Best one word description of a person

Table of Contents

Description of a famous person in English. Description of people in English

You will probably need words and phrases to help you compose description of a person’s appearance in English… We advise you to pay attention not only to vocabulary, but also to examples. After all, they can be an excellent base for creating your own proposals.

Words to describe a person’s appearance in English

Let’s start with the most common words for descriptions of a person’s appearance in English… If your friend looks great, then you can please her with the following lexical units: beautiful, pretty, wonderful, attractive, gorgeous, good-looking.

In order to emphasize that a man looks good and not a woman, it is usually used handsome (handsome). You can also use good-looking и attractive. What if you suddenly need to emphasize the opposite? Remember ugly (ugly, ugly) и unsightly

When describing a person’s appearance in English, do not forget to pay attention to the following points:

1. Growth

tall, short, quite tall, medium height

2. Figure

slim, fat, skinny, thin, plump

3 Age

young, old, middle-aged

4. Face

round, oval, thin, a double chin, long nose, straight nose, turned up nose

5. Hair

long, short, curly, bald, straight, untidy, haircut, hairdo

6. Hair color

a blonde, fair-haired, fair, brown-haired, dark-haired, red, gray

How to describe a person’s appearance in English?

Now let’s pay attention to examples of as can describe a person’s appearance in English.

This is a young man. He is rather attractive. The guy is of medium-height. He looks tired. He has short dark hair. His face is oval. His nose is turned up. The young man is thin. He is dressed neatly. He is wearing jeans, a shirt, a T-shirt and training shoes.

This is a young man. He’s pretty attractive. The guy is of average height. He looks tired. He has short dark hair. Oval face. The nose is turned up. The young man is thin. He is neatly dressed. He’s wearing jeans, a shirt, a T-shirt and sneakers.

You can build a story about a person’s appearance on two main speech structures: classical and more conversational. Let’s consider each of them in more detail.

The classic form of describing a person in English

I am slender. I’m slim.

Source: https://motusvita.ru/opisanie-izvestnogo-cheloveka-na-angliiskom-opisanie-lyudei-na/

Lesson 8: Personal description — describing a person in English

The topic of the lesson is a description of a person’s appearance, in English it is called personal description [ˈPɜːsnl dɪsˈkrɪpʃən]. After this lesson, try to read a short text about appearance, in English it is Appearance [əˈpɪərəns].

— New words to describe the appearance;
— construction this is; — a description of the appearance in the picture; — pronunciation of the endings of possessive nouns;

— constructions we are, Tu es, they are;

— exercises.

New words

dark [dɑːk] — dark-haired	pretty [ˈPrɪti] — cute	good-looking [ˈGʊdˈlʊkɪŋ] — cute
fair [feə] — blonde	shorts [ʃɔːt] — short	not very [nɒt ˈvɛri] — not very
slim [slɪm] — thin	tall [tɔːl] — high	boyfriend [ˈBɔɪˌfrɛnd] — guy
fetus [fæt] — full	strong [strɒŋ] — strong	girlfriend [ˈGɜːlˌfrɛnd] — girlfriend
this is [ðɪs ɪz] is	quite [kwaɪt] — pretty	intelligent [ɪnˈtɛlɪʤənt] — smart

Personal description begins with the words this is — this.

Usually the description of a person begins with the words This isFor example, This is Mary — this is Mary. This — a pronoun that translates into Russian as «this», «this», «this», and is — the verb «is», which is not translated into Russian, but must be present in the sentence according to the rules of English grammar.

With this construction, we will describe the appearance of a person. Since our vocabulary is still not very large, we only use words to describe the color of hair, the height of a person, his complexion, and the general impression is whether he is cute in your opinion or not.

First, listen a few times as a native English speaker describes the appearance (as always, do not be lazy to repeat after him):

Now look at the pictures below. There are two pairs of people here: Judy [ˈʤuːdi] and Sat [sæm], Eric [ˈƐrɪk] and Alice [ˈÆlɪs].

Describe these people using the new words and patterns below.

This is Judy [ðɪs ɪz ˈʤuːdi] — This is Judy
She is tall and fair [ʃiː ɪz tɔːl ænd feə] — She is tall and blonde. 
She is very pretty [ʃiː ɪz ˈvɛri ˈprɪti] — She is very cute.

This is Sam [ðɪs ɪz sæm] — This is Sam.
He is Judy’s boyfriend [hiː ɪz ˈʤuːdiz ˈbɔɪˌfrɛnd] — He’s Judy’s boyfriend.
He is not very _________.
He is _________ .
_________ _________ quite good-looking

_________ _________ Sam’s friend, Eric
He is _________ and _________
He is Alice’s _________.
He is _________ _________ good-looking.

_________ _________ Eric’s girlfriend, _________.
She is _________ and _________
_________ _________ _________ _________ _________ .

Check your answers against the video at the end of the article. While your answers don’t necessarily have to match this video, you can have your own opinions about other people’s physical appearance.

