How to say how you feel in Malayalam — happy, sad, angry, afraid, in love — and the grammatical fact that changes everything: in Malayalam a feeling is not something you are. It is something that happens to you. In English you own your feelings: I am happy. Malayalam puts you in the dative, the case of the receiver, and lets the emotion be the thing that exists or arrives. I am Dr. Reshmi R. Nair, an applied linguist from Kerala. I have taught hundreds of learners to speak Malayalam as it is actually spoken. THE PATTERN എനിക്ക് സന്തോഷമുണ്ട് - enikku santhoshamundu - to me there is happiness എനിക്ക് സങ്കടമുണ്ട് - enikku sankadamundu - to me there is sorrow എനിക്ക് പേടിയാണ് - enikku pediyanu - to me it is fear എനിക്ക് ദേഷ്യം വന്നു - enikku deshyam vannu - anger came to me Grammarians call this a dative-subject or experiencer construction. Learn the frame once and every emotion slots into it. THE VOCABULARY സന്തോഷം - santhosham - happiness സങ്കടം - sankadam - sorrow, the everyday word ദുഃഖം - duhkham - grief, heavier and literary വിഷമം - vishamam - distress, and also difficulty; one word for the hard problem and the feeling it produces പേടി - pedi - fear, the ordinary word ഭയം - bhayam - fear, the formal one ദേഷ്യം - deshyam - anger കോപം - kopam - anger, literary ഇഷ്ടം - ishtam - liking സ്നേഹം - sneham - love പ്രേമം - premam - romantic love ആഗ്രഹം - aagraham - desire, wish അസൂയ - asooya - envy നാണം - naanam - shyness അഭിമാനം - abhimanam - pride, in the good sense ലജ്ജ - lajja - shame ആശ്വാസം - aashwasam - relief ആശ്ചര്യം - aashcharyam - surprise വെറുപ്പ് - veruppu - hatred Try one: how do you feel right now, in Malayalam, using the frame above? Comment and I will correct it. #LearnMalayalam #MalayalamGrammar #Malayalam