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Les descriptions
Setting up an online dating profile, talking to friends about someone you met, bragging about a new baby, and telling the police about a suspect have one thing in common: physical descriptions. Learn all the French vocabulary you need to describe the most common physical characteristics.
Asking for a description
To ask what a person looks like, you need the verb être (to be):
| What does he look like? | Comment est-il ? | |
| What does she look like? | Comment est-elle ? |
Giving a description
When describing someone, the verb you need depends on which characteristic you’re talking about. General characteristics need être.
| He / She is… | Il est… | Elle est… |
| athletic | athlétique | athlétique |
| bald | chauve | chauve |
| balding | dégarni | dégarnie |
| beautiful | belle | |
| fat | gros | grosse |
| handsome | beau, joli | |
| pretty | jolie | |
| short | petit | petite |
| skinny | maigre | maigre |
| tall | grand | grande |
| thin | mince | mince |
| ugly | moche, laid | moche, laide |
| weak | faible | faible |
| He / She is… | Il est… | Elle est… |
| black | noir black (informal) |
noire black |
| dark-skinned | brun (de peau) à peau brune |
brune (de peau) à peau brune |
| fair-skinned | à peau claire | à peau claire |
| pale | pâle | pâle |
| ruddy, florid | rougeaud | rougeaude |
| tanned | bronzé | bronzée |
| white | blanc | blanche |
When describing a specific part of the body, you need the verb avoir (to have).
| He / She has… | Il / Elle a… | ||
| blue | eyes | les yeux | bleus |
| brown | bruns | ||
| green | verts | ||
| hazel | noisette | ||
| black | hair | les cheveux | noirs |
| blond | blonds | ||
| brown | châtains, bruns | ||
| gray | gris | ||
| red | roux | ||
| long | longs | ||
| short | courts | ||
| straight | raides | ||
| wavy | ondulés | ||
| curly | bouclés | ||
| a beard | une barbe | ||
| dimples | des fossettes | ||
| freckles | des taches de rousseur | ||
| a mustache | une moustache | ||
| a scar | une cicatrice | ||
| a tattoo | un tatouage | ||
| wrinkles | des rides | ||
Related lessons
French lesson plans
- Describe and compare (Lesson, 8th-9th grade)
- Guess who? (Worksheet, K-2nd grade)
En español
In italiano
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