Pronunciation table of possessive endings

Possessive nouns that we began to learn in the previous lesson are formed in the same way — by adding to the name ‘s, but this ending is pronounced differently. Take a look at this table and practice pronouncing the endings:

Judy’s	Mary’s	Joe’s	Harry’s	/z/
Sam’s	Bob’s	Anne’s	Susan’s	/z/
Eric’s	Margaret’s	Jeff’s	Kate’s	/s/
Alice’s	Joyce’s	Ross’s	Des’s	/iz/

Designs we are, Tu es, they are

The previously considered construction this is used for singular. In the plural, the verb should be used are , which (as well as is) is most often not translated, but it should be in the sentence. Verb are used with the plural, which means with the pronouns «we», «you» and «they».

Moreover, affirmative, interrogative and negative sentences are built in English according to the following clear schemes:

Statementthe pronoun comes first	Questionin the first place is the verb	Denialpronoun, verb and then negation
we are (we’re)	are we?	we are not (we aren’t)
you are (you’re)	are you?	you are not (you aren’t)
they are (they’re)	are they?	they are not (they aren’t)

In brackets are short forms that are very widely used in English. Check your pronunciation.

Personal description exercises

1. Remember people who are somewhat similar to you, and using the construction we are, describe you together.

Example:
We are young.
We are not very tall.
We are Russian. We are not Brazilian.

2. Write about two of your comrades. Example:

Alina and Kate are short, slim and fair. They are young and good-looking.

Source: https://lingvana.ru/personal-description.html

Description of the child in English. Description of a person’s appearance in English

You will probably need words and phrases to help you compose description of a person’s appearance in English… We advise you to pay attention not only to vocabulary, but also to examples. After all, they can be an excellent base for creating your own proposals.

Asking a question about a person’s character

To invite the interlocutor to describe someone’s character in English, two phrases are most often used:

What kind of person is she / he? — What kind of person is she (he)?

What is she / he — What is her (him) character?

No less interesting is the fact that character in English can be expressed in two concepts — personality и character… Personality means the innate personality traits of a person, while character means character traits formed during life. The line between the two is very thin, so context plays a key role in their use.

Jim resembles his father both in looks and personality — Jim resembles his father both in appearance and character.

Mary showed a really strong character having done all the work in spite of her illness. — Mary showed a really strong character when she did all the work despite her illness.

English adjectives that characterize a person

All adjectives describing the character can be conditionally divided into several groups, depending on the specific side of the personality.

Attitude to life

The most general group that allows you to describe the mood and view of the world. Includes the qualities of a person in English shown in the table below.

Intellectual abilities

A character description in English may relate to the level of intelligence and thinking of a person. You can use the adjectives in the table below to communicate this side of your personality in a positive way.

There are also many words in English for negative characterization.

Attitude towards people

Describing a person’s character from the point of view of attitudes towards other people means knowing more than a dozen relevant adjectives. For comfortable perception and memorization, they are preferred to be presented in the form of a table of antonyms. Below are the most important traits for memorizing in English with translation.

friendly / unfriendly	friendly / unfriendly, hostile
kind / malicious, mean	kind angry
affable, amiable / severe	friendly, amiable / tough, stern, unfriendly
warm / cool-tempered, hard-nosed	warm, pleasant, friendly / tough, unfriendly
cute, cuddly, good / ugly
generous / greedy, avid	generous / greedy

Source: https://chemistry-gid.ru/antonovskie-yabloki/opisanie-rebenka-na-angliiskom-yazyke-opisanie-vneshnosti-cheloveka.html

Enjoy learning English online with Puzzle English for free

Every person at least once in his life has heard compliments addressed to him about his appearance or character. And, you see, it’s terribly nice. Being able to describe yourself or the appearance of another person is one of the classic topics in English, which sooner or later all language learners face.

In this article, we will analyze in detail such a question as a description of a person’s appearance in English with a detailed translation, as well as learn about popular English adjectives that characterize a person. And as a bonus, we will learn a few nice compliments that will come in handy in everyday communication.

Person’s appearance

The main «tool» in describing a person’s appearance is adjectives and epithets. The more varied your vocabulary in this area, the more accurately and in detail you will be able to describe another person or yourself.

If you are asked to describe your appearance, you will most likely be asked the question “What do you look?«(How do you look?) Or»How would you describe your physical appearance?«(How would you describe your appearance?).

When describing your appearance, you should not go deep into details such as the shape of the eyebrows or the shape of the eyes. Usually, when asked to talk about how you look, they mean the following criteria: complexion, figure, height, skin color, hair, eyes, and other common features.

Remember that if at the interview you are asked to describe yourself (How would you describe yourself?), then we will not talk about appearance, but about personal and working qualities.

If you are asked a question about the appearance of another person (for example, they are asked to describe a girl or a guy you like), then the question will be “What does he / she look?» (How he / she looks?). This is where you can describe the appearance in more detail using vivid epithets that will convey the image of a person as accurately as possible in words.

Do not forget about the words-circumstances of the degree (degree modifiers), which will help to more accurately describe the appearance: Rather, quite, enough, pretty — enough, enough
Very — very
Too — too

For example: He is very strong for his age (He is very strong for his age) or She is rather tall for a teenager (She’s tall enough for a teenager.)

