Describing Appearance in English: Words, Examples and Quiz
Tall or short, slim or well-built, with long curly hair or a short gray beard: the words you need to describe what people look like, politely and naturally, with pronunciation, Turkish translations and real example sentences.
48 words · By LearnLingo Team · Updated
Tap to hear a word. Pronunciation is American English. Levels follow the CEFR scale. Turkish translations are given as a quick check.
Height and build
Build means the size and shape of someone's body. Some words are kind and some can sound rude, so choose carefully: slim is a compliment, thin is neutral, and skinny can sound negative.
| Word | Meaning and example | Turkish |
|---|---|---|
tall ⁄tɔːl⁄ · adjective A1 | higher than most people My brother is very tall. He's almost two meters. | uzun boylu |
short ⁄ʃɔːrt⁄ · adjective A1 | not as tall as most people She's short, so she always sits at the front. | kısa boylu |
medium height ⁄ˌmiːdiəm ˈhaɪt⁄ · phrase A2 | not tall and not short The man was of medium height, with short gray hair. | orta boylu |
slim ⁄slɪm⁄ · adjective A2 | thin in a nice, healthy way Her sister is tall and slim. | ince, zayıf (olumlu) |
thin ⁄θɪn⁄ · adjective A1 | with little fat on the body He looks thin after his illness. | zayıf |
skinny ⁄ˈskɪni⁄ · adjective B1 | very thin, often too thin; informal I was a skinny kid with big glasses. | sıska, çok zayıf |
overweight ⁄ˌoʊvɚˈweɪt⁄ · adjective B1 | heavier than is healthy; a more polite word than fat The doctor said he was a little overweight. | kilolu, fazla kilolu |
well-built ⁄ˌwel ˈbɪlt⁄ · adjective B1 | big and strong in a good way, usually said about men The security guard was tall and well-built. | iri yapılı, güçlü kuvvetli |
muscular ⁄ˈmʌskjəlɚ⁄ · adjective B1 | with big, strong muscles He goes to the gym every day, so he's very muscular. | kaslı |
Hair and facial hair
Hair is uncountable when it means all the hair on your head: Her hair is long, not her hairs are long. Use the order length, style, color: short curly brown hair, long straight blond hair.
| Word | Meaning and example | Turkish |
|---|---|---|
straight ⁄streɪt⁄ · adjective A2 | (of hair) with no curls or waves She has long straight hair. | düz |
wavy ⁄ˈweɪvi⁄ · adjective B1 | (of hair) with soft curves, between straight and curly His hair is dark and a little wavy. | dalgalı |
curly ⁄ˈkɝːli⁄ · adjective A2 | (of hair) with many small round shapes The baby has lovely curly hair. | kıvırcık |
shoulder-length ⁄ˈʃoʊldɚ ˌleŋθ⁄ · adjective B1 | (of hair) long enough to reach your shoulders My mom has shoulder-length brown hair. | omuz hizasında |
blond ⁄blɑːnd⁄ · adjective A2 | (of hair) yellow or very light in color; British English often writes blonde for women Both children have blond hair and blue eyes. | sarı saçlı, sarışın |
dark ⁄dɑːrk⁄ · adjective A1 | (of hair, eyes or skin) black or deep brown He has dark hair and dark eyes. | koyu renk, esmer |
fair ⁄fer⁄ · adjective B1 | (of hair or skin) light in color People with fair skin need to be careful in the sun. | açık renk; beyaz tenli |
ginger ⁄ˈdʒɪndʒɚ⁄ · adjective B1 | (of hair) orange-brown; common in British English, American English often says red Our new neighbor has ginger hair and freckles. | kızıl |
gray ⁄ɡreɪ⁄ · adjective A1 | (of hair) white and black mixed, as many people's hair becomes with age; British spelling grey My dad's hair is going gray. | kır, gri |
bald ⁄bɔːld⁄ · adjective B1 | with little or no hair on the head My grandfather is bald, but he has a big white mustache. | kel |
ponytail ⁄ˈpoʊniteɪl⁄ · noun B1 | long hair tied together at the back of the head She usually wears her hair in a ponytail at work. | at kuyruğu |
beard ⁄bɪrd⁄ · noun A2 | hair that grows on a man's chin and cheeks My uncle has a long gray beard. | sakal |
mustache ⁄ˈmʌstæʃ⁄ · noun B1 | hair that grows above a man's top lip; British spelling moustache The man with the mustache is our teacher. | bıyık |
Face, skin and special features
These details help people recognize someone. With most of them we use have: She has freckles. He has a scar on his chin. With glasses, we say wear: He wears glasses.
