How To Describe A Person In French (Décrire Une Personne)

The first time someone asked me in France to describe a friend so they could recognise him, I proudly said:
Il est très grand, avec la tête un peu… normale. /il ɛ tʁɛ ɡʁɑ̃ avɛk la tɛt œ̃ pø nɔʁ.mal/

“He’s very tall, with a head that’s kind of… normal.”

The barman stared at me, then at the crowd, then back at me like, You know they all have heads, right? That was when I realised I needed more than “tall” and “normal head” to survive in French.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to talk about height, body type, hair, eyes, clothes, personality, and how to use those core patterns like a real human, not a panicked yak in a bar.

Quick Primer: Three Verbs You Need

To describe people in French, everything hangs on three verbs:

être /ɛtʁ/ — to be (for traits and adjectives)
avoir /a.vwaʁ/ — to have (for age, hair, eyes, physical features)
porter /pɔʁ.te/ — to wear (for clothes and accessories)

Basic patterns:

Two more patterns you’ll use all the time:

Think:

il/elle est + adjective for short traits
c’est + un/une + noun (+ adjective) when you mention the noun (“He’s a shy guy”)

We’ll build everything else on top of these.

Physical Appearance: Height, Build, General Look

Let’s start with the big picture: how tall someone is, their build, and a first impression.

Common adjectives:

Example sentences:

Il est assez grand et très mince.
/il ɛ a.se ɡʁɑ̃ e tʁɛ mɛ̃s/
He’s quite tall and very slim.

Elle est petite mais très sportive.
/ɛl ɛ pə.tit mɛ tʁɛ spɔʁ.tiv/
She’s short but very sporty.

Usage note:
In French, adjectives agree in gender and number. If you’re describing a woman, most adjectives take an extra -e in writing: grande, ronde, élégante. In pronunciation, some pairs sound the same, others add a little /t/ or /d/ at the end.

Hair, Eyes, And Face

French usually uses avoir for hair and eyes:

avoir les cheveux… /a.vwaʁ le ʃə.vø/ — to have … hair
avoir les yeux… /a.vwaʁ le zjø/ — to have … eyes

Hair

Patterns:

Il a les cheveux courts et bruns.
/il a le ʃə.vø kuʁ e bʁœ̃/
He has short brown hair.

Elle a les cheveux longs et bouclés.
/ɛl a le ʃə.vø lɔ̃ e bu.kle/
She has long curly hair.

Eyes

Examples:

Il a les yeux bleus.
/il a le zjø blø/
He has blue eyes.

Elle a de grands yeux verts.
/ɛl a də ɡʁɑ̃ zjø vɛʁ/
She has big green eyes.

Face Details

Il a une barbe et des lunettes.
/il a yn baʁb e de ly.nɛt/
He has a beard and glasses.

Elle a des taches de rousseur.
/ɛl a de taʃ də ʁu.sœʁ/
She has freckles.

Usage note:
For hair and eyes, English uses “to be”: “he is blond,” “she is blue-eyed.” French prefers avoir: il a les cheveux blonds, elle a les yeux bleus.

Age, Origin, And Job: Basic Identity

These are the classic “identity card” lines.

Age

French uses avoir for age:

Never say il est 25 ans; it sounds very wrong to French ears.

Nationality And Origin

Jobs

Usage note:
With jobs and nationalities, French usually drops “un/une”:

Il est professeur, not il est un professeur in everyday descriptions.

Personality And Character

Now the fun part: what they’re actually like.

Common personality adjectives:

Patterns:

Il est très sympa et plutôt drôle.
/il ɛ tʁɛ sɛ̃.pa e ply.to dʁol/
He’s very nice and pretty funny.

Elle est un peu timide mais très gentille.
/ɛl ɛ œ̃ pø ti.mid mɛ tʁɛ ʒɑ̃.tij/
She’s a bit shy but very kind.

Tu peux intensify with:

très /tʁɛ/ — very
assez /a.se/ — quite
un peu /œ̃ pø/ — a little
plutôt /ply.to/ — rather, pretty

Usage note:
sympa is incredibly common in everyday French. It’s a bit lighter than “kind” or “good”; more like “nice/chill/pleasant.”

Clothes And Style Right Now

To describe what someone is wearing, use porter /pɔʁ.te/ — to wear.

Common items:

Patterns:

Il porte un jean noir et une chemise blanche.
/il pɔʁt œ̃ dʒin nwaʁ e yn ʃə.miz blɑ̃ʃ/
He’s wearing black jeans and a white shirt.

Elle porte une robe rouge et des baskets blanches.
/ɛl pɔʁt yn ʁɔb ʁuʒ e de bas.kɛt blɑ̃ʃ/
She’s wearing a red dress and white sneakers.