And now let’s go directly to the adjectives, which describe a person’s appearance in English. In different categories, you may come across the same words, but with different translations depending on the context associated with them.

Build (physique)

Chubby — chubby
Fat — fat, thick
Frail — fragile
Heavy — heavy
Overweight — overweight
Plump — plump
Powerful — powerful
Skinny / Thin — skinny
Slender — Slim
Slim — thin
Small — slender
Solid — dense
Stocky — stocky
Strong — strong
Sturdy — strong
Tubby — pot-bellied
Underweight — underweight
Well-built — well built

Bony — bony
Shapeless — shapeless
Graceful — graceful
Lean — lean
Ordinary — ordinary
Perfect — perfect
Stout — full, dense
Superb — excellent

Each of us has his own unique gait, by which you can recognize a person from a crowd, even from the back or from afar. In English, as in Russian, there are many epithets to describe a person’s gait style:

Gait (gait)

Awkward — clumsy
Brisk — bouncy
Careful — cautious
Firm — solid
Halting — stammering
Heavy — heavy
Light — light
Measured — measured
Rapid — fast
Shuffling — shuffling
Slow — slow
Steady — confident
Strolling — walking
Stumbling — stumbling
Swaggering is important
Swaying — staggering
Unsteady — unsure
Waddling — waddling

As for gait, here are a few more phrases that can describe how a person walks. For example, those who “take a firm step” are said to be stride with a firm step. But the universal construction «walk with» will help to tell about exactly how a person walks. For example: Walk with a drag — drag your foot
Walk with a droop — walk, stoop
Walk with a limp — limp when walking
Walk with a staff (stick) — walk, leaning on a stick (cane)

Now let’s move on to the words that can describe the parts of the human body.

Arms and legs

Large — large, massive
Lanky — Skinny
Long — long
Muscled / Shapely — muscular
Powerful — powerful
Short — short
Strong — strong
Thin — thin
Well-shaped — embossed, tightened

The palms and hands in general are often called the “business card of a person”, and when they shake hands they make up the first impression. There are many ways to describe a person’s palms:

Hands (palms and fingers)

Arthritic — arthritic
Clammy / Sticky — sticky
Clean — clean
Clumsy — clumsy
Dirty / Filthy — dirty
Firm — solid
Frail — fragile
Gnarled — hooked
Greasy — greasy
Hairy — hairy
Limp — sluggish
Ringed — studded with rings and jewelry
Rough — rough
Shaking / Trembling — trembling
Soft — soft
Sweaty — sweaty
Unwashed — unwashed
Well-manicured — well-groomed
Work-roughened — roughened from work

Bare — nudes
Bowed — Slouching
Broad / Wide — wide
Manly — courageous
Massive — massive
Narrow — narrow
Round — rounded
Thin — thin
Sloping — sloping
Square — square

The color and condition of the skin of both the face and the whole body is also often used when describing a person in English.

Skin

Baby-soft — tender, like a baby
Calloused — hardened
Dark — dark
Dry — dry
Fair — light
Freckled — freckled
Glowing — shining
Ruddy — ruddy
Sallow — earthy color
Silky — silky
Smooth — smooth
Soft — gentle
Spotless — healthy
Pale — pale
Tanned — tanned
Paper-thin — thin as paper
Translucent — transparent
Wrinkled — wrinkled

Hair

There are many adjectives to describe hair. We will not go deep into the nuances of hairstyles, but tell you about adjectives that can describe the general condition and color of a person’s hair.

Abundant — thick, luxurious
Baby-fine — as thin as a child’s
Bald — bald
Bald spot — bald spot
Balding — balding
Coarse — hard
Cropped — trimmed
Curly — curly, curly
Disheveled — confused
Dyed — dyed
Fine — thin
Flat — smoothed
Limp — liquid
Long — long
Neatly-combed — neatly combed
Parted — parted
Scraggly — disheveled
Shaved — shaved bald
Short — short
Silky — silky
Straight — straight
Thick — thick
Thin — thin
Wavy — wavy

Hair color

Ash-blond — ashy blond
Auburn — golden chestnut
Bleached — bleached
Black — black
Blond — blond
Brown — brown
Brunette — brunette
Chestnut — chestnut
Dark-haired — dark-haired
Golden — golden
Gray — gray-haired
Highlighted — highlighted
Jet-black — black as pitch
Light brown — light brown
Red — red
Reddish — reddish
Silver — silvery

Do not forget about men who, in addition to hair on their heads, like to grow a luxurious mustache or a long beard. Facial hair is collectively called facial hair.

Mustache and beard (mustache and beard)

Bearded — bearded
Bristle — One Day Stubble
Clean-shaven — clean shaven
Stubble — stubble
Unshaven — unshaven

Remember that although in Russian the word «mustache» is a plural, in English the word mustache is used only in this form, be it one mustache or a mustache entirely.

Let’s move on to describing the face and parts of the face such as lips, nose, eyes, etc.

Face shape

Angular — angular
Heart-shaped — «heart»
Long — elongated
Round — round
Square — square
Oval — oval

The auxiliary word «-faced» will help describe a person’s face when answering the question «What is he?» Let’s say «broad-faced» is broad-faced, «pale-faced» is pale-faced, and so on.

