Guides

The wheel is a vocabulary map, and a map is only useful if you know how to read it. These pages cover choosing between two words that both feel true, printing the wheel for a wall or a table, working through it with a child, and what to make of the fact that no two models agree on how many emotions there are.

• How to use the feelings wheel

  The long version: what the three rings are for, how to choose when two words both fit, and what to do when none of them do.

• Print the feelings wheel

  A one-page PDF of the same wheel, for a wall, a fridge or a table. Colour matters here — the six hues are the navigation.

• Using the wheel with a child

  Written for the adult sitting beside them. Which ring to start on, how to ask without leading, and what to do when the word seems wrong.

• Words to describe feelings

  All 121 words in one view, grouped by branch, each linking to its own page — plus how to choose between two that feel close.

• How many emotions are there?

  Six, eight, 27, 121 — the answer depends entirely on what counts as one emotion. The real figures, and where each comes from.

• When a score is not enough

  A 1-to-5 mood scale gives you a trend line. A wheel gives you a word. What each is good for, compared as methods rather than brands.

Or go straight to all 121 feelings, the glossary, or what is in the app.