Topic in English description of appearance. Description of a person’s appearance in English: stable expressions as the key to success

Hello! Very often, when we are asked to describe ourselves or another person in English, we limit ourselves to a verbal depiction of appearance. Meanwhile, a person is a versatile personality, with his own character traits and other characterizing features. Without using these words, you cannot tell anything about a person as an individual. Describing a person in English

In the vast majority of cases, in order to talk about a person, we use characterizing adjectives. In this article, I tried to collect the most popular adjectives that can be used to describe a man or girl as an individual. For this purpose, you can use words that are part of the following categories:

1. Character traits:

• Personality traits
• Mental capacity
• Strong-willed qualities
• Attitude towards other people, towards property, towards work

Let's look at all these categories separately.
Dictionary for describing appearance in English Adjectives characterizing a person in English

When talking about appearance, we describe height, age, voice, clothing. For example, growth can be high ( tall), short ( short) or average ( medium), and age - elderly or old ( old), middle-aged ( middle-aged) and young ( young). Speaking about the voice, you can indicate that it is hoarse (cracked), voiced ( crisp) or melodic ( tuneful).

A smile can be charming ( engaging), charming ( charming) and sincere ( sincere) or vice versa, cunning ( cunning), played out ( forced) and insincere ( artificial). You also need to express your own opinion about what a person looks like using the following adjectives:

• winsome - attractive
• agreeable - pleasant
• stylish - fashionable
• dapper - neat (only about men),
• lovely-looking - delightful
• awkward - clumsy
• untidy-looking - sloppy

Adjectives about character traits

Describing a personality in English involves talking about character traits, habits and preferences. Sides of character can be both positive (intelligent, optimistic, extroverted) and negative (stupid, pessimistic, introverted). And sometimes the same feature, depending on intonation and context, can be both positive and negative (determined, thrifty, obstinate).

When characterizing an individual, do not forget to clarify why you call him that. For example, when you say that a girl is hardworking, explain why you think so:

Any is very hard-working. It can work all day without any break at all. I really admire the way it studies and works. (Annie is a very hard worker. She can work all day without a break. I actually admire the way she studies and works).

Table of characterizing adjectives

The criteria that make up a person’s character are also varied. For ease of memorization and pronunciation, I have placed them in a compact table with translation and transcription. This will make it easier for you to navigate the criteria and remember the characterizing adjectives.

Topic: My Appearance

Topic: My appearance

A well-known proverb says that first impressions are half the battle. It means that when we see a person for the first time, we always estimate his or her appearance and clothes, and then manners and character. And only after we spend much time together with this person, we begin to understand his inner world, his real thoughts and feelings. That is why I think, those who say that appearance doesn’t matter at all, are slightly sincere. Of course, height and weight are not the most crucial things on Earth, but sometimes they really matter. For example, when you are applying for a prestigious job, your appearance may play a decisive role.

A well-known proverb says that people are greeted by their clothes. This means that when we see a person for the first time, we always evaluate his appearance and clothing, and only then his manners and character. And only after we spend a long time with this person, we begin to understand his inner world, his real thoughts and feelings. Therefore, I believe that those who say that appearance does not matter at all are not entirely sincere. Of course, height and weight are not the most important things in the world, but sometimes they do matter. For example, when you apply for a prestigious job, appearance can play a decisive role.

As for my appearance, I consider myself to be neither ugly nor exceptionally beautiful. To my mind, I look quite ordinary, though my friends often say I am good-looking. But first of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Maria, and I am a second-year university student. I am twenty years old. I am quite short in height – just 162 centimeters. I wouldn’t say that I am too thin: my weight is about 57 kilograms. But personally, I think that my body is nice, and I don’t want to be skinny.

As for my appearance, I do not consider myself either ugly or exceptionally beautiful. In my opinion, I look quite ordinary, although my friends often say that I am pretty. But first of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Maria, I am a second year university student. I am twenty years old. I am quite short - only 162 centimeters. I can’t say that I’m thin – my weight is about 57 kilograms. But personally, I think I have a nice figure and I don't want to be skinny.