Forehead (forehead)

All the same adjectives are used to describe the forehead as for other parts of the body. For example: wide, narrow, high and others. Use the adjective furrowed or wrinkled when referring to a «wrinkled» forehead.

Eyebrows

Eyebrows play a very important role on our face and help convey emotions more vividly. Amused — surprised raised
Arched — arched
Bushy / Thick — thick
Enquiring / Querying / Questioning — questioningly uplifted
Lifted — raised
Penciled — drawn in pencil
Shaggy — shaggy
Shaped — decorated
Straight — straight
Surprised — surprised
Thin — thin
Unkempt — Unkempt
Well-marked — expressive

Eyes

A colossal number of adjectives and epithets have been invented to describe the eyes, because they are the mirror of the soul and can say so much about a person.

Source: https://puzzle-english.com/directory/describing-appearance

Description of the girl in English with translation. Description of appearance in English

All English learners sooner or later face the need to describe a person’s appearance: their own or that of a friend. The English language has a huge number of words that help us accurately describe a person’s appearance. Wondering how to tell in English that a person has blue eyes, an aquiline nose, or golden hair? Then the article is a must-read!

Height and body build

Let’s start with height and physique. Be careful in your choice of words, some of the following may sound offensive. So, for example, if a person is too thin, instead of skinny (skinny) tell thin (thin), and if a person is overweight, then instead of fetus (thick) or obese (obese) say a bit overweight (slightly overweight).

WordTranslation

shorts	low
(of) medium height	middle-height
tall	tall
lathy	lanky
well built	well built
slim	slender (about a woman)
slender	slim (about a man)
thin	thin
neat	elegant
looking	miniature
skinny	skinny
read	thin
muscular	muscular
ungainly	full, plump
Overweight	overweight
fetus	fat
obese	obese
stout	fat
stocky	stocky

Hair and face — hair and face

After growth and physique, we usually continue to describe a person from top to bottom, that is, further we will talk about what kind of hair people have. Word hair used with the singular verb: hair is.

Speaking of hair, we describe it according to three criteria: color (color), length (length) and form (s). Don’t forget to also mention the presence of bangs (a fringe), if any.

Girls often braid their hair (to braid), tucked into the tail (to make a ponytail) or simply dissolve (to wear one’s hair loose).

WordTranslation

auburn	auburn
black	Black
blonde	bright
RED	redheads
grey	gray-haired
chestnut, chestnut brown	chestnut
golden	golden
long	long
shorts	short
shoulder length	on the shoulders
waist length	waist-high
soon	bald
straight	direct
wow	wavy
curly	curly

When describing a person’s appearance in English, great attention should be paid to the face (make). In form, it can be:

• angular — angular;
• oval — oval;
• round — round;
• square — square;
• long — elongated.

It is also important to remember about skin color (a complexion). By the way, don’t confuse the word complexion with our «complexion», which translates into English as body build.

WordTranslation

dark	dark
fair	bright
olive	olive
pale	pale
tanning	tanned
dry	dry
silky	silky
smooth	smooth
baby soft	gentle like a child
rough	rough
rudy	ruddy (about the face)
freckled	freckled
wrinkled	wrinkled

Further, you can describe each part of the face separately, because both the nose and lips, and even more so the eyes, can tell what character traits a person has. For example, a long nose (Nose) usually happens in conservative individuals, narrow — in people with high efficiency, people who do not know how to keep secrets have an upturned nose. You may not believe such stereotypes, but you need to know the words in English:

• straight — straight;
• snub — snub-nosed;
• aquiline — eagle;
• flat — flat;
• hooked — crochet nose;
• pointed — pointed;
• turned up, upturned — upturned.

Source: https://arsochi.ru/kaleidoscope/description-of-the-girl-in-english-with-translation-description-of-appearance-in-english.html

Description of appearance in English: tables with adjectives and examples of descriptions of appearance

The topic «Description of a person’s appearance» may seem frivolous to you and, perhaps, childish, but you cannot miss it. In the process of communicating in English, you will have situations that require you to describe what a particular person looks like. This topic is not bypassed on the TOEFL, IELTS, etc.

What if you want to place your profile on an international dating site? This is where the skills of describing the appearance, even of yourself, come in handy.

We offer you an analysis of facial features, complexion and height of a person with the corresponding adjectives. You can also use the circumstances of the measure with them: enough — enough / rather / quite, too much — too, very — very.

Overall Impression

The description of appearance in English should begin with a description of the general impression of the person. Most often this is preceded by questions:

• What does he / she look? — How he / she looks?
• How could you describe your / his / her appearance? — How would you describe your / his / her appearance?
• How do you look? — How do you look?
• How would you describe yourself? — How do you describe yourself?

The general impression that a person makes is always either positive or negative:

• She is pretty — She’s pretty;
• He is ugly / unattractive — He is ugly / unattractive;
• He is handsome — He is handsome (the adjective handsome is used only in relation to the male sex);
• Mary is delightful and stunning — Mary is adorable and stunning.