| Word | Meaning and example | Turkish |
|---|---|---|
glasses ⁄ˈɡlæsɪz⁄ · noun A1 | two pieces of glass or plastic in a frame that you wear to see better She wears glasses for reading. | gözlük |
freckles ⁄ˈfrekəlz⁄ · noun B2 | small light-brown spots on the skin, often on the face He gets more freckles in the summer. | çil |
wrinkles ⁄ˈrɪŋkəlz⁄ · noun B2 | small lines on the skin that people get as they grow older My grandmother has wrinkles around her eyes from smiling. | kırışıklık |
dimples ⁄ˈdɪmpəlz⁄ · noun B2 | small holes in the cheeks that some people have when they smile She has dimples when she laughs. | gamze |
scar ⁄skɑːr⁄ · noun B1 | a mark that stays on the skin after a cut or injury He has a small scar above his left eye. | yara izi |
pale ⁄peɪl⁄ · adjective B1 | (of skin) very light, sometimes because you are ill or tired You look pale. Are you OK? | solgun, soluk |
tanned ⁄tænd⁄ · adjective B1 | with skin that is darker after time in the sun; American English also says tan They came back from the beach tanned and happy. | bronzlaşmış |
tattoo ⁄tæˈtuː⁄ · noun B1 | a picture or words drawn on the skin with ink that does not wash off He has a tattoo of a bird on his arm. | dövme |
piercing ⁄ˈpɪrsɪŋ⁄ · noun B2 | a small hole in the body for jewelry, for example in the ear or nose She has three piercings in each ear. | piercing, delik |
Age and general looks
For age, it is often more polite to give a range than a number: in his thirties, in her early twenties, middle-aged. For looks, beautiful and pretty are mostly for women, handsome is mostly for men, and good-looking and attractive are for everyone.
| Word | Meaning and example | Turkish |
|---|---|---|
young ⁄jʌŋ⁄ · adjective A1 | not old; in the early part of life She looks very young for her age. | genç |
teenager ⁄ˈtiːneɪdʒɚ⁄ · noun A2 | a person between 13 and 19 years old Their son is a tall, thin teenager with curly hair. | ergen, genç |
in your twenties ⁄ɪn jɚ ˈtwentiz⁄ · phrase A2 | between 20 and 29 years old; you can also say in your thirties, forties and so on The thief was a man in his twenties. | yirmili yaşlarında |
middle-aged ⁄ˌmɪdəl ˈeɪdʒd⁄ · adjective B1 | between about 45 and 65 years old A middle-aged woman answered the door. | orta yaşlı |
elderly ⁄ˈeldɚli⁄ · adjective B1 | old; a more polite word than old for people An elderly man helped me find the station. | yaşlı (kibar) |
good-looking ⁄ˌɡʊd ˈlʊkɪŋ⁄ · adjective A2 | nice to look at; used for men and women Her boyfriend is really good-looking. | yakışıklı, güzel |
attractive ⁄əˈtræktɪv⁄ · adjective A2 | nice to look at, in a way that makes people interested She's an attractive woman with a lovely smile. | çekici |
beautiful ⁄ˈbjuːtəfəl⁄ · adjective A1 | very nice to look at; usually for women, children and things The bride looked beautiful. | güzel |
pretty ⁄ˈprɪti⁄ · adjective A2 | nice to look at in a soft, sweet way; usually for girls and women What a pretty little girl! | hoş, güzel, sevimli |
handsome ⁄ˈhænsəm⁄ · adjective A2 | nice to look at; usually for men Her grandfather was very handsome when he was young. | yakışıklı |
cute ⁄kjuːt⁄ · adjective A2 | pretty and sweet, often said about babies and animals; in American English also attractive Look at that baby. He's so cute! | sevimli, tatlı |
Verbs and phrases for describing people
Look like is about appearance. Take after and resemble compare someone to a family member or another person.
| Word | Meaning and example | Turkish |
|---|---|---|
look like ⁄ˈlʊk ˌlaɪk⁄ · phrase A2 | to have the same appearance as someone; in questions, to ask about appearance What does your sister look like? She looks like my mom. | benzemek; nasıl görünmek |
look ⁄lʊk⁄ · verb A1 | to seem from the outside; followed by an adjective You look tired. Did you sleep well? | görünmek |
take after ⁄teɪk ˈæftɚ⁄ · phrasal verb B1 | to look or behave like an older family member She takes after her father. They both have red hair. | (aileden birine) çekmek, benzemek |
resemble ⁄rɪˈzembəl⁄ · verb B2 | to look like someone or something; more formal than look like He strongly resembles his grandfather. | benzemek |
dye ⁄daɪ⁄ · verb B1 | to change the color of your hair with a special product She dyed her hair purple for the summer. | boyamak |
grow ⁄ɡroʊ⁄ · verb A2 | to let your hair or a beard get longer He's growing a beard for the winter. | uzatmak (saç, sakal) |
Useful phrases and collocations
What does he look like?
