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Personal descriptions

Part of FrenchTopics

Describing people鈥檚 height

To describe people鈥檚 size, use a form of 锚迟谤别 (to be) and then the adjective, which usually 鈥巆hanges its ending depending on whether the person is masculine or feminine.鈥

  • je suis - I am

  • il/elle est - he/she is

  • grand (e) - tall

  • petit (e) - small

  • de taille moyenne - average height

  • 补蝉蝉别锄/迟谤猫蝉 - quite/very

Example

  • Ma m猫re est assez grande - My mum is quite tall.

You can use intensifiers (words that add 鈥榝orce鈥 to an adjective) such as 鈥迟谤猫蝉 (very) and assez (quite) to add more information.鈥

  • Je suis 迟谤猫蝉 grand(e) - I am very 迟补濒濒.鈥
  • Mon grand-p猫re est assez petit - My grandfather is quite 蝉丑辞谤迟.鈥

Comparing people鈥檚 heights

To compare two people, use the following sentence structure:鈥

Person one + a form of 锚迟谤别 (to be)鈥more / less + adjective迟丑补苍/补蝉鈥person two鈥
Je suis (I am)plus grand(e)鈥 鈥(迟补濒濒别谤)鈥que 鈥(迟丑补苍)鈥mon fr猫re (my brother)鈥
Ma s艙ur est (My sister is)moins grande 鈥庘(less tall / not as tall)鈥que 鈥(迟丑补苍/补蝉鈥庘)鈥ma m猫re (my mum)鈥

Describing hair

To talk about your hair, use a form of avoir (to have), followed by les cheveux (hair) and 鈥巘hen give the colour or another adjective to describe your hair.

  • J鈥檃i les cheveux bruns - I have brown hair.鈥
  • Il a les cheveux bruns et 蹿谤颈蝉茅蝉 - He has brown, curly hair. 鈥

If you want to use more than one adjective to describe your hair, use et before the last 鈥巃djective:鈥

  • J鈥檃i les cheveux blonds, longs et 产辞耻肠濒茅蝉 - I have long, blond, wavy hair.鈥

The adjectives all need to have an 鈥s鈥 on the end, as les cheveux is masculine and plural, 鈥巈xcept roux and gris, as they don鈥檛 change when masculine and plural.鈥

French贰苍驳濒颈蝉丑鈥
j'ai les cheveux 鈥鈥嶪 have 鈥 hair
il / elle a les cheveux 鈥︹he / she has 鈥 hair
brunsbrown
noirsblack
rouxred / ginger
blondsblond
grisgrey
longslong
courtsshort
raidesstraight
产辞耻肠濒茅蝉wavy
蹿谤颈蝉茅蝉curly
Il a les cheveux bruns et 蹿谤颈蝉茅蝉

Describing eye colour

To talk about eye colour, use 箩鈥檃颈 (I have) or il a/elle a (he has/she has), followed by les 鈥巠eux (eyes) and then give the colour.鈥

The adjectives all need to have an 鈥s鈥 on the end, as les yeux is masculine and plural, 鈥巈xcept marron, noisette and gris, as they don鈥檛 change when used in the masculine and 鈥巔lural.鈥

  • J鈥檃i les yeux verts - I have green eyes.鈥
  • J鈥檃i les yeux marron - I have brown eyes.鈥
FrenchEnglish
箩鈥檃颈 les yeux 鈥︹ I have 鈥 eyes
il / elle a les yeux 鈥︹he / she has 鈥 eyes
bleusblue
marronbrown
vertsgreen
grisgrey
noisettehazel

Other features

Here are some extra features that you can talk about:

More features - vocabulary list

Describing clothes

Here is a list of key vocabulary on clothing:

Clothing - vocabulary list

Describing personalities

There are lots of adjectives you can use to talk about people鈥檚 personalities.

To describe someone, remember to use the correct part of verb 锚迟谤别. Some adjectives change their spellings to describe someone female. Usually, you add an 鈥e鈥 to the adjective to describe a female person.Remember to add 's' for plurals.

  • Mes grands-m猫res sont bavardes - My grandmothers are chatty.

Here are some great adjectives you can use to describe people鈥檚 personalities:鈥

MasculineFeminineEnglish
amusantamusantefunny / fun
bavardbavardechatty
颈苍迟茅谤别蝉蝉补苍迟颈苍迟茅谤别蝉蝉补苍迟einteresting
strictstrictestrict
sportifsportivesporty
肠谤茅补迟颈蹿肠谤茅补迟颈vecreative
travailleurtravailleusehard-working
paresseuxparesseuselazy
ennuyeuxennuyeuseboring
gentilgentillekind
sympasympanice
诲谤么濒别诲谤么濒别funny
timidetimideshy

Quiz

Watch the video and find out how much you know about describing people in French in this short quiz.鈥

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