Speaking about well-being is a real-life skill you will use in English: with doctors, with colleagues, with friends, and on social media. In this section you will learn the short phrases British speakers actually use in these conversations, you will hear a model dialogue, you will record two of the key sentences, and you will then have a live conversation with me.
The most useful tense for talking about well-being is the present perfect continuous: have/has been + verb-ing. We use it because we are talking about how things have been going over a recent period of time, not just at this exact moment. Compare: I am tired (right now) with I have been feeling tired (over the last few days or weeks). The longer form sounds warmer and more interested, which is why British speakers prefer it for friendly conversations about health.
The first pair of phrases opens the conversation.How have you been feeling lately? is softer and more personal than the usual How are you? A good answer for a positive week is I've been feeling pretty good, thanks. If things are harder, you can say To be honest, I've been a bit stressed this week. The phrase to be honest is a very common softener in British English — it tells your listener that you are being sincere.
The second pair of phrases is for describing healthy habits. The verb try is the most useful word here, because it is honest: you are not claiming to be perfect, you are saying that you are making an effort.I try to keep a balanced diet and I try to exercise three times a week are sentences that almost every British adult would understand and respect. Notice that three times a week goes after the object, not at the beginning. You can also use usually to describe a regular habit: I usually go for a walk after dinner.
The third pair of phrases is for giving and asking for advice. When a friend looks tired, the natural question is What helps you relax? Common answers include reading, listening to music, having a bath, going for a walk, doing yoga or watching a film. The structure I find that + clause is excellent for recommending something, because it shares your own experience without telling the other person what to do.I find that a short walk really helps is much softer and friendlier than You should go for a walk.
In British English, speakers often use small softeners to sound natural: I suppose, to be honest, quite, pretty, really, a bit. For example, I feel quite tired today is gentler than I feel very tired today. Try to use at least one softener in every sentence you speak.
Phrase
Meaning (AR)
When to use it
How have you been feeling lately?
كيف تشعر في الآونة الأخيرة؟
To start a friendly conversation about health
I've been feeling pretty good, thanks.
أشعر بحال جيدة، شكراً.
To give a positive answer
To be honest, I've been a bit stressed.
بصراحة، كنت متوتراً قليلاً.
To admit a difficulty in a polite way
I try to keep a balanced diet.
أحاول الحفاظ على نظام غذائي متوازن.
To describe a healthy eating habit
I usually exercise three times a week.
عادةً أتمرن ثلاث مرات في الأسبوع.
To describe a regular exercise habit
What helps you relax?
ما الذي يساعدك على الاسترخاء؟
To ask for advice from a friend
I find that a short walk really helps.
أجد أن المشي القصير يساعد حقاً.
To recommend an activity softly
In the model dialogue that follows, you will hear two colleagues — Emma and Tom — having a short chat at lunchtime. Notice the order of the conversation: open question → honest answer → follow-up question → personal recommendation. You will then record two of the key sentences and finally have the same conversation with me, but in your own words.
الكلام عن الصحة والرفاهية بالإنجليزي
لما تحب تتكلم عن حالتك الصحية أو النفسية مع حد بالإنجليزي، اللغة الطبيعية مش بتقول "I am tired" وبس. الإنجليز بيستخدموا زمن اسمه present perfect continuous، وده اللي بيخلّي الكلام يطلع دافي ومهتم. الصيغة بسيطة: have/has + been + verb-ing.
الفرق بين الحاضر البسيط والمضارع التام المستمر
لما تقول I am tired، أنت بتوصف اللحظة دي بس. لكن لما تقول I have been feeling tired، أنت بتقول إن الإحساس ده ماشي معاك من أيام أو أسابيع. الشكل التاني أطيب وبيدّي إحساس إنك فعلاً مهتم بالشخص اللي قدامك.