How to describe a face

Before you start describing facial features, brush up on the necessary vocabulary:

• hair — hair;
• temple — temple;
• ear — ear;
• earlobe — earlobe;
• cheek — cheek;
• jaw — jaw;
• chin — chin;
• forehead — forehead;
• eyebrow — eyebrow;
• eye — eye;
• nose — nose;
• nostril — nostril;
• mouth — mouth;
• lip — lip.

You can start describing your appearance with anything: the shape of the face, eyes, nose, lips — in any order.

Eyes

When we talk about a person’s eyes, we mean not only the color, but also the shape, «fit», the look itself. Use the following vocabulary:

Word	Transfer
brown	brown
Hazel	light brown
Blue	голубые
grey	gray
amber	amber
green	green
pale	bright
dark	dark
close-set eyes	close-set eyes
wide-set eyes	wide eyes

Source: https://www.study.ru/article/lexicology/opisanie-vneshnosti-na-angliyskom-yazyke

›Vocabulary

The appearance of oneself and others is a constant topic of discussion, conversation, and stories from relatives and friends. Another situation is a meeting with a stranger. To recognize him among the passengers, they describe first of all their clothes and appearance. And if a connoisseur of beauty and ended up in an art gallery, then you can discuss a portrait of a person with a foreign friend. For all these life situations, of course, you just need to know the vocabulary (and there are many) on the topic of appearance in English.

Let’s start with the most general — this is physique and height of a person in English.

Adjectives about growth (height / stature) of a person

My cousin is tall and he is always wearing short trousers. It isn’t nice! My cousin tall and always wears short pants. It’s not beautiful!

• Paul is very shy, because he is shorts… Paul is very shy because low growth.
• Jane was unnoticeable in the class, a gray mouse. She was average… Jane was invisible in the classroom, like a gray mouse. She had average growth.

To strengthen these adjectives and decorate speech, before the adjectives describing the appearance, you can put:

• pretty, enough, quite, rather — enough (pretty);
• too, very — too, very.

Adjectives about figure

• Everybody admires her as she was very graceful woman and flew about the house a butterfly. Everyone admired her, since she was very exquisite and fluttered around the house like a butterfly.
• My neighbor Ms. Jenkins was a ungainly and funny woman and I d to talk with her. My neighbor Miss Jenkins was plump and a funny woman and I loved talking to her.
• Her children are so cute and chubby… Her children are so cute and plump.
• My sister is very nervous as she is hungry. She wants to be slim and sits on diets. My sister is nervous and hungry. She wants to be slender and diets. (only describing a woman)
• She is fetus that’s why she sits at home and we never see her in the park. She stoutso she stays at home and we never see her in the park. (This word is not recommended to be used in relation to people, because it has a negative connotation, something like the Russian word «fat, fat»)
• Doctors said that she wouldn’t have the problem with health if she wasn’t Overweight… Doctors said that she would not have heart problems if she did not have excess weight.
• He was a stout man with very loud voice. He was obese a man with a very loud voice.
• It isn’t beautiful when a girl is underweight and skinny… It’s ugly when a girl with underweight и skinny.

Human face

Now let’s move on to the description human face.

There are many nationalities on our planet with different skin and face color… Let’s learn to call them correctly.

• People from Africa usually have black skin, from Asia — yellow skin and Europeans usually white (fair) skin. People in Africa usually have skin black, from Asia — yellowand Europeans usually white (bright) skin.

When frightened, a person may turn pale.

• Why is she pale? She’s just seen a mouse! Why she pale? She just saw a mouse!

Source: https://englishfun.ru/leksika/kak-opisat-vneshnost-na-anglijskom

How to describe appearance in English: definitions and examples

Describing physical appearance in English is extremely difficult. It is necessary not just to say in a nutshell whether a person is attractive or not, but to describe all the outstanding features of his face. To do this, you need to know certain words, their correct use and translation. This article is a kind of guide with examples and translation, with which you can easily characterize the appearance of any person.

How to describe a person’s face (eyes, hair, skin color, etc.)

To describe a person’s face in detail, you need to know a lot of English words. After all, we must tell what shape a person’s eyes have, what color they are, whether his nose is large or small, and so on. Everything in order.

Leather

You can see the options for skin colors in the table.

wrinkles — wrinkles
freckles — freckles
pimples (spots) — acne
smooth skin — clean, smooth skin

examples:

She has verypale skin… — She has very pale skin.
I amblack. I have dark skin… — I’m black. I have dark skin.

Face shape

round face — round face
oval face — Oval face
square face — square face
heart shaped face — heart shaped face
long face — oblong face
thin face — thin face

examples:

he has athin face — he has a thin face
he’s got around face — he has a round face
he’ssquare-faced — he has a square face

Hair

hair color:

blonde / fair hair — blonde hair (a blonde — blonde)
brown hair — Brown hair (a brunette — brunette)
red hair — Red hair (a readhead — red / red)
black hair — dark hair
gray hair — grey hair

hair type:

long — long
shorts — short
wow — wavy
curly — curly
straight — straight

examples:

Source: https://english-bird.ru/opisanie-vneshnosti-na-anglijskom-yazyke/

Appearance in English

Studying English, each of us at some stage is faced with the need to describe the appearance of a person: ourselves or a friend, an acquaintance or a stranger. And if you started learning English in courses (or earlier, at school), you are well aware that this «topic» is one of the first conversational topics (And how the class laughed when someone confused the words eyes and ears, when they wanted to say in English “She had big blue eyes?” Eh, those were golden days).

