Describing People
Learn 20 easy A1 English words for describing people - tall, shy, friendly, handsome and more - with examples, a short story and a quiz.
Can you describe your best friend in English? In this lesson you will learn 20 words that English speakers use every day to talk about how a person looks and what a person is like. Learn the words first, then read the story and find all 20 of them.
20 words to learn
The 20 words
/tɔːl/
Big from the bottom to the top. The opposite of short.
My brother is very tall – he is two metres.
/ʃɔːt/
Not tall. A small person.
She is short, so she sits at the front.
/jʌŋ/
A small number of years old. The opposite of old.
My teacher is young. She is only 24.
/əʊld/
A big number of years. We also use it for age: ten years old.
My grandfather is old, but he walks every day.
/heə(r)/
The thing that grows on your head.
She has long black hair.
/aɪz/
You see with them. One is an eye, two are eyes.
He has beautiful green eyes.
/bɪəd/
The hair on a man’s face.
My father has a small grey beard.
/ˈɡlɑːsɪz/
You wear them on your face to see better. Always plural.
I cannot read without my glasses.
/ˈbjuːtɪfl/
Very nice to look at. We usually use it for women, children and things.
Your sister is beautiful.
/ˈhænsəm/
Nice to look at. We use it for men.
He is tall and handsome.
/θɪn/
Not fat. A small body.
He is thin because he runs every morning.
/strɒŋ/
Has big muscles. Can lift heavy things.
My uncle is strong – he carried the sofa alone.
/ˈfrendli/
Kind and open with other people. Easy to talk to.
The new student is very friendly.
/ʃaɪ/
Quiet and not comfortable with new people.
I was shy on my first day at school.
/ˈfʌni/
Makes other people laugh.
My brother is so funny. He tells a joke every minute.
/kaɪnd/
Good to other people. Helps them.
Thank you – you are very kind.
/ˈkwaɪət/
Does not talk a lot.
He is a quiet boy, but he is a good friend.
/ˈklevə(r)/
Learns new things quickly. Intelligent.
She is clever. She speaks four languages.
/smaɪl/
The happy shape of your mouth. You can also smile (verb).
She has a lovely smile.
/lʊk laɪk/
To have the same face or body as someone.
I look like my mother, not my father.
Now read the story
Story · all 20 words
Find Me in the Photo
My name is Nour. Last week my cousin sent me a photo of her English class and asked me one question: “Can you find me?” Everybody in the photo has a big smile, and people always say that my cousin and I look like each other, so I thought it would be easy.
The first man is very tall. He has short black hair, a small beard, and green eyes. He is thin but also strong, because he goes to the gym every morning before class. My cousin says he is the funny one: he tells a joke every day and the whole room laughs.
Next to him there is a short woman with glasses. She is not young – she is the teacher, and she is sixty years old. My cousin says she is the most kind teacher in the school. When a student does not understand, she never says “hurry up”. She is also very clever: she speaks four languages.
Behind them there are two girls. One of them is beautiful and very friendly; she stands at the door every morning and says hello to everybody. The other girl is quiet and a little shy, so she is standing at the back. My cousin says the shy girl is now her best friend.
And where is my cousin? I found her at the end, on the right. She is standing next to a handsome young man in a blue shirt. I sent her a message: “Who is he?” She did not send me any words back – only a photo of her smile.
Three of these words are very commonly mispronounced:
- beard /bɪəd/ has a long ee sound. Do not say it like bird /bɜːd/ – that is an animal!
- handsome has a silent d. Say HAN-sum.
- shy starts with /ʃ/, the sound in shukran – not /s/. Compare: shy and sigh.
One grammar point: English adjectives never change. We say a tall man, a tall woman and two tall men – never talls, and never tall for men and something else for women.
You can now describe any person in three steps:
1. Height and age: tall, short, young, old.
2. Face and body: hair, eyes, beard, glasses, thin, strong, beautiful, handsome, smile.
3. Character: friendly, shy, funny, kind, quiet, clever.
Put them together in one sentence: She is a short, friendly woman with glasses and a lovely smile.
Now practise with the questions below.
Check your understanding
Answer the questions below. You will see instantly if you are right.
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