افتتاحية المحادثة
أول جملة في المحادثة هي How have you been feeling lately?، ودي أنعم من "How are you?" العادية. لو أسبوعك كان كويس، ردّ بـ I've been feeling pretty good, thanks. لو مش تمام، استخدم To be honest, I've been a bit stressed this week. العبارة "to be honest" بتعمل دور الـ softener، يعني بتلطّف الجملة وبتخلي اللي يسمعك يحس إنك صريح بلطف.
وصف العادات الصحية
لما تيجي تتكلم عن اللي بتعمله عشان صحتك، استخدم try لأنها كلمة صادقة ومش بتدّعي إنك كامل. مثلاً:
I try to keep a balanced diet.
I try to exercise three times a week.
I usually go for a walk after dinner.
لاحظ إن three times a week بتيجي بعد الفعل، مش في أول الجملة. وكمان ممكن تستخدم usually عشان توصّل إن ده عادة مستمرة.
نصايح ومشاركة اللي بيريّحك
لما حد زهقان أو متعب، اسأله What helps you relax? الإجابات الشائعة: reading, listening to music, having a bath, going for a walk, doing yoga، أو watching a film.
لما تحب توصّي بحاجة، استخدم التركيب I find that + clause:
I find that a short walk really helps.
I find that listening to music calms me down.
الجملة دي أحسن بكتير من "You should..." لأنها بتشارك تجربتك من غير ما تأمر حد.
كلمات التلطيف المهمة
في الإنجليزي البريطاني، في كلمات صغيرة بتلطّف الجملة: I suppose, to be honest, quite, pretty, really, a bit. مثلاً "I feel quite tired today" ألطف من "I feel very tired today." حاول تحط على الأقل softener واحد في كل جملة بتقولها عشان تتكلم زي ما الإنجليزي الطبيعي بيتكلم.
Listen to a short conversation between two colleagues about their wellbeing.
E
EmmaHi Tom! How have you been feeling lately?
T
TomHi Emma. To be honest, I've been a bit stressed this week. Work has been very busy.
E
EmmaOh, I'm sorry to hear that. What helps you relax after a hard day?
T
TomI find that a short walk in the park really helps. What about you?
E
EmmaI try to keep a balanced routine. I usually exercise three times a week.
T
TomThat sounds sensible. I've been feeling pretty good, but a bit tired today.
To be honest, I've been feeling a bit tired this week.
Read this key model phrase aloud. Notice the present perfect continuous form (have been feeling) and the softener 'to be honest' — a very common British English opener for a personal answer.
Required
Record yourself saying this answer. Try to sound friendly and natural, as if you are answering a colleague at lunchtime.
I've been feeling pretty good, thanks, but I have been quite tired this week.
Required
Record yourself saying this recommendation. Use a soft, friendly tone — you are sharing your own experience, not giving an order.
I find that a short walk really helps me relax.
Required
Imagine you are talking to a colleague at work. Answer their question about your wellbeing, mention at least one healthy habit you try to keep, and ask what helps them relax. Try to use phrases such as: 'to be honest', 'I've been feeling', 'I try to', 'I usually', 'What helps you relax?', and 'I find that'.
Required
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
6
cards
Wellbeing is a word you will hear very often in British life — in the news, in workplace talks, in adverts for holidays and food, and in friendly conversations with friends and colleagues.Well-being (sometimes written as two words, sometimes as one: wellbeing) is the general state of being healthy, comfortable and happy in your body and in your mind. When someone asks How is your well-being? they are really asking How are you feeling in yourself, in a wider sense than just today?
To talk about well-being in English, you need a small group of words that come up again and again. Learning them as a set is much easier than learning them one by one, because they connect naturally in conversation. In this section you will meet eight of the most common words: well-being, balanced, routine, exercise, energy, stress, relax and mood. Each word belongs to one of three small groups: words about habits, words about feelings, and words about lifestyle.
The first group is about habits — the things you do regularly. A routine is the pattern of activities you follow, often at the same time each day. You can have a morning routine, a work routine or a weekly routine. The adjective balanced describes a life where different parts — work, rest, food, movement and social time — are mixed in a healthy way. A balanced diet is not a strict diet; it means eating different kinds of food in reasonable amounts.Exercise is the noun for physical activity done to stay fit, and British speakers usually say do exercise rather than make exercise: I do thirty minutes of exercise every day.