Original color of my hair is brown, but some time ago I decided to become a blonde. My good friend is a hairdresser. She advised me hair highlighting. She lightened separate strands of my hair, and then toned them to make the color more level. Now I am almost a platinum blonde. I am a sun-seeker, so my skin is always slightly tinted. It matches fair hair and brown eyes very well. My friends consider that with my new hair color I became much brighter and prettier.

My natural hair color is dark brown, however, some time ago I decided to go blonde. My good friend is a hairdresser. She offered me highlights. She lightened individual sections of my hair and then toned them to make the color more even. Now I'm almost platinum blonde. I love sunbathing, so my skin is always a little dark. It goes very well with blonde hair and brown eyes. Friends say that with the updated hair color I have become much brighter and prettier.

As for my facial features, I look more like my mother than father. I have a round face, plush lips, brown eyes and long lashes. Now my hair is straight, but when I was a little girl, it was a little wavy like my father’s. What I don’t like about myself is freckles! Every spring they outbreak on my cheeks, and I have to hide them with the help of tinting cream.

If we talk about facial features, I look more like my mother than my father. I have a round face, full lips, brown eyes and long eyelashes. Now my hair is straight, but when I was little it had a little curl, like my father's. What I don't like about myself are freckles! Every spring they break out on my cheeks and I have to hide them with foundation.

Also I want to say a couple of words about my favorite clothes. As I am not very tall, I like to wear high-heeled shoes. My legs are slender enough, so, I can afford mini skirts and short dresses. Of course, like twenty any-year-old girl, I have my favorite and comfortable jeans that are perfectly combined with a lot of things – from check shirts and sweaters to elegant tops and blouses. I prefer warm colors, such as yellow, red, olive, but I dislike violet and green shades.

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

The classic form of describing a person in English

I am slender. I'm slim.

She is short. She is not tall.

He is slightly overweight. He's a little plump.

More typical form for conversational style

Talking about human hair in English

With hair length, as in Russian, everything is simple. Long hair - long, short hair - short. Everything that is between these two options can be said to be medium length. In addition, there is an expression for the option “shoulder-length hair” - shoulder length. Zero length, that is, bald, is bald.

He has short-haired. He has short-cropped hair.

She has straight medium length hair. Her hair is brown. She has straight, medium length hair. She's brown-haired.

She has shoulder length curly hair. Her hair color is fair. She has medium length wavy hair. Her hair color is light.

She has short dark hair. She has short dark hair.

She has long wavy red hair. She has long wavy red hair.

Please note: when writing a description of a person's appearance in English, we can also mention what kind of hairstyle he/she wears. As in the story about clothes, you can use the verb wear.

She wears her hair in a ponytail. She wears her hair in a ponytail.

Hair shape in English

Straight - straight, the same word as in straight ahead - go straight and don’t turn anywhere. Curly (they can also be called wavy - this is what their English name sounds like) - wavy. Curly (those with rings) - curly, this word is related to the original and already Olympic sport - curling (curling). To win in curling, you need to send a special stone “in an arc”, as if to “curl” its path.

Naturally curly hair is a rarity. Naturally curly hair is rare.

Hair color in English

Hair colors in English are a little more complicated. For dark ones, everything is the same as in Russian: black - black, dark - dark. And for blond hair there are special words: fair hair, or blond hair, i.e. literally "blond". “Blonde” in English will be almost the same, with one more e at the end of the word: blonde.

It is great to be a blonde. With low expectations it’s very easy to surprise people. (Pamela Anderson) It's great to be blonde. With low expectations it is very easy to surprise people.

Redheads, don’t be surprised, in English have red hair, i.e. red hair. And “redhead” in the sense of a noun, “a girl with red hair” – redhead, i.e. literally "red head".

Red hair, sir, in my opinion, is dangerous. I love redheads. It’s not the hair color, it’s the crazy. Red hair, sir, is dangerous in my opinion. I love redheads. It's not about the hair color, it's about the craziness.