The ability to correctly and fully describe a person’s appearance (physical appearance or, less formally, looks) is very valuable both in itself and from the point of view of organizers of all kinds of exams for English proficiency (TOEFL, IELTS and others like them). Without mastering this topic, you can hardly win the examiner’s heart: the story or essay “About myself” has become a classic exam topic.

Do you want to impress examiners (friends, colleagues, grandmother, girl) with the knowledge of an incredible number of epithets describing a person’s appearance? Read on!

About yourself, beloved

So you were asked the question:

What do you look? (What do you look like?) Or
How would you describe your physical appearance? (How would you describe your appearance?)

Alas, in a story about your own appearance, it is not customary to describe in detail the expression of the eyes and the shape of the eyebrows, the graceful posture and the spectacular gait. Describe your appearance in general terms, as they say, in broad strokes: hair color, eyes and skin, height and complexion. You can also add a few words about what style of dress you prefer.

Keep in mind that a very similar question is asked during a job interview: How would you describe yourself? It, however, refers to your emotional-strong-willed and business qualities: in response, you must indicate your «strengths», that is, personal and professional characteristics that will help you succeed at work.

Describing a person’s appearance in English

But if you were asked a question:

How does he / she look? (What does he / she look like?) Or
How do they look? (How do they look?),

you can apply a much wider range of definitions (see later in our article).

First (classic):

Pronoun	+ to be	+ sign
(verb in personal form)	(adjective)
I	(I)	am	tall.
He, she	(He she)	is	tall.
You, we, they	(You, you, we, they)	are	tall.

For example:

I am slender.	I’m slim.
She is short.	She is not tall.
He is slightly overweight.	He’s a little overweight.

The second (more typical for the conversational style):

Pronoun	+ to have got	+ sign
(verb in personal form)
I	(I)	have got (abbreviated: ‘ve got)	big blue eyes.
He, she	(He she)	has got (abbreviated: ‘s got)	big blue eyes.
You, we, they	(You, you, we, they)	have got (abbreviated: ‘ve got)	big blue eyes.

For example:

I got red hair (or I’ve got red hair).	I have red hair.
She has got green eyes (or She’s got green eyes).	She has green eyes.
He has got a beer belly (or He’s got a beer belly).	He has a beer belly.

In our article «Names of parts of the human body in English» you will find not only the names of body parts and human organs, but also 10 funny «body» idioms.

Together with the epithets denoting the appearance of a person, you can use the circumstances of the degree (measure) — degree modifiers: rather, quite, enough, pretty — enough, enough, very — very and too — too:

She is rather tall.	It’s pretty high.
He is very strong.	He is very strong.

Sing it, friends! Children’s song about how to describe yourself and your friend:

It turns out that it’s so easy — even children can handle it! And for those who decided to dig deeper:

Characteristics of appearance — words describing the human body

In English, there are a huge number of epithets with which you can describe a person’s appearance.

Next, we give a fairly extensive list of all kinds of characteristics of the human body. Use this vocabulary to expand your vocabulary: it will come in handy not only in oral speech when you need to describe yourself or another person, but also when writing an English essay on the topic «About yourself», «About a friend» or «Appearance of a person.»

Arms — Hands (from shoulder to wrist)

Bony	Bony
lanky, lanky	Skinny
Long	Long
Rounded	Rounded
Shorts	Short
well-shaped	Embossed, well-defined

Bearing — Posture

Bear oneself well

Have good posture

Source: https://skyeng.ru/articles/rasskazhi-mne-o-sebe-opisanie-vneshnosti-cheloveka-na-anglijskom-yazyke

Description of appearance in English: 86 words —

Each of us is a work of art

Today we will learn the description of appearance in English. Often, when we communicate with someone, we describe some objects or people. When communicating in English, it is also important to be able to express your opinion beautifully and competently. The more detailed and colorful you can describe an object or person, the more clearly your interlocutor will be able to present it. Sometimes such details as the shape of the cheeks, nose, lips, smile can tell a lot about a person, making his verbal portrait complete and vivid.

Physical appearance can be

Very often we talk about appearance in general, expressing our opinion about how a person looks: is he attractive, pretty, repulsive. Let’s look at some English words that will help you express your opinion about a person’s appearance.

• Beautiful | ˈbjuːtɪfʊl — beautiful, beautiful.

So they say about a person whose appearance really admires, but if the person is just nice, pleasant-looking, you can use the following words:
nice | naɪs | — cute, cute;

• able | ˈlaɪkəbl | — a person whose appearance disposes to himself; cute;
• Pretty | ˈprɪti | — cute, cute;
• Handsome | ˈhænsəm | — handsome (about a man), stately. It should be borne in mind that in modern English this word is used extremely rarely, more often they say pretty;
• Attractive | əˈtraktɪv | — attractive; and the opposite of this word is Unattractive — unattractive.