Usage note:
Word order in French usually puts the noun first, then the adjective, and colour adjectives often come after the noun:

une chemise blanche — a white shirt
un manteau noir — a black coat

Usage Notes & Common Mistakes

A few things that trip up almost every learner:

Être vs Avoir
- Use être /ɛtʁ/ for traits: il est grand, elle est sympa.
- Use avoir /a.vwaʁ/ for age, hair, eyes: il a 20 ans, elle a les cheveux longs, il a les yeux bleus.
C’est vs Il/Elle Est
- Use il/elle est + adjective: Elle est drôle. — She is funny.
- Use c’est + noun (with article): C’est une fille drôle. — She’s a funny girl.
Agreeing Adjectives
Adjectives change with gender and number:
- un homme sérieux — a serious man
- une femme sérieuse — a serious woman
- des enfants sérieux — serious children (mixed or all male)
Don’t Translate Word-For-Word From English
- “She is 25 years old” → Elle a 25 ans, not Elle est 25 ans.
- “He has 1.80m” → typically Il est grand, or Il mesure un mètre quatre-vingts /il mə.zyʁ œ̃ mɛtʁ ka.tʁə.vɛ̃/.
Softening Opinions
If you need to be polite:
- un peu /œ̃ pø/ — a bit
- plutôt /ply.to/ — rather
  Example: Il est un peu paresseux, mais très drôle. — He’s a bit lazy, but very funny.

Mini Dialogues: Describing People In Real Situations

Dialogue 1: Finding A Friend In A Crowd

Tu peux décrire ton ami ?
/ty pø de.kʁiʁ tɔ.n‿a.mi/
Can you describe your friend?

Oui, il est grand et mince, avec les cheveux bruns et les yeux verts.
/wi il ɛ ɡʁɑ̃ e mɛ̃s avɛk le ʃə.vø bʁœ̃ e le zjø vɛʁ/
Yeah, he’s tall and slim, with brown hair and green eyes.

Il porte quoi aujourd’hui ?
/il pɔʁt kwa o.ʒuʁ.dɥi/
What’s he wearing today?

Il porte un t-shirt blanc et un jean noir.
/il pɔʁt œ̃ ti.ʃœʁ blɑ̃ e œ̃ dʒin nwaʁ/
He’s wearing a white T-shirt and black jeans.

Dialogue 2: Talking About A New Colleague

Alors, il est comment, le nouveau collègue ?
/a.lɔʁ il ɛ kɔ.mɑ̃ lə nu.vo kɔ.lɛɡ/
So, what’s the new colleague like?

Il est très sympa et vraiment travailleur.
/il ɛ tʁɛ sɛ̃.pa e vʁɛ.mɑ̃ tʁa.va.jœʁ/
He’s really nice and very hardworking.

Il est plutôt grand ou petit ?
/il ɛ ply.to ɡʁɑ̃ u pə.ti/
Is he rather tall or short?

Plutôt petit, avec des lunettes et une barbe.
/ply.to pə.ti avɛk de ly.nɛt e yn baʁb/
Pretty short, with glasses and a beard.

Dialogue 3: Describing Yourself

Tu peux te décrire un peu ?
/ty pø tə de.kʁiʁ œ̃ pø/
Can you describe yourself a bit?

Oui, je suis assez grand, j’ai les cheveux courts et je suis plutôt timide.
/wi ʒə sɥi a.se ɡʁɑ̃ ʒe le ʃə.vø kuʁ e ʒə sɥi ply.to ti.mid/
Yeah, I’m fairly tall, I have short hair, and I’m rather shy.

Tu es surtout très drôle, quand même.
/ty ɛ syʁ.tu tʁɛ dʁol kɑ̃ mɛm/
You’re mainly very funny though.

Merci, c’est gentil.
/mɛʁ.si sɛ ʒɑ̃.ti/
Thanks, that’s kind.

Quick Reference: Core Patterns To Describe People

Five-Minute Practice Plan: Build Your Description Muscles

Describe Yourself In Three Lines
Write and say out loud:
- One line for your height/build: Je suis…
- One for your hair/eyes: J’ai les cheveux… J’ai les yeux…
- One for your personality: Je suis plutôt…
Describe A Friend You Know Well
Choose a real person. In 3–4 sentences, say:
- Il/Elle est… (physical)
- Il/Elle a… (hair/eyes)
- Il/Elle est… (personality)
  Speak it, don’t just think it.
Clothing Snapshot
Look at someone near you (or a photo) and in one sentence say what they’re wearing:
Il/Elle porte… + one or two items + colours.
Soft Opinion Upgrade
Take a harsh description like Il est paresseux and soften it three ways:
- Il est un peu paresseux.
- Il est plutôt paresseux, mais très drôle.
- Il n’est pas très motivé, mais sympa.
Mirror Q&A
In front of a mirror, ask yourself: Tu peux te décrire ?
Answer in French without stopping for 30 seconds. It’s fine if you repeat yourself; the goal is flow.

Turning Strangers Into Sentences

Once you can juggle être, avoir, and porter, plus a handful of adjectives for looks and personality, French stops being just grammar exercises and starts matching real people around you. You can talk about friends, describe someone to a waiter, or gush about your crush without getting stuck at “uh… tall?” And that’s when French gets fun: when the humans walking past you in the street become easy, comfortable sentences in your head.