Gray hair in English is “gray” or “white”, i.e. gray hair or white hair. For a graying person who has both gray and dark hair on his head, there is a curious expression - salt and pepper.

Gray hair is god's graffiti. (Bill Cosby) Gray hair is God's graffiti. (Bill Cosby)

Adjective order

Please note that you need to describe a person’s hair in exactly this order - first the length, then the shape and finally the color. The English language likes to place adjectives in a certain logical order, and this is how this order appears in the description of hair.

She has long straight black hair. She has long straight black hair.

Description of human eyes in English

Eye shape

• Almond - almond-shaped.
• Round - round.
• Asian/upturned – Asian (raised corners).
• Downturned – lowered corners.
• Close-set – widely planted.
• Wide-set – closely planted.
• Hooded – with drooping eyelids.
• Deep-set - deeply planted.
• Protruding - convex.

When writing a description of appearance in English, we can also mention eyelashes (eyelashes) and eyebrows (eyebrows), which can be long (long), short (short), thick (thick), sparse (thin) and rounded (curved).

About eyebrows (eyebrows) we can say that they have the shape of a soft angle (soft angled), a sharp angle (hard angled), be rounded (round curved) or straight (flat).

Eye color

• Black eyes - Black eyes.
• Gray eyes – Gray eyes.
• Brown eyes – Brown eyes.
• Blue eyes - Blue eyes.
• Green eyes - Green eyes.
• Hazel eyes – Brown eyes.

Let's talk about other equally important aspects in describing a person

Face shape in English

Characteristics of human skin in English

Human figure in English

About human fingers in English

Human forehead in English

Human gait in English

Appearance (in general) of a person in English

All about human hands in English

Everything about the human head and neck in English

Characteristics of the human jaw in English

About human legs in English

Description of human lips

Moles, wrinkles, scars, etc.

Description of a person's mouth in English

Description of a human nose in English

Shoulders - Shoulders

Stature, height & shape - Height, height and shape

Teeth - Teeth

Weight and Height - Body weight and height of a person

Body mass:

1 pound (lb.) = 0.4536 kilograms (kg)

Alex is pale-skinned. His hair is red. It is of medium length, curly and very thick. He has got a handsome roundish face. His forehead is quite low; he has got thick eyebrows. Alex has got bright green almond-shaped eyes. His nose is not very big and it is a little snub. He has got small ears. His lips are neither full nor thin. He is usually clean-shaven and wears a neat small beard on his chin. As many people with red hair, Alex has got freckles on his face. He also has got a small scar on his forehead.

Alex usually wears casual or sport clothes. He likes wearing jeans very much. He prefers wide blue jeans. He enjoys wearing sports shoes too. He often chooses clothes of brown, green or blue colors. These colors suit him very well.

You will probably need words and phrases that will 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 basis for creating your own proposals.

Words to describe a person's appearance in English

Let's start with the most common words for describing a person's appearance in English. If your friend looks great, then you can please her with the following lexical units: beautiful (handsome), pretty (handsome), wonderful (wonderful), attractive (attractive), gorgeous (spectacular), good-looking (attractive). In order to emphasize that a man looks good and not a woman, they usually use handsome (handsome). Also, you can use good-looking And attractive. What if you suddenly need to emphasize the opposite? Remember ugly (ugly, ugly) And unsightly (unsightly).

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

1. Height

tall (high), short (low), quite tall (quite tall), medium height (average height)

2. Figure

slim (slender), fat (thick), skinny (skinny), thin (thin), plump (full, plump)

3. Age

young (young), old (old), middle-aged (middle-aged)

4. Face

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

5. Hair

long (long), short (short), curly (curly), bald (bald), straight (straight), untidy (unkempt), haircut (haircut), hairdo (women's hairstyle)

6. Hair color

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

How to describe a person's appearance in English?

