Physical Appereance
Physical Appereance
Physical Appereance
DESCRIPTION
UNIT 12 - STYLE
By David Buckley
DESCRIBE THE BODY
The first thing to talk about is the body of the person. That
means you describe two things — the person’s height and their
body shape/size.
He is a giant
He towers over other people
Again be careful when using these terms. We might describe
a man as a giant but only in a very friendly, humorous way.
He is tall
She is medium-height/He is average height
He is short
Big/Small
The first thing we can say is whether a person is big or
small. We might say “He is a big guy”. This could mean
a man who is tall and very strong. But it could also
mean a man that is overweight.
Using the word ‘big’ is a replacement word for ‘fat’
these days. You might describe someone as fat when
you are describing him to someone else but you should
never say it to their face.
If we describe a woman as big, it usually means she is overweight.
We might describe a man as small. This could mean that he is short but maybe also quite thin.
A small woman may just be short in height.
Fat/Thin
This is where you have to be very careful when describing someone.
Both the words fat and thin can be seen as being a little insensitive if used in the wrong context.
So you need to use these words with great care.
Rather than say he is fat, we can say:
He is a big guy
He is overweight
He is kind of big
If the person is a close friend or family member, we might say:
He is overweight
He needs to lose weight
He is obese
But generally speaking, we should avoid using this word to describe someone.
The same goes for thin. This word can also have a negative meaning. People rarely use it to
describe others as it may imply that they are unhealthy.
Instead, we might say:
She is slim
If you do describe someone as thin, it means they are very thin and possibly unhealthy.
Muscular
Ex.
He goes running every day, so he has a very
athletic figure. He looks great!
After we talk about someone’s body — and their
height and body shape we can then talk about their
head and face
DESCRIBE HAIR
Hair can come in many different colours:
Brown
Blonde
Red
Grey or White
Many people from Asia or Africa have black hair. It is very simple
to describe.
He has black hair.
But in many other places, people have different coloured hair.
Brown Hair
Brown hair is very common.
But we can say the different shades of it:
She has light-brown hair
He has dark-brown hair
Mousy-brown hair is a kind of boring light-brown colour found in
Europe or America. Women might describe their own hair colour as
being mousy-brown. It is a negative comment but one that is seen as a
little joke.
Blonde Hair
Students often describe this colour as ‘golden’. But we
should say blonde.
Red Hair
This is a very rare hair colour, but it does exist.
He has red hair.
Sometimes people might describe someone as a ‘redhead’
— this means someone with red hair.
Do not use the word ‘ginger’ as this is seen as negative.
Grey/White Hair
If someone is old or they are just losing their hair colour,
then we can say this:
She has grey hair
His hair is almost white
.
H
DESCRIBE FACE
General Details
After we describe someone’s general appearance in
terms of their body, we then begin to describe their
face.
Positive/Negative
We usually refer to whether or not someone is
attractive.
We can describe a man as handsome or good-looking.
A woman we describe as beautiful or good-looking.
Sometimes people use the word beautiful to describe a
man if he has more feminine features.
Ex.
He is a really handsome guy. Many girls look at him in
the street.
She is so beautiful.
People always comment to each other how
attractive she is.
They are both very good-looking. They look
good together.
She has really beautiful white teeth, she must brush them five times a day.
He has terrible teeth, all discoloured and they look unhealthy. He should go to
the dentist.
DESCRIBE EARS