What does your new boss look like? He's tall, with short gray hair.
have long hair, have blue eyes
She has long hair and green eyes.
long straight dark hair
The girl in the photo has long straight dark hair.
wear glasses
My dad started wearing glasses last year.
grow a beard
He grew a beard on vacation.
dye your hair
I want to dye my hair blond.
in his early thirties, in her late forties
The suspect is a man in his early thirties.
look young for your age
Your mom looks really young for her age.
a man with a beard
Do you see the man with a beard by the door?
fair skin, dark skin
People with fair skin burn easily.
the spitting image of
He's the spitting image of his father.
go gray, go bald
My uncle started going bald in his twenties.
How to learn these words
Describe people from top to bottom, in a fixed order: age, height and build, hair, face, then clothes. For example: She's in her twenties. She's tall and slim. She has long curly red hair and freckles, and she's wearing a green coat. Practice with photos of friends, family or famous people, and say the description aloud. Review the words again tomorrow and next week.
Use be with height, build and age (She's tall, He's middle-aged) and have with hair, eyes and features (She has blue eyes, He has a beard). British English often says have got: She's got blue eyes. See have got. For hair, follow the order length, style, color: short wavy black hair. More on this in adjective order.
Do not mix up three questions. What does she look like? asks about appearance. What is she like? asks about personality (see personality adjectives). How is she? asks about health or mood.
Be polite. Words like fat, ugly and old can hurt, so English speakers often soften them: a bit overweight, not very good-looking, elderly. Slim is a compliment; skinny is often not. For the parts of the face and body, see body parts vocabulary.
Use the words: speaking and writing tasks
- Describe yourself in five sentences in this order: age, height and build, hair, eyes and face, and what you usually wear.
- Find a photo of your family and describe each person. Use take after or looks like at least twice: I take after my mom. We both have curly hair.
- Imagine you lost a friend at a busy airport. Write the description you give to the staff: age, height, hair, face and clothes.
- Choose a famous actor and describe them without saying the name. Ask a friend or record yourself, then check if the description is clear.
- Say how a family member has changed over the years, using go gray, grow a beard, dye and look young for their age.
Common mistakes
How does your brother look like?
What does your brother look like?
The question about appearance uses What with look like. How does he look? is possible, but it asks about how he seems right now, for example tired or happy.
She has a long hair and blue eyes.
She has long hair and blue eyes.
Hair on your head is uncountable, so do not use a or a plural. A hair means one single hair.
He has black short hair.
He has short black hair.
Put adjectives for hair in this order: length, then style, then color, for example short curly black hair.
My sister is very handsome.
My sister is very pretty. or My sister is very beautiful.
Handsome is mainly used for men. For women, say pretty or beautiful; good-looking and attractive work for everyone.
His eyes are blue color.
His eyes are blue. or He has blue eyes.
In English, colors are adjectives, so you do not need the word color after them.
Practice quiz
10 questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
1. A: ___ does your new teacher look like? B: She's tall, with short dark hair.
2. Choose the correct order.
3. My grandfather has no hair at all. He's ___.
4. Which word is the most polite?
5. I look just like my mother. I ___ her.
6. Choose the correct sentence.
7. The man is about 50. He's ___.
8. Which word is usually used for men?
9. What does freckles mean?
10. You ___ pale. Do you feel sick?
0 of 10 answered
Show all answers
- What
- She has long curly red hair.
- bald
- overweight
- take after
- He has short hair.
- middle-aged
- handsome
- Small light-brown spots on the skin
- look
See what the A2 English course covers, or test your level first.
People also ask
What is the difference between What does she look like? and What is she like?+
What does she look like? asks about appearance: She's tall with dark hair. What is she like? asks about personality: She's friendly and funny. To ask about health, say How is she?
How do you describe someone politely in English?+
Use neutral or positive words and soften negative ones. Say slim rather than skinny, a bit overweight rather than fat, and elderly rather than old. It is also more polite to give an age range, like in her forties, than a number.
Is it blond or blonde?+
Both spellings exist. In American English, blond is common for everyone. In British English, blonde is often used for women and blond for men. As a noun, a blonde usually means a woman with blond hair.
Do I say she has or she has got blue eyes?+
Both are correct. She has blue eyes is common everywhere and is the usual form in American English. She's got blue eyes is very common in spoken British English.
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