Let us now turn our attention to examples of How 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 quite attractive. The guy is of average height. He looks tired. He has short brown hair. Oval face. The nose is turned up. The young man is thin. He is neatly dressed. He is wearing jeans, a shirt, a T-shirt and sneakers.

Today we will learn how to describe 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 imagine it. Sometimes details such as the shape of the cheeks, nose, lips, and smile can tell a lot about a person, making his verbal portrait complete and vivid.

Physical appearance may be

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

• Beautiful |ˈbjuːtɪfʊl – beautiful, wonderful.

This is what they say about a person whose appearance is truly admirable, but if the person is simply handsome, pleasant to look at, you can use the following words:
nice |naɪs| - pretty, cute;

• Likeable |ˈlaɪkəbl| - a person whose appearance is attractive; cute;
• Pretty |ˈprɪti| - cute, pretty;
• Handsome |ˈhænsəm| - handsome (about a man), stately. It is worth considering that in modern English this word is used extremely rarely; more often they say pretty;
• Attractive |əˈtraktɪv| - attractive; and the antonym to this word is Unattractive - unattractive.

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

• La-la - this is what they say about a physically attractive person who is actually a bastard. That is, arrogant, but cute.
• Cute |kjuːt| - pretty;

And there are people from whom it is impossible to take your eyes off. At the same time, sometimes you can’t even call them handsome/beauties, but there is something charming and attractive in their appearance. Such people can be called:

• Charming |ˈtʃɑːmɪŋ| - charming, bewitching, charming;

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

• Exquisite |ˈɛkskwɪzɪt| - refined, sophisticated.

A person may have an ordinary appearance:

• Common |ˈkɒmən| - ordinary, simple;
• Homely |ˈhəʊmli| - unattractive (but you should be careful with this word, since sometimes it can mean “ugly”);
• Mediocre |ˌmiːdɪˈəʊkə| - ordinary (you 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’s better to learn the words:
• Hideous |ˈhɪdɪəs| - ugly, disgusting;
• Ugly |ˈʌɡli| - ugly.

Facial features in English

Let's look at how we can describe a person's facial features in general.

There are people whose features look very beautiful and harmonious:

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

Also, facial features may be “wrong”, but a person can still look very beautiful:

• Irregular |ɪˈrɛɡjʊlə| - incorrect;

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

• Forceful |ˈfɔːsfʊl| - strong-willed;

The man or woman may even look stern. For example, if they have thick eyebrows, a protruding chin, or furrowed eyebrows:

• Stern |stəːn| - harsh;

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| - clearly defined facial features.

Eyes

Eyes are the first thing we pay attention to when we look at a person. They and the way a person looks tell us a lot, it’s not for nothing that they say that the eyes are the mirror of the soul.

It's amazing what a huge variety of eye colors there are. At first glance, it may only seem that a person’s eyes are simply blue or brown, but in fact, if you look closely, there are many shades of blue, green, brown, etc. What’s even more surprising: eye color can change with the change of season, day and night, mood, age, and many other factors affect how our eye color changes.

We suggest considering the name of the basic colors in English:

• Blue |bluː| - blue, azure, bluish; Blue-eyed - blue-eyed, but if you say
• blue-eyed boy - this will mean “favorite”, one who is pampered;
• Brown |braʊn| - brown;

But if the eyes are completely dark, almost black, they are called Dark |dɑːk|;
And there are people who have a very beautiful warm eye color, reminiscent of amber:

• Amber |ˈambə| - amber;

And there are eyes of a beautiful brown color, a velvety shade, this color is called:

• Hazel |ˈheɪzl| - light brown, brown with a slight reddish tint;

It is interesting that, despite the fact that gray seems to us to be a completely common eye color, people with pure gray eyes are rare. Most often, people have gray-blue, gray-green, etc. eyes.

• Gray |ɡreɪ| - gray;

Pure green eye color is also rare:

• Green |ɡriːn| - green.