And here, by the way, is a very interesting word that is easy to remember:

• La-la — this is how they say about a physically attractive person who, in fact, is still a bastard. That is, impudent, but cute.
• Cute | kjuːt | — pretty;

And there are people from whom it is impossible to look away. At the same time, sometimes you cannot even call them handsome / beauties, but there is something in their appearance that is charming, attractive. Such people can be called:

• Charming | ˈtʃɑːmɪŋ | — charming, bewitching, adorable;

There are also refined people in whom style is felt in everything — in manners and habits; their appearance is harmonious and admirable. We can say about them:

• Exquisite | ˈɛkskwɪzɪt | — refined, sophisticated.

A person can have an ordinary appearance:

• Common | ˈkɒmən | — normal, simple;
• Homely | ˈhəʊmli | — nondescript (but you should be careful with this word, because sometimes it can also mean “ugly”);
• Mediocre | ˌmiːdɪˈəʊkə | — ordinary (one can say both about a person’s appearance and about his personal qualities);
• Plain | pleɪn | — rustic; We believe that there are no ugly people, but it is better to learn words:
• Hideous | ˈhɪdɪəs | — ugly, disgusting;
• Ugly | ˈʌɡli | — ugly.

Facial features in English

Let’s take a look at how you can describe the facial features of a person as a whole.

There are people whose features look very beautiful and harmonious:

• Chiseled | ˈtʃɪzəld | — chiseled;
• Regular | ˈrɛɡjʊlə | — «proper facial features. Of course, there are no wrong ones, but we usually call “correct” facial features — a straight nose, a rounded chin, moderately plump symmetrical lips, etc .;

Also, facial features can be «wrong», but a person can look very beautiful at the same time:

• Irregular | ɪˈrɛɡjʊlə | — wrong;

And there are people who look impressive, usually such people have a strong-willed chin, well-defined cheekbones:

• Forceful | ˈfɔːsfʊl | — strong-willed;

A man or woman may even look stern. For example, if they have thick eyebrows, a protruding chin, grooves at the eyebrows:

Facial features can be large or small:

• Large | lɑːdʒ | — large;
• Small | smɔːl | — small;
• Delicate | ˈdɛlɪkət | — thin, chiseled;

And there are people with very expressive appearance:

• Clean-cut | klinˈkʌt | — well-defined facial features.

Eyebrows and eyelashes

Eyelashes and eyebrows are like frames for the eyes, they add character and expressiveness to the look.

Eyebrows can be:

• Arched | ɑːtʃt | — with a rounded bend, arc;
• Beetling | ˈbiːtlɪŋ | — overhanging;
• Bushy | ˈbʊʃi | — thick;
• Shaggy | ˈʃaɡi | — shaggy;
• Penciled — finely delineated;

Eyelashes:

• Curving | ˈkɝːvɪŋ | — bent;
• Straight | streɪt | — straight lines;
• Thick | θɪk | — thick.

Nose

Interestingly, dissatisfaction with the shape of the nose is one of the most common complexes. At the same time, those who have a beautiful and rather neat nose are often unhappy with their nose. What’s most interesting, people around often do not notice this imaginary flaw at all. Let’s see how in English you can say about the shape of the nose:
Aquiline | ˈakwɪlʌɪn | — Roman nose;

Roman nose — Roman nose (that is, a humped nose);

• Flat | flæt | — flattened;
• Fleshy | ˈflɛʃi | — fleshy;
• Hooked | ˈhʊkt | — hooked;
• Snub | snʌb | — upturned.

Source: https://tryeng.ru/2683

How to make a beautiful and correct description of a person in English?

By Natalia Mar 8, 2019

Describing a person in detail is a rather difficult task to complete even in the native language. Describing physical appearance in English seems like an overwhelming task for learners of this foreign language due to the lack of vocabulary and imagination.

Hair color

The color gamut in English is quite wide and its description does not only consist of basic colors. What adjectives can you use to describe a person’s hair color in English?

Ash blonde	ashy
black	Black
blonde	bright
blond (e)	blond / blonde
brown, chestnut	chestnut
brunette	brunette / brunette
dark	dark
dyed	dyed
fair	fair-haired
golden	golden
gray, silvery	gray-haired
grizzled	gray
jet black	pitch black
red, reddish	redheads
flaxen	straw

Sample sentences:

• Granny’s hair are coming gray… (Grandma’s hair turns gray.)
• I’ve met a girl with flaxen hair. (I met a girl with straw colored hair).
• I can’t forget her jet-black hair… (I can’t forget her jet black hair.)

