Hunger. — I am hungry too. |
| Thirsty | Ich habe Durst. | Ich habe auch Durst. — I am thirsty too. |
Starting with a time phrase
The verb stays in the second position in a simple statement. A whole time phrase counts as the first position, so the verb then comes before ich.
| Use | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Start with I | Ich + verb + rest. | Ich bin heute müde. — I am tired today. |
| Start with today | Heute + verb + ich + rest. | Heute bin ich müde. — Today I am tired. |
| Start with after our walk | Nach unserem Spaziergang + verb + ich + rest. | Nach unserem Spaziergang habe ich Durst. — After our walk, I am thirsty. |
More examples
Ich bin froh. Wie geht es dir?
I am happy. How are you?
Share your own feeling, then gently invite your child to share.
Ich bin heute müde. Und du?
I am tired today. And you?
Und du? is a short, informal way to ask about your child.
Ich bin bereit zuzuhören. Du kannst mir erzählen.
I am ready to listen. You can tell me.
Offer a calm invitation without demanding an answer.