feel homesick

Meaning

To 'feel homesick' means to experience sadness or longing for one's home and family when being away from them for a long period. It is a common feeling among study-abroad students, long-term travelers, and expats. The tone is sympathetic and personal.

Examples

• During my first month studying in London, I used to feel homesick almost every night.

  During my first month studying in London, I used to feel homesick almost every night.

• Whenever I feel homesick, I cook a traditional meal from my country to feel closer to home.

  Whenever I feel homesick, I cook a traditional meal from my country to feel closer to home.

• It is completely normal to feel homesick during your first solo trip abroad.

  It is completely normal to feel homesick during your first solo trip abroad.

• Calling my parents on weekends helps me not to feel homesick.

  Calling my parents on weekends helps me not to feel homesick.

• She was having so much fun traveling that she didn't have time to feel homesick.

  She was having so much fun traveling that she didn't have time to feel homesick.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I feel home sickness.

  ✓ I feel homesick.

  'Homesick' is an adjective used with state verbs like 'feel' or 'be'. 'Homesickness' is a noun (e.g., 'to suffer from homesickness').

• ✗ He is feeling sick of home.

  ✓ He is feeling homesick.

  'Sick of home' would mean being tired of or annoyed by your home, which is the exact opposite of missing it.

Related Expressions

Practice

• If you start to ___, just remember that you can always video call us.

  💡 Miss your home and family.

  Show answer

  feel homesick

• Living in a foreign country can be exciting, but you will occasionally ___.

  💡 Experience sadness from being away from home.

  Show answer

  feel homesick