Physical appearances vocabulary

Les descriptions physiques

When meeting new people it’s very important to be able to describe yourself. On this page you’ll find a complete list physical appearances and traits in French. This page covers hair, eyes, body size, weight and age.

French Physical Appearances & Descriptions

Hair – les cheveux

When talking about hair there are two options: 1) to use the verb avoir; and 2) To use and adjective. For example, to say “He has curly hair” you can say: Il a les cheveux frisés or Il est frisé.

He/she has long hair. Il/elle a les cheveux longs.
He/she has curly hair. Il/elle a les cheveux frisés.
He/she is curly-haired. Il/elle est frisé(e).
He/she has mid-length hair. Il/elle a les cheveux mi-longs.
He/she has straight hair. Il/elle a les cheveux raides.
He/she has short hair. Il/elle a les cheveux courts.
He/she is bald. Il/elle est chauve.
He/she has brown hair. Il/elle a les cheveux bruns.
He/she is brunette. Il/elle est brun(e).
He/she has blond hair. Il/elle a les cheveux blonds.
He/she is blond. Il/elle est blond(e).
He/she has light-brown hair. Il/elle a les cheveux châtain.
He/she has light-brown hair. Il/elle est châtain.
He/she has red hair. Il/elle a les cheveux roux.
He/she is red-headed. Il est roux/Elle est rousse.
He/she has grey hair. Il/elle a les cheveux gris.
He/she is grey-haired. Il/elle est gris(e).
He/she has white hair. Il/elle a les cheveux blancs.

The face – le visage

In French there are two words for face: le visage and la figure.

He/she has blue eyes. Il/elle a les yeux bleus.
He/she has hazel eyes. Il/elle a les yeux verts.
He/she has brown eyes. Il/elle a les yeux marron.
He/she has dark eyes. Il/elle a les yeux noirs.
He/she has big/small eyes. Ses yeux son grands/petits.
He/she has big/little ears. Il/elle a des petites/grandes oreilles.
He/she has big/fine nose. Il/elle a le nez fort/fin.
He she has a big/small nose. Il/elle a un gros/petit nez.
He has a big/little mustache. Il a une petite/grosse moustache.
He has a big/little beard. Il a une grosse/petite barbe.
He/she has a round face. Il/elle a le visage rond.
He/she has an oval face. Il/elle a le visage ovale.
He/she has long/short face. Il/elle a le visage long/petit.
He/she wears glasses. Il porte des lunettes.
He/she doesn’t wear glasses. Il/elle ne porte pas de lunettes.

Appearances – l’apparence

This following list offers adjectives in both the masculine and feminine forms to describe peoples’ appearances, skin complexion and race.

He is handsome. Il est beau.
She is beautiful. Elle est belle.
She is pretty. Elle est jolie.
He she is great-looking. Il/elle est magnifique/superbe.
He/she has fair complexion. Il/elle a le teint clair.
He/she is stunning. Il/elle est canon (slang).
He/she has olive skin, complexion. Il/elle a le teint mat.
He/she has light skin. Il/elle a la peau claire.
He/she has dark skin. Il/elle a la peau foncée.
He/she is ugly. He/elle est laid.
He/she has freckles. Il/elle a des taches de rousseur.
He/she has a baby face. Il/elle a un visage poupin.
He/she is Black. Il/elle est noir(e).
He/she is White. Il/elle est blanc(he).
He/she is Asian. Il/elle est asiatique.

Hight and weight – la taille et le poid

The French word la taille is a mixed bag. It can describe a person’s height, body size as well as waistline. The word, la corpulence describes a person’s stoutness or bulkiness.

He/she is tall. Il/elle est grand(e).
He/she is short. Il/elle est petit(e).
He/she is an average height. Il/elle est de taille moyenne.
He/she is one meter, 69 cm (5’6″). Il/elle fait 1,69 mètre
He/she is fat. Il/elle est gros(se).
He/she is skinny. Il/elle est maigre/mince.
He/she is a bit plump. Il/elle est un peu rond(e).
He/she is a bit plump. Il/elle est bien en chair.
He/she is a bit plump. Il/elle est un peu fort(e).
He/she is sturdy, tough. Il est costaud(e).
He/she weights 65kg. Il/she pèse/fait 65 kilos.

Age – l’âge

To describe a person’s age, use the verb avoir. For example, il a cinq ans, he is five years-old.

He/she is young. Il/elle est jeune.
He/she is old. Il/elle est âgé(e).
He/she is old. Il/elle est vieux/vielle.
He/she is 25 years-old. Il/elle a 25 ans.
He/she’s in his/her twenties. Il/elle a une vingtaine d’annees.
He/she’s older, no longer young. Il/elle a certain âge.

David Issokson

David Issokson is a lifelong language learner and speaks over seven languages. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private lessons. When not teaching or writing his French Word of the Day lessons, David enjoys his time skiing, hiking and mountain biking in Victor, Idaho.

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