Now let's look at what eye shape might be:

• Close-set |kləʊs set | - close-set;
• Sunken |ˈsʌŋkən| - sunken;
• Pursy eyes |ˈpɝːsi| - eyes with squinting;
• Bulging |ˈbʌldʒɪŋ| - convex eyes;
• Almond-shaped |ˈɑːməndʃeɪpt| - almond-shaped;
• Beady |ˈbiːdi| - small, shiny eyes, we usually call them “beady eyes”;
• Puffy |ˈpʌfi| - swollen;

There are people in whose eyes one can read indomitable vital energy and enthusiasm, such eyes can be called:

• Lively |ˈlʌɪvli| - “live”, cheerful;

Naturally, a person laughs or pretends to be funny, which can be determined by the wrinkles around the eyes:

• Crinkly |ˈkrɪŋkli| - with small wrinkles;

And if a person leads an unhealthy lifestyle or simply does not get enough sleep, his eyes may be:

• Baggy |ˈbaɡi| - with bags;
• Red-rimmed - reddened, inflamed.

Eyebrows and eyelashes

Eyelashes and eyebrows are like a frame 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 defined;

Eyelashes:

• Curving |ˈkɝːvɪŋ| - curved;
• Straight |strɪt| - straight;
• 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 dissatisfied with their nose. What is most interesting is that those around you often do not notice this imaginary flaw at all. Let's look at how you can talk about the shape of your nose in English:
Aquiline |ˈakwɪlʌɪn| - Roman nose;

Roman nose - Roman nose (that is, a nose with a hump);

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

Lips

Lips can be described in the following words:

• Full |fʊl| - full;
• Composed |kəmˈpəʊzd| - compressed;
• Sanguine |ˈsaŋɡwɪn| - although this adjective usually means cheerful, sanguine, when it comes to lips, it means red, scarlet lips.
• Purse one’s lips – fold your lips into a bow;
  Parted |ˈpɑːtɪd| - half-open;
• Thin |θɪn| - thin;
• Parched |pɑːtʃt| - weathered, dry.

Cheeks

Cheeks (cheeks) can be cute, plump, or, on the contrary, sunken, giving the face a certain asceticism or severity

• Chubby |ˈtʃʌbi| / plump |plʌmp| - plump;
• Hollow |ˈhɒləʊ| / sunken |ˈsʌŋkən| - sunken;
• Ruddy |ˈrʌdi| - ruddy;
• Stubby |ˈstʌbi| / unshaven |ˌʌnˈʃeɪvn| - unshaven.

Chin

Chin (chin) in English can be described with the following words:

• Massive |ˈmasɪv| - heavy;
• Double |ˈdʌbl| - double;
• Pointed |ˈpɔɪntɪd| - pointed;
• Protruding |proˈtruːdɪŋ| - prominent, or as we say “outstanding”;
• Round |raʊnd| - soft, rounded chin.

Forehead

• Broad |brɔːd| - wide;
• Retreating |rɪˈtriːtɪŋ| - sloping;
• Tall |tɔːl| - high;
• Low |ləʊ| - short;
• Doomed |duːmd| - convex.

Hair

• Abundant |əˈbʌndənt| / thick - thick;
• Bald |bɔːld| / bald-headed - bald;
• Crisp |krɪsp| /wavy |ˈweɪvi| - curly, wavy;
• Curly |ˈkəːli| - curly;
• Disheveled |ˌdɪˈʃevəld| - disheveled, disheveled;
• Land |lænd| /straight |strɪt| - straight;
• Luxuriant |lʌɡˈʒʊərɪənt| - lush;
• Scanty |ˈskanti| /thin |θɪn| - rare, thin.

Hair color can be:

• Ash-blonde – ash blonde, light brown;
• Auburn |ˈɔːbən| - reddish-chestnut;
• Blond |blɒnd| - light, blond;
• Fair |feə| - light brown (light shade);
• Brown |braʊn| - chestnut;
• Dark |dɑːrk| - dark.

These words are useful to know to describe appearance in English. For training and quick memorization, try to make a verbal portrait of your friend or acquaintance. And you can find words that will help describe the character in this article:.