The second group is about feelings. Your mood is your general feeling at a particular time. You can be in a good mood, in a bad mood or in a strange mood.Stress is the feeling of pressure that you get when too many difficult things happen at once, or when you are worried about something important. The verb relax means to rest your body and mind, and to become calm again. Common British collocations are: feel stressed, feel relaxed, manage stress, reduce stress.
The third group is the word energy.Energy is the physical and mental power you have to do things. After a good night's sleep, you have a lot of energy. After a hard day at work, you may have very little energy. Notice how energy connects to all the other words: exercise gives you energy, stress takes away your energy, and rest helps you recover your energy.
Look at the table below. Each word has a short Arabic gloss to help you link the English form to a word you already know. Read the example sentence aloud three times — this helps you remember the rhythm of British English and the natural word order.
Word
Part of speech
Meaning (AR)
Example sentence
well-being
noun
العافية / الشعور بالراحة الشاملة
Regular sleep is important for overall well-being.
balanced
adjective
متوازن
She tries to keep a balanced diet during the week.
routine
noun
روتين / نظام يومي
My morning routine includes a short walk in the park.
exercise
noun
تمرين / نشاط بدني
I do thirty minutes of exercise every evening.
energy
noun
طاقة / حيوية
A good breakfast gives me energy for the rest of the day.
stress
noun
ضغط نفسي / توتر
Work deadlines can be a real source of stress.
relax
verb
يسترخي / يهدأ
I find it hard to relax before an important exam.
mood
noun
مزاج
Her mood improves when she listens to music.
You will see that these words work together. You can say: A balancedroutine gives me more energy and improves my mood. You can also say: Stress affects my sleep, so I find it hard to relax. Try to combine two or three of the new words in your own short sentences before you move to the practice activities. In British English, well-being always keeps the hyphen in formal writing; the one-word spelling wellbeing is becoming common in newspapers and online.
In the practice activities that follow, you will first see all the words as a list, then match them to their meanings, then read a longer model sentence, then listen to a short recording and answer a question, and finally choose the most natural sentence. These five activities will prepare you for the speaking section that follows.
Generating translation…
Study these eight words about wellbeing. Notice the part of speech, the Arabic gloss and the example sentence for each one.
balancedˈbælənst
Evenly distributed in weight, amount, or proportion; in a state of equilibrium.
energyˈenədʒi
the ability to be active and do things; physical and mental strength; power used to make something work
exerciseˈek.sə.saɪz
physical activity that you do to make your body strong and healthy :
an action or actions intended to improve
moodmuːd
A temporary state of mind or feeling, such as happiness, sadness, or anger.
relaxrɪˈlæks
to rest and become less worried, tense, or stressed; to make something less tight or strict
routine
an unvarying or habitual method or procedure
stressstres
great worry caused by a difficult situation , or something that causes this condition :
a difficult situation
well-beingˈwɛlbiːɪŋ
A state of being comfortable, healthy, and happy; the quality of a person's life and how satisfied they feel.
Required
Match each wellbeing word to its meaning.
Match each wellbeing word to its meaning.
well-being
balanced
routine
mood
stress
relax
the state of being healthy, comfortable and happy
having the right mix of different activities or foods
a regular pattern of activities you follow
your general feeling at a particular time
a feeling of pressure or worry
to rest your body and mind and become calm
A balanced routine and regular exercise give me more energy, improve my mood and help me relax.
Read this model sentence aloud. It uses five words from the list — balanced, routine, exercise, energy, mood, relax — in one natural British English sentence.
Required
Audio is being generated — try again in a minute.
Listen to the sentence. What does the speaker do three times a week?
go to the gym
exercise
relax
Required
Which sentence is the most natural way to describe a healthy habit in British English?
