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Intermediate · Real-life conversations · topic 32 of 59 · 15 min

Describing people: looks and personality

Explanation

To describe how someone looks, talk about height, build, hair, age and clothes: "She's tall, with short curly hair." To describe their nature, use words like friendly, shy or hard-working. "What does she look like?" asks about looks; "What is she like?" asks about personality. किसी व्यक्ति का रूप और स्वभाव बताना।

You can describe a person in two ways: appearance (रूप-रंग), how they look, and personality (स्वभाव), what kind of person they are. English uses different questions for each, and many learners mix them up.

QuestionIt asks aboutAnswer
What does he look like?appearance (looks)He's tall and thin, with a beard.
What is he like?personality (nature)He's friendly and a bit shy.
What does he like?his likesHe likes cricket and old Hindi songs.
TopicUseful wordsExample
Heighttall, short, medium heightShe is quite tall.
Build (शरीर की बनावट)slim, thin, well-built, a little overweightHe is slim and fit.
Hairlong, short, straight, curly, wavy, grey, baldShe has long curly hair.
Ageyoung, middle-aged, elderly, in his twentiesHe's in his early thirties.
Facea beard, a moustache, glasses, a round face, dimplesHe wears glasses.
Clothesa blue saree, a white shirt and jeans, a kurtaShe was wearing a green kurta.

She's quite tall, with long straight hair.

Say it: sheez KWYT TAWL, with LONG STRAYT HAIR

वह काफ़ी लंबी है, उसके बाल लंबे और सीधे हैं।

Use "with" to add a detail: "a man with a beard", "a girl with glasses".

He's in his forties and wears glasses.

Say it: heez in hiz FOR-teez and WAIRZ GLAA-siz

उसकी उम्र चालीस से पचास के बीच है और वह चश्मा पहनता है।

"In his forties" = aged forty to forty-nine. It is more polite than guessing an exact age.

He has a beard and a moustache.

Say it: hee HAZ a BEERD and a mus-TAASH

उसकी दाढ़ी और मूँछें हैं।

Say "He has a beard", not "He is having a beard".

Personality words

PositiveHindiLess positiveHindi
friendlyमिलनसारshyशर्मीला
outgoingखुले स्वभाव काbossyहुक्म चलाने वाला
hard-workingमेहनतीlazyआलसी
generousदिलदारmoodyजिसका मूड बदलता रहे
patientधैर्य रखने वालाimpatientजल्दबाज़
honest, funny, kindईमानदार, मज़ाकिया, दयालुrudeबदतमीज़

My sister is very outgoing. She can talk to anyone.

Say it: my SIS-ter iz VE-ree OWT-goh-ing. shee kan TAWK to EN-ee-wun

मेरी बहन बहुत खुले स्वभाव की है। वह किसी से भी बात कर लेती है।

He's a bit shy at first, but very kind.

Say it: heez a BIT SHY at FURST, but VE-ree KYND

वह शुरू में थोड़ा शर्मीला है, पर बहुत दयालु है।

"A bit" and "quite" soften a word: "a bit bossy" sounds kinder than "bossy".

What is your new manager like?

Say it: wot iz yor NYOO MAN-i-jer LYK?

तुम्हारा नया मैनेजर कैसा है (स्वभाव से)?

Two or more adjectives

When you use two or more adjectives (विशेषण) before a noun, English likes this order: opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, then the noun. "A beautiful long red silk saree." In everyday speech, two adjectives are usually enough: "a long red dress", "a kind old man".

She was wearing a beautiful red silk saree.

Say it: shee woz WAIR-ing a BYOO-ti-ful RED SILK SAA-ree

उसने एक सुंदर लाल रेशमी साड़ी पहनी थी।

Think of it like this: Describing a person is like telling an auto driver how to find your house: first the big things (the tall building with the blue gate), then the small details (the plant on the balcony). For people: height and build first, then hair and face, then clothes.
Careful: Be kind with body words. "Fat", "ugly", "dwarf" and words about skin colour can hurt. Say "a little overweight" or "well-built", or describe hair, height and clothes instead. Also, in some Indian homes "healthy" is a polite word for plump; abroad "healthy" only means "not ill", so it can confuse people.
Careful: Grammar mistakes: "She is having long hair" (say "She has long hair"), "He is looking like his father" (say "He looks like his father"), "What is she look like?" (say "What does she look like?").
Tip: At a bus stop or from a window, quietly describe three people in English: one sentence about their looks and one guess about their personality.

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Describing people: looks and personality · 1/7

Describing people

Hello! Today we learn to describe people: how they look and what they are like.

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In real life: At a cousin's wedding

Aunty: Neha, can you go and find your cousin Kabir? I need him in the kitchen. Neha: Sure, but I haven't seen him in five years. What does he look like now? Aunty: He's quite tall and slim, with short curly hair and glasses. Neha: What is he wearing today? Aunty: A cream kurta and a maroon jacket. He's probably near the stage. Neha: And what is he like? I'm a bit nervous about talking to him. Aunty: Don't worry, he's very friendly and funny. A little shy at first, that's all. Neha: Okay, I see him! The tall man with glasses, next to the stage? Aunty: Yes, that's him.

Practice (0/4 done)

Task 1 · Speak

Describe a friend aloud.

My best friend is tall and slim, and she is very friendly and hard-working.

मेरी सबसे अच्छी दोस्त लंबी और दुबली है, और वह बहुत मिलनसार और मेहनती है।

Press Speak, then say the sentence.
Task 2 · Listen and type

Listen and type the description.

Task 3 · Practice

Describe a family member or friend in six sentences: three about appearance and three about personality.

Task 4 · Question

Which is correct?

Quick quiz

Question 1

1."What does your brother look like?" The best answer is...

Question 2

2.Which word describes a person who always tells others what to do?

Question 3

3.Which is in the natural order?

Question 4

4."He's in his twenties" means he is...

Question 5

5.To international listeners, "She looks healthy" usually means...

Open a question to see the answer and why. The first ones are this topic's own quiz, so try the quiz above before you peek.

"What does your brother look like?" The best answer is...

Answer: He's tall and thin, with a beard.

"Look like" asks about appearance: height, build, hair, face.

Which word describes a person who always tells others what to do?

Answer: bossy

Bossy = likes to give orders (हुक्म चलाने वाला).

Which is in the natural order?

Answer: a white cotton shirt

Colour comes before material, and both come before the noun: a white cotton shirt.

"He's in his twenties" means he is...

Answer: between twenty and twenty-nine

"In his twenties" = aged 20 to 29.

To international listeners, "She looks healthy" usually means...

Answer: she looks well and not ill

Abroad, "healthy" means in good health. Avoid using it as a polite word for "fat".

Complete: "My brother ___ a new job."Related

Answer: has

"My brother" = he, so "has".

From Have and has; this, that; my and your

Complete: "She ___ me that the shop was closed."Related

Answer: told

"Tell" takes a person (told me). "Said me" is wrong.

From Reported speech: he said that...

What is wrong in "She very smart"?Related

Answer: The verb "is" is missing

English needs the verb: "She is very smart."

From I am, you are, he is: the verb "be"

What is the he-form of "study"?Related

Answer: studies

Consonant + y → ies: studies.

From Simple present: habits and facts

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Next steps

  1. 2 more topics in “Real-life conversations” before its exam: Describing places and things, Feelings and opinions.
  2. Module 8 exam: real-life conversations · 15 questions · 20 min, without help. 5 topics of this module still to finish first.
  3. Then the next module, Grammar for real talk. 59 topics left in the course before the final exam.

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