Emotions for kids: name the feeling

Emotions for Kids in English and Hindi with pictures

12 words · tap 🔊 to hear each one.

Picture	English	Hindi	Say it	Listen
	Happy	ख़ुशी	Khushi	EN 🔊हि 🔊
	Sad	उदासी	Udaasi	EN 🔊हि 🔊
	Angry	गुस्सा	Gussa	EN 🔊हि 🔊
	Scared	डर	Dar	EN 🔊हि 🔊
	Surprised	हैरानी	Hairaani	EN 🔊हि 🔊
	Tired	थकान	Thakaan	EN 🔊हि 🔊
	Excited	उत्साह	Utsaah	EN 🔊हि 🔊
	Shy	शर्म	Sharm	EN 🔊हि 🔊
	Calm	शांति	Shaanti	EN 🔊हि 🔊
	Proud	गर्व	Garv	EN 🔊हि 🔊
	Worried	चिंता	Chinta	EN 🔊हि 🔊
	Silly	मस्ती	Masti	EN 🔊हि 🔊

Emotions for kids begin with a simple idea: every feeling has a name, and once your child can say that name, they can tell you what is going on inside. This page gives your child 12 feelings faces to tap, hear and match, in Hindi and English, and gives you, the grown-up, a calm way to talk about big feelings at home. It suits toddlers from about 2 up to children of 6, and it works in any browser on a phone, tablet or computer.

What your child learns here, and at what age

The game uses 12 feelings: happy (ख़ुशी), sad (उदासी), angry (गुस्सा), scared (डर), surprised (हैरानी), tired (थकान), excited (उत्साह), shy (शर्म), silly (मस्ती), calm (शांति), proud (गर्व) and worried (चिंता). You can see the whole list, with each face and a 🔊 button, in the word list above. Think of it as a small feelings chart for kids that you can print.

Research on how children learn emotion words gives a clear order. Words like happy and sad appear first, often from around 18 months to 3 years. Angry and scared follow soon after. Proud, worried and "two feelings at once" come later, closer to 5 or 6. So this list of children's emotions starts easy and grows with your child.

If your child is 2, stick to the first four faces. The age setting (behind the grown-up check) does this for you: younger children see fewer choices at once, and older children get more questions.

How to use this emotions game

Listen

Your child taps a face and hears its name, for example "Angry, गुस्सा". A short, kind tip follows, such as "When angry, take three slow, deep breaths." These little lines turn the feelings for kids vocabulary into something your child can use.

Find it

A clear voice asks for one feeling ("Where is sad?") and shows two to four faces. This is an identifying emotions for kids game, so it does have a target answer. If your child taps a different face, the game never says "wrong". It names the face they picked, then makes the right face glow, and then Golu, our friendly marble, points to it.

Memory

Turn over cards to find matching pairs of faces. Matching faces is a gentle way for young children to look closely at eyebrows, eyes and mouths, which is how we all read emotions.

Every game ends with a marble in the Goli Jar; tap the jar and count the marbles together. The अ+A button in the header changes the order of the languages (Hindi first, English first, or just one). Calm sound and calm motion are in the settings, which helps if your child is sensitive to noise.

How to teach emotions to kids at home

The most useful thing you can do is called emotion coaching. It was described by the psychologist John Gottman, and studies link it with better emotion regulation in children. You do not need any materials. You need four short steps, which we call Notice, Name, Normalise, Next:

1. Notice: "Oh! Your tower fell down."
2. Name: "You feel angry." In Hindi: "तुम्हें गुस्सा आ रहा है।"
3. Normalise: "Everyone feels angry sometimes. It's okay to feel angry."
4. Next: "Let's take a big breath together. Then we can build again."

Feelings are always allowed; some actions are not. You can say, "You're angry, and hitting hurts. You can stamp your feet or squeeze a pillow instead." That is the whole of managing emotions for kids at this age: name it, accept it, and offer a safe next step.

Five-minute ideas for every day

• Feelings at dinner: everyone shares one feeling from today, grown-ups too. "I felt proud when the roti came out round."
• Mirror faces: sit in front of a real mirror and make a happy face, then a surprised one. This works better than a phone camera, and nothing is recorded.
• Story pauses: when you read a picture book, stop and ask, "How does the rabbit feel? Why?" This turns any emotions for kids book into a lesson.
• Act out emotions: say a feeling and let your child show it with their whole body. Stomping feet for angry, droopy shoulders for sad, jumping for excited.
• Market and park: "That baby is crying. How do you think he feels?" Real faces teach more than any picture.

Parents tend to name happy and sad most often. Make a point of naming the quieter feelings too: worried, shy, proud and tired. Children cannot use words they have never heard.

Calm-down ideas that small children can actually use

Emotion regulation for kids means learning to bring a big feeling back down to a size they can manage. At 2 and 3, children need you to do most of this with them. By 5 or 6, many can start a calm-down tool on their own. Practise these when your child is already calm, so they know them when a storm arrives.

• Smell the flower, blow the candle: breathe in slowly through the nose, then out slowly through the mouth, four times.
• Hug a soft toy or a grown-up and count to ten together.
• Turtle: tuck in like a turtle in its shell, breathe, and come out when ready.
• Squeeze and let go: make tight fists, hold, then open your hands wide.
• A quiet corner: a cushion, a book and a favourite toy, never a punishment spot.

For children of 4 to 6 you can add a "body energy" check: is my body sleepy and slow, just right, or too fast and too big? Then pick a tool to match, such as a stretch like a cat when sleepy, or a slow breath when too fast.

Printable feelings chart and hands-on activities

You do not need a separate worksheet or PDF. Print this page from your browser and the word list becomes an emotions chart for kids with pictures, names in English and Hindi, and pronunciation. Stick it on the fridge and point to a face when your child is upset. You can also make a feelings chart for kids DIY-style: draw four big faces on a sheet, or cut real faces from old magazines. A chart of real faces helps children link feelings to the people around them.

Some more emotions for kids activities to try:

• Emotions drawing: give your child a paper plate and let them draw today's face. Our colouring pages for kids are a good warm-up.
• Feelings flashcards: fold paper into cards, draw one face per card, and play "show me" or snap.
• A feelings song: sing "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands", then add "If you're angry, stamp your feet" and "If you're sad, have a hug".
• Silly faces: a quick joke from our jokes and riddles for kids is a lovely way to practise the silly and happy faces.

Emotions for kids with autism, speech delay or two languages

Some children find faces hard to read. For many autistic children, learning emotions works best with clear, exaggerated pictures, the same few words used every time, and plenty of repetition. Start with just happy and sad, add one feeling at a time, and pair each word with a body cue: "Your hands are tight. That can mean angry." Calm sound and fewer choices in the settings reduce overload. If your child has a speech delay, let them point instead of speak; pointing to the right face is real understanding. In bilingual homes, use whichever language the child hears most for feelings, and let the other follow. Mixing Hindi and English is normal and does not confuse children.

If your child's feelings seem very intense, very long-lasting, or you are worried in any way, talk to your paediatrician. You know your child best.

A note on screen time

Feelings are best learned face to face, so treat this game as a short starter, not the whole lesson. Play for a few minutes with your child beside you, then switch to the mirror or a story. Children under 2 are better off with a grown-up and real faces than with a screen. You might follow this page with body parts names, since feelings show up in the body, or with good manners and magic words, which is where "sorry" and "can I help?" live. For a bigger picture of this age, see what a 3 year old should know and our guide for parents.