How to describe a person in Spanish?

By Marta Díaz on Friday, October 13, 2023

Are you starting to learn Spanish? If this is your case, you will be impatient to improve your skills and expand your vocabulary in Spanish. In this article you are going to learn how to describe a person in Spanish.

Describing someone can be useful in many situations, whether it is to make friends, have a conversation or simply to improve your communication. Besides, it is simple vocabulary to start learning Spanish and very useful.

Why is it important to describe a person?

Before diving into words and phrases that will help you describe a person in Spanish, it is important to understand why this is relevant. The ability to describe someone not only enriches your language skills, but also allows you to better connect with people and understand their identity, personality, and appearance.

When you start learning a language, one of the most basic aspects and where you usually start is vocabulary. This time, after learning colors and numbers, you can start with something more advanced: describing a person in Spanish.

Vocabulary to describe a person in Spanish

Here you can find a list of the most basic and useful vocabulary to describe a person in Spanish. Also, remember that, in Spanish, most of the time, the word to describe someone must agree in gender and number.

Physical appearance

If you talk about hair, you can describe it as: largo (long), corto (short), rubio (blond), moreno (brown), pelirrojo (red-haired), rizado (curly) or liso (straight).

Eyes can be: azules (blue), verdes (green), marrón (brown), negros (black), grandes (big), pequeños (small) or rasgados (wide). And a person's nose can be: puntiaguda (pointed), pequeña (small), grande (large) or redonda (round).

In case you want to refer to the physical description of a person, that is, the appearance, you can use the following words. A person can be: alta (tall), baja (short), mediana (medium), delgada (thin), musculosa (muscular) or corpulenta (stocky).

Personality

On the other hand, if you want to describe a person by his or her personality, the vocabulary in Spanish changes. You can say that a person is:

• Amable (Kind). “Él es una persona amable y siempre está dispuesto a ayudar” (“He is a kind person and is always willing to help”).
• Divertido (Funny). “Juan es muy divertido, siempre nos hace reír con sus chistes” (“Juan is so funny, he always makes us laugh with his jokes”).
• Tímido (Shy). “Al principio puede parecer un poco tímido, pero luego es muy simpático” (“At first he may seem a little shy, but then he is very friendly”).
• Extrovertido (Extroverted). “María es extrovertida, le encanta conocer gente nueva y socializar” (María is extroverted, she loves to meet new people and socialize”).
• Inteligente (Intelligent). “Mi vecino es inteligente porque tiene una mente muy aguda y siempre sabe lo que decir” (“My neighbour is intelligente because he has a very sharp mind and always knows what to say”).
• Creativo (Creative). “Es muy creativa y siempre tiene ideas innovadoras” (“You are very creative and always have innovative ideas”).

Clothing and accessories

In this section, you will learn the vocabulary to describe how a person is dressed and the accessories. Also, if you already have a basic knowledge of colors, describing a person's clothing can be much easier.

• Pantalones/Vaqueros (Pants/Jeans)
• Traje (Suit)
• Falda (Skirt)
• Camiseta (T-shirt)
• Camisa or blusa (Shirt or blouse)
• Vestido (Dress)
• Chaqueta (Jacket)
• Abrigo (Coat)
• Sudadera (Sweatshirt)
• Botas (Boots)
• Zapatos (Shoes)
• Deportivas (Sneakers)
• Sandalias (Sandals)
• Collar (Necklace)
• Pulsera (Bracelet)
• Pendientes (Earrings)
• Reloj (Watch)
• Anillo (Ring)

Some phrases to describe someone's clothing will be: “Prefiere un estilo más relajado y cómodo con vaqueros y camiseta” (“She prefers a more relaxed and comfortable style with jeans and a T-shirt”); “María lleva una falda negra con un top blanco” (“Maria wears a black skirt with a white top”); or “Siempre lleva puesta su pulsera azul y unos pendientes a juego” (“She always wears her blue bracelet and matching earrings”).

Examples to describe a person in Spanish

Once you know all the vocabulary you need to describe a person in Spanish, it's time to put it into practice. Can you describe the people in the pictures? Try it and practice the vocabulary you have learned!

Here are some examples of phrases you can use to describe someone:

• “Luis tiene el pelo largo y moreno” (“Luis has long, dark hair”)
• “Laura tiene los ojos azules y una sonrisa encantadora” (“Laura has blue eyes and a charming smile”)
• “Ella es alta y delgada” (“She is tall and thin like her mother”)
• “Juan es muy amable, siempre está dispuesto a ayudar a los demás” (“Juan is very kind, always willing to help others”)
• "María es extrovertida y le encanta conocer gente nueva” (“María is extroverted and loves meeting new people”)
• "Martín es muy inteligente, siempre tiene soluciones para todo” (Martin is very intelligent, he always has solutions for everything”)
• "Mi jefa lleva puesto un traje elegante para la reunión” (“My boss is wearing an elegant suit for the meeting”)
• “Mi prima prefiere vestir de manera casual con vestido y botas” (“My cousin prefers to dress casually with dress and boots”)
• “Elena llevaba la sudadera y las deportivas del mismo color verde que sus pendientes” (“Elena wore the Sweatshirt and Sneakers in the same green color as her earrings”)

As a last tip, we can only tell you to practice with native friends or fellow students to improve your description skills and vocabulary. Don't forget to use comparative and superlative adjectives to give more details. You can also observe the people around you and practice describing them in Spanish.

If you prefer to learn Spanish in a more academic environment and with native teachers to help you with all your doubts, Enforex is the right place! We have intensive courses for all ages and levels so that you can learn Spanish in Spain surrounded by culture and a unique atmosphere with Enforex.