General Questions
What's he/she like?
What does he/she look like?
Formal: How would you describe his/her appearance?
A Common English Saying: A lady never reveals her age.
If a man is rude enough to ask a lady's age, it is OK for her to lie and say "21" if
she does not wish to tell her age.
Or she may simply say: "Mind your own business!"
Questions about age
How old is he/she?
How old do you think he/she is?
How old would you say he/she was?
Common Answers
He's 47.
She looks about 25.
(I'd say) she's about 25.
He's in his teens / twenties / thirties / forties / fifties / sixties / seventies / eighties
/ nineties.
She's in her early forties.
She's in her mid-twenties.
She's in her late sixties.
Describing a Person's Height
Questions
How tall is he/she?
Is he/she tall or short?
Common Answers
He's 175 centimeters.
She's about 165 centimeters tall.
He's of average height.
She's short / of average height / tall.
He's really short / very short / rather short / not very tall / of average height /
above average height / quite tall / rather tall / very tall / really tall.
Describing a Person's Build
Questions
How would you describe his build?
How would you describe her figure?
Is he fat or thin? (Everyday conversation)
How much does he weigh? (NEVER ask this question when you are talking
about a woman.)
Common Answers
1. Everyday Conversation
He weighs (about) 75 kilograms.
He's/She's anorexic / skinny (as a rake) / thin / (just) average / fat / huge.
2. Police Reports
He's of slim build / of average build / heavily built.
4. Euphemisms (Polite Expressions)
Women: She•fs underweight / slim (slender) / of average build / (pleasantly)
plump / (a little) overweight.
Men: He's underweight / slim / of average build / (a little) stout / (a little)
overweight.
Different words for "fat"
stout (polite; men only; = fat and short)
beefy, burly, solid (men only; = fat and powerful)
plump (polite; women only; pleasantly fat)
chubby (women and children only; pleasantly fat)
(as) huge (as a hippo) (NOT polite)
as big as a house (NOT polite)
Describing a Person's Face
Questions
What does he look like?
Can you describe her face?
Common Answers
He has short hair, blue eyes, a beard and a mustache.
She has long, curly, brown hair and large green eyes.
Special Terms Used for Men
He is clean-shaven. (He has no beard and no mustache.)
He is bald. (He has no hair on the top of his head.)
He is balding / going bald. (He is losing his hair.)
Adjectives for Hair Length
long / medium-length / short
Adjectives for Hair Texture
straight / wavy / curly / frizzy
Common Terms for Women's Hair Styles
Images courtesy of Wikipedia.
She has a bob.
She has a fringe. / She has bangs.
She has a ponytail.
She has a pigtail.
Adjectives for Hair Color
black / dark brown / medium brown / light brown / blond / red / gray / white
Describing Hair
Order of adjectives
1. Length 2. Texture 3. Color. (Note: 2 and 3 may be reversed.) She has long,
curly, brown hair. She has long, brown, curly hair. (Also OK.)
Adjectives for eye color
brown / hazel / green / blue / gray
Noses
He has an Aquiline nose (1) / a straight nose (2) / a broad nose (3) / a hawk nose
(4) / a snub nose (5) / a turned-up nose (6).
Images courtesy of Wikipedia.
Dialogue One
Mary: So, what's your new boyfriend like?
Jane: Well, he's 25 years old. He's rather tall - about 190 centimeters. He's very
well-built, too - he works out at the gym every day.
Mary: Tall, dark and handsome, eh?
Jane: Not quite. He's got blond hair and green eyes. And he's got a beard.
Mary: Ugh! I hate kissing men with beards. The last time my boyfriend grew
one, I made him shave it off.
Dialogue Two
Harry: Do you see that woman over there? How old do you think she is?
Tom: I'd say she's in her early thirties.
Harry: Nah! She's no more than 27.
Tom: If you insist. She's not my type anyway. I like tall women.
Harry: There's nothing wrong with her. She's got quite a nice figure.
Tom: Well, if you like her so much, why don't you ask her out, then?
Harry: All right. I will.