Male haircuts

Here we will consider basic men’s haircuts and beard options for description in English with equivalents in Russian:

bald head	bald
crew out	«Hedgehog»
flat top
long hair	long hair
receding hair line	bald patches
shaved head	trimmed bald
sideburn	whiskers
spikey	stiff, protruding hair
Beard
beard	beard
clean-shaved	smooth-shaven (about the beard)
dreadlocks	dreadlocks
goatee	goatee
mustache	mustache
stubble	stubble

Examples of descriptions of men’s haircuts in English:

• I think he will soon become bald because he has receding hairline. (It seems to me that he will soon go bald, because he has bald patches).
• My sister’s husband is a very handsome man: he has spiky dark hair and sideburn; he is always clean-shaved because he hates beard and mustache. (My sister’s husband is a very attractive man: he has dark coarse hair and wears sideburns; he is always clean-shaven because he hates a beard and mustache.)

Women’s haircuts and hairstyles

A huge variety of women’s hairstyles and haircuts for descriptions in English are shown in the table below:

bang	bang
bobbed	short cropped
shingled
braids	spit
please
good	bundle
chignon	chignon
cornrows	african braids
curly	curly
forelock	forelock
french braid	french braid
french twist	french knot
layered hair	cascade
perm	perm (chemical)
pigtails	ponytails
pony tail	ponytail
shoulder length	shoulder length hair

Ways to describe women’s haircuts in English:

• Aunt Milly always wears the hair in a bun, although she has shoulder-length hair and she can make beautiful French braids but she doesn’t want. (Aunt Millie wears a bun all the time, although her hair is shoulder-length and she can braid beautiful spikelets, but she doesn’t want to).
• Her daughters are schoolgirls, and they wear pigtails and bangs. (Her daughters are schoolgirls and they love to braid their hair in ponytails and wear bangs.)
• Her dream was to have a perm. (Perm was her dream.)

Teeth

It is difficult to present a description without teeth, because it is the teeth that make a person’s appearance memorable.

In English, the words below are often used:

close set	frequent
Even	even
oneeven	uneven
large	big
small	small
tiny
Sparse	rare
set of teeth	row of teeth
front teeth	front teeth
molar teeth	permanent teeth

Examples of the use of this vocabulary when describing teeth in English:

• Nobody’s yellowish uneven teeth. (No one likes to see yellowish jagged teeth.)
• I have small white teeth. (I have small white teeth).
• I’d rather have large teeth than tiny (I wish I had large teeth rather than small ones.)
• Molly’s teeth were sparse that’s why she didn’t want to smile. (Molly’s teeth were sparse, so she didn’t want to smile.)

Our readers recommend trying 5 free lessons of the «ENGLISH BEFORE AUTOMATION» course with Anastasia Bozhok.

Those who attend even 1 lesson will learn more in more than a few years!

Get 5 Free Lessons Here

No homework. No cramming. No textbooks

From the «ENGLISH TO AUTOMATION» course you:

• Learn to write competent sentences in English without memorizing grammar
• You will learn the secret of a progressive approach, thanks to which you can reduce the development of English from 3 years to 15 weeks
• Will check your answers instantly + get a thorough breakdown of each task
• Download the dictionary in PDF and MP3 formats, learning tables and audio recording of all phrases

You can get 5 lessons for free here

Appearance. English words on the topic «Appearance». List # 1 (for beginners)

These English words will help you learn how to describe appearance in English.  It can be a person or some kind of creature. And colloquial phrases on the topic «Appearance» will help you ask questions and keep the conversation going.

So, we will learn to answer simple questions on this topic, which are divided into two groups and learn to describe a person’s appearance in English:

Description of a person’s appearance in English

If you want to know what does a person look likethen ask the following questions:

1. What does he / she cool ? — How he / she looks?

2. What is his / her appearance? — What is his / her appearance?

3. What do you about her / his appearance? — What do you like about her / his appearance?

You need to answer these questions something like this:

• He is a handsome young man of medium height with short hair and brown eyes.
• She is a tall blonde with long hair and blue eyes.

1. Appearance. Appearance (general impression)

So let’s get familiar with the vocabulary. But first, check yourself.

Task 1. Remember the words on the topic Appearance. Human face.

First we need to learn the words, and then we will learn to make up descriptions of different people. By the way, your vocabulary should increase by 30 words.

Appearance. Appearance. English words for beginners (list number 1)

Verbs:

1. about — like in
   What do you about her?
2. cool — to look like
   What does she look?
3. be — represent yourself
   What is her appearance ?

  Don’t confuse expressions with a verb:

1. — like

2.be — represent yourself

3.look — to look

Adjectives (general impression):

1. nice — cute
2. pretty — pretty
3. beautiful — beautiful (about a woman)
4. handsome — handsome (about a man)
5. good-looking — good-looking
6. plain — simple, unremarkable appearance
7. ugly — unpleasant looking, ugly

To answer, use construction with the verb BE:

I am
She / He is

EXAMPLES: I am good-looking. — I have an attractive appearance. — She’s beautiful.

He is handsome. — He is beautiful.

Source: http://englishinn.ru/appearance-ili-kak-opisat-vneshnost-na-angliyskom-yazyike.html

The person’s appearance and the nature of the exercise in English. Description of appearance in English: examples

You will probably need words and phrases to help you compose description of a person’s appearance in English… We advise you to pay attention not only to vocabulary, but also to examples. After all, they can be an excellent base for creating your own proposals.