English for Conversations about HAPPINESS – Questions, Answers, Vocab

Are you feeling happy, today? The topic of happiness often “crops up” in conversations with native English speakers, so it’s useful to learn vocabulary for it.

In this session we’ll learn how to talk about happiness, using natural questions, answers and phrases.

Conversation questions about happiness

Here are a few common questions about happiness. Think about how you could you answer these questions in a natural way:

• What do you do to cheer yourself up when you’re feeling down?
• When did you last feel really happy?
• How often do you feel happy?
• Do you have any tips for staying happy?
• What kinds of things make you feel happy?
• Do you think people should try to be happy all the time?
• Would you say you’re a happy kind of person, in general?

Talking about things that make you happy

Look again at this question. Do you understand the phrases in bold?

Question: “What do you do to cheer yourself up when you’re feeling down?”

“Cheer yourself up” means “make yourself feel happier”, and “feeling down” means “feeling sad or unhappy“. So this question means “How do you make yourself feel better when you’re feeling sad?”

To answer this question, we could say:

When feel sad, I watch a movie or eat some chocolate. This makes me feel better.

This answer is OK, but it’s little too short – and doesn’t sound very natural.

A stronger answer

A native English speaker might answer this question with a few words to introduce the topic. Then, we might give one or two examples. We might also give a few reasons for why we do these things.

You can follow some (or all) of these steps to answer the question in a more natural way:

1. Say something general

First, make a general statement to get the topic started. Restating the phrase “cheer myself up” also shows you understand the question:

Well, I mean, there are a few different things I do to cheer myself up, actually.

2. Give a few related examples

Then say the thing (or things) you do to make yourself happy.

Um, sometimes I’ll just try and go for a walk or, you know, do some exercise or something.

Native speakers often use filler phrases (” just“, “you know” and “or something” to avoid pausing. “Filler” phrases like these are very common in real English conversations.

3. Say why you do those things

Next, give a reason why you think these activities improve your mood:

…just to get some fresh air and clear my head a bit. (clear my head = make myself feel fresher)

4. Follow up with some more examples

You can also add a few more activities you enjoy if you want to:

Or, I mean, sometimes I might just, watch a funny film or TV show or something, you know, just to take my mind off things. (take my mind off = try to stop thinking about (bad) things)

5. Finish up

Finally, “tie up” your answer with a short sentence to make clear that you’ve finished.

Yeah, I mean, it just depends, really.

Bring it together:

If we put all of these steps together, our longer answer looks like this:

Well, I mean, there are a few different things I do, really. Um, sometimes I’ll just try and go for a walk or, you know, do some exercise or something, just to get some fresh air and clear my head a bit. Or, I mean, sometimes I might just, watch a funny film or TV show or something, you know, just to take my mind off things. Yeah, I mean, it just depends, really.

Useful vocabulary and collocations: being happy

Here are some useful words and phrases that you can use to talk about being happy:

Other words to describe being happy:

We often use these adjectives to describe feelings of happiness in various situations:

• Pleased – Thanks for coming – I’m really pleased you were able to make it (make it = manage to go somewhere)
• Over the moon – My son’s just passed his driving test – he’s over the moon!
• Chuffed / chuffed to bits –I’ve just been promoted, so I’m pretty chuffed about that!
• Made up – I’m made up about it! (“made up” is a British phrase common in the north of England)
• Ecstatic – Jack’s wife gave birth yesterday, so Jack’s ecstatic, as you can imagine! (very, very happy)
• Content – I’m feeling really content with my life at the moment.
• Delighted – I’m delighted to be here!

Saying why you are happy

Her are some useful words we use to say why we’re happy about something.

• Grateful: “I’m grateful for all the support I’ve received.”
• Fortunate: “I feel so fortunate to have such a great group of friends.”
• Lucky: “I’m lucky to have a job I love.”
• Blessed: “I feel blessed to have such a supportive family.”

Ways of saying how happy you are

We often use adverbs like, “really“, “extremely“, “very” and “so” if we want to say how happy we are:

• Really: I’m really happy to see you.
• Very: I’m very happy about my new job.
• Extremely: I’m extremely happy with my life right now.
• She’s so happy that she made that decision

Happy and happiness collocations:

Here are some natural collocations (word groups) that we can make with the words “happy” and “happiness”:

• Be happy about something: “I’m happy about my new job.”
• Feel happy: “I feel really happy today.”
• Make someone happy: “Seeing my family always makes me happy.”
• Find happiness: “I’ve found a lot of happiness in my work.”
• Bring happiness: “Spending time with friends always brings people happiness.”

Conversation about happiness (natural English example)

This short conversation shows how native English speakers might talk about happiness or things that make them happy. The language in this conversation is natural, native speech by British English speakers. Check the standard English “translation” if any phrases are not clear:

NATURAL SPOKEN ENGLISH	STANDARD ENGLISH
Hey, how (are) you doing?	Hi. How are you?
I’m doing well, thanks. How about you?	I’m well, thanks. How are you?
Yeah, I’m great. I’m on cloud nine at the moment, actually.	Yes, I’m very happy now, actually.
Oh yeah? How come?	Really? Tell me why?
Oh, just a few things. I’ve been spending a lot of time with my mum, which has been really nice. And I’ve also been able to get a lot of work done, so that’s been really satisfying, as well.	I’m happy because I’ve seen my family, and have also finished several tasks that I needed to do.
Yeah, I know what you mean. I feel just the same when I manage to get on top of things. It’s such an amazing feeling, isn’t it?	I understand. I also feel great when I finish jobs that need doing. That feels great.
Definitely. And you know, it’s funny, isn’t it, ’cause sometimes I think we just get so caught up in all the things we have to do that we forget to just stop and appreciate all the small things that make us happy.	Yes, it’s true. It is strange how people lose sight of small pleasures because they are always too busy.
Absolutely. It’s so important to take a step back and remember to enjoy all the little things in life, isn’t it?	I agree. We all need to stop being busy sometimes and enjoy life’s small pleasures.