大象传媒

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

  • Mon p猫re est grand - My dad is 迟补濒濒.鈥
  • Ma m猫re est grande - My mum is 迟补濒濒.鈥
  • Ma s艙ur est de taille moyenne - My sister is medium height.鈥
  • Mon demi-fr猫re est petit - My step-brother is 蝉丑辞谤迟.鈥
  • Ma grand-m猫re est petite - My grandmother is 蝉丑辞谤迟.鈥
Image gallerySkip image gallerySlide 1 of 5, A father stands behind his shorter son, Mon p猫re est grand

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

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

Describing other features

There are lots of other things you can say about someone鈥檚 appearance. Here are a few 鈥巑ore examples:鈥

FrenchEnglish
箩鈥檃颈 des taches de rousseurI have freckles
je porte des lunettesI wear glasses
je porte le hijab / je porte le voileI wear a hijab / headscarf鈥
je porte un turbanI wear a turban
il a une barbehe has a beard
il a une moustachehe has a moustache
il est chauvehe is bald

Describing personalities

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

Most adjective endings change depending on whether the person you are talking about is 鈥巑ale or female. 鈥嶶sually, you add an 鈥e鈥 to the adjective to describe a female person: 鈥

  • Mon copain, qui s鈥檃ppelle Nabil, est amusant et 迟谤猫蝉 bavard - My (male) friend, 鈥嶯abil, is funny and very chatty.鈥
  • Ma copine, qui s鈥檃ppelle Anya, est amusante et 迟谤猫蝉 bavarde - My (female) friend, 鈥嶢nya is funny and very chatty.鈥

Sometimes, you need to change the last consonant and add an 鈥e鈥 to make an adjective 鈥巉eminine. With some adjectives, you have to double the consonant and add an 鈥e鈥.鈥

  • Mon copain, qui s鈥檃ppelle Nabil, est gentil et 迟谤猫蝉 sportif - My (male) friend, Nabil, 鈥巌s kind and very sporty.鈥
  • Ma copine, qui s鈥檃ppelle Anya, est gentille et 迟谤猫蝉 sportive - My (female) friend, 鈥嶢nya is kind and very sporty.鈥

Some adjectives don鈥檛 change when they are feminine.鈥

  • Mon copain, qui s鈥檃ppelle Nabil, est sympa et 迟谤猫蝉 诲谤么濒别 - My (male) friend, Nabil, 鈥巌s nice and very funny.鈥
  • Ma copine, qui s鈥檃ppelle Anya, est sympa 迟谤猫蝉 诲谤么濒别 - My (female) friend, Anya is 鈥巒ice and very funny.鈥

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

Quiz

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

Game - FestiLingo: French. game

Visit the festival and practise French language skills in this game

Game - FestiLingo: French