Describing people in French
When you’re describing how you or other people look or are - then être - the verb to be is a good place to start.
Je suis - I am or elle est - she is.
Je suis grand - I am tall.
Elle est petite - She is small.
Je suis sportif - I am sporty.
Elle est contente - She is happy.
Then it’s good to be able to say what people have using the verb avoir - to have.
j’ai - I have
elle a - she has.
J’ai les cheveux longs - I have long hair.
Elle a les yeux bruns - She has brown eyes.
Then you can say what you wear using porter - to wear.
je porte - I wear.
elle porte - she wears.
Je porte des lunettes - I wear glasses.
Elle porte un foulard - She wears a headscarf.
So with être - to be, avoir - to have or porter - to wear you can say a lot about yourself or other people.
Describing people’s height
To describe people’s size, use a form of être (to be) and then the adjective, which usually changes its ending depending on whether the person is masculine or feminine.
je suis - I am
il/elle est - he/she is
grand (e) - tall
petit (e) - small
de taille moyenne - average height
assez/très - quite/very
Example
- Ma mère est assez grande - My mum is quite tall.
You can use intensifiers (words that add ‘force’ to an adjective) such as très (very) and assez (quite) to add more information.
- Je suis très grand(e) - I am very tall.
- Mon grand-père est assez petit - My grandfather is quite short.
Comparing people’s heights
To compare two people, use the following sentence structure:
| Person one + a form of être (to be) | more / less + adjective | than/as | person two |
|---|---|---|---|
| Je suis (I am) | plus grand(e) (taller) | que (than) | mon frère (my brother) |
| Ma sœur est (My sister is) | moins grande (less tall / not as tall) | que (than/as) | ma mère (my mum) |
Describing hair
To talk about your hair, use a form of avoir (to have), followed by les cheveux (hair) and then give the colour or another adjective to describe your hair.
- J’ai les cheveux bruns - I have brown hair.
- Il a les cheveux bruns et frisés - He has brown, curly hair.
If you want to use more than one adjective to describe your hair, use et before the last adjective:
- J’ai les cheveux blonds, longs et bouclés - I have long, blond, wavy hair.
The adjectives all need to have an ‘s’ on the end, as les cheveux is masculine and plural, except roux and gris, as they don’t change when masculine and plural.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| j'ai les cheveux … | I have … hair |
| il / elle a les cheveux … | he / she has … hair |
| bruns | brown |
| noirs | black |
| roux | red / ginger |
| blonds | blond |
| gris | grey |
| longs | long |
| courts | short |
| raides | straight |
| bouclés | wavy |
| frisés | curly |
Describing eye colour
To talk about eye colour, use j’ai (I have) or il a/elle a (he has/she has), followed by les yeux (eyes) and then give the colour.
The adjectives all need to have an ‘s’ on the end, as les yeux is masculine and plural, except marron, noisette and gris, as they don’t change when used in the masculine and plural.
- J’ai les yeux verts - I have green eyes.
- J’ai les yeux marron - I have brown eyes.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| j’ai les yeux … | I have … eyes |
| il / elle a les yeux … | he / she has … eyes |
| bleus | blue |
| marron | brown |
| verts | green |
| gris | grey |
| noisette | hazel |
Other features
Here are some extra features that you can talk about:
Describing clothes
Here is a list of key vocabulary on clothing:
Describing personalities
There are lots of adjectives you can use to talk about people’s personalities.
To describe someone, remember to use the correct part of verb être. Some adjectives change their spellings to describe someone female. Usually, you add an ‘e’ to the adjective to describe a female person.Remember to add 's' for plurals.
- Mes grands-mères sont bavardes - My grandmothers are chatty.
Here are some great adjectives you can use to describe people’s personalities:
| Masculine | Feminine | English |
|---|---|---|
| amusant | amusante | funny / fun |
| bavard | bavarde | chatty |
| intéressant | intéressante | interesting |
| strict | stricte | strict |
| sportif | sportive | sporty |
| créatif | créative | creative |
| travailleur | travailleuse | hard-working |
| paresseux | paresseuse | lazy |
| ennuyeux | ennuyeuse | boring |
| gentil | gentille | kind |
| sympa | sympa | nice |
| drôle | drôle | funny |
| timide | timide | shy |
Quiz
Watch the video and find out how much you know about describing people in French in this short quiz.
MICHEL: Aah, merci….
AMÉLIE: Je suis très contente d'être dans la nouvelle classe.
MICHEL: **Ah oui, moi aussi je suis content.**
AMÉLIE: **Oui. Il y a de nouveaux étudiants cette année.**
MICHEL: C’est vrai. Tu as rencontré Georges?
AMÉLIE: Ahhh… Georges?
MICHEL: **Oui. Il est assez grand avec les cheveux bruns. Tu le connais?**
AMÉLIE: Ah oui, j’ai rencontré Georges. Il est très sympa.
MICHEL: **C’est lui.**
AMÉLIE: C’est le frère de Françoise. Tu connais Françoise?
MICHEL: **Oui, Je la connais. Elle aussi est très sympa.**
AMÉLIE: Tu sais que Georges and Françoise sont jumeaux?
MICHEL: Non! Ce n’est pas vrai!
AMÉLIE: **Oui c’est vrai.**
MICHEL: Elle a les cheveux roux et des taches de rousseur.
AMÉLIE: Et Georges a les cheveux bruns et les yeux bleus.
MICHEL: Elle est travailleuse …
AMÉLIE: **Tu as raison.**
MICHEL: Ils sont si différents. Françoise est silencieuse et …
AMÉLIE: **… et Georges est bavard.**
MICHEL: J’aime beaucoup Georges.
AMÉLIE: **Moi aussi. Je l’aime beaucoup.**
MICHEL: **C’est Georges… Allô? Oh bonjour Georges. Tu veux venir chez Amélie? Je suis ici avec elle.**
MICHEL: C’est Georges! Il vient maintenant.
AMÉLIE: Super - je suis contente! Georges est trop drôle!
Translation :
MICHEL: Ah, thanks.
AMÉLIE: I’m really happy to be in the new class.
MICHEL: Ah yes, I’m happy too.
AMÉLIE: Yes. There are some new students this year.
MICHEL: It’s true. Have you met George?
AMÉLIE: Errr … George?
MICHEL: Yes. He’s fairly tall with brown hair. Do you know him?
AMÉLIE: Oh yes, I’ve met George. He’s very nice.
MICHEL: That’s him.
AMÉLIE: He’s Francoise’s brother. Do you know Francoise?
MICHEL: Yes, I know her. She’s also really nice.
AMÉLIE: You know that George and Francoise are twins?
MICHEL: No! Really?
AMÉLIE: Yes, it’s true.
MICHEL: She has red hair and freckles.
AMÉLIE: … And George has brown hair and blue eyes.
MICHEL: She is hard-working …
AMÉLIE: You’re right.
MICHEL: They are so different. Francoise is quiet and …
AMÉLIE: … and George is chatty.
MICHEL: I really like George.
AMÉLIE: Me too. I like him a lot.
MICHEL: (To Amelie) It’s George. Hi, hello George. Do you want to come over to Amélie’s house? I’m here with her ….
MICHEL: It’s George. He’s coming now.
AMÉLIE: Great! I'm happy. George is too funny!
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