How To Describe a Person in German

Describing a person in German is one of those skills that sounds simple until you try to do it and suddenly your brain is juggling gender, adjective endings, and whether groß means “tall” or “big.” Very helpful. Very German.

For the broader learning path, visit our parent guide.

The good news: once you know a few core patterns, you can describe almost anyone clearly — their appearance, personality, style, age, and overall vibe. By the end of this guide, you’ll be able to say what someone looks like, what they’re like as a person, and how to sound natural doing it.

If you also want a quick refresher on articles, the usual German noun business, and why der / die / das keeps showing up like an overenthusiastic guest, have a look at German Articles Explained. And if you’re just getting started with people and introductions, Introduce Yourself in German is a good companion lesson.

Table of Contents

Core Pattern: Appearance, Then Character

In everyday German, people usually start with appearance and then move to personality. You can also reverse that if the situation calls for it. The basic pattern is simple:

Er / Sie ist + adjective

Examples:

Er ist groß. — He is tall.
Sie ist freundlich. — She is friendly.
Er hat dunkle Haare. — He has dark hair.
Sie hat blaue Augen. — She has blue eyes.

Small but important detail: German often uses haben for body features and sein for general qualities. English doesn’t always do this in the same way, so yes, your brain gets to do a tiny stretch first.

Useful Vocabulary For Appearance

German	Pronunciation	Meaning	Example Sentence	Translation	Learner Note
groß	gros	tall / big	Mein Bruder ist groß.	My brother is tall.	For people, groß usually means “tall.”
klein	kline	short / small	Das Kind ist klein.	The child is small.	For people, often “short” in height.
jung	yoong	young	Sie ist noch jung.	She is still young.	Very common in description and age talk.
alt	ahlt	old	Er ist alt, aber fit.	He is old, but fit.	Can sound blunt. Use carefully with people.
schlank	shlangk	slim	Sie ist schlank.	She is slim.	Neutral and common.
dick	dik	fat / thick	Der Hund ist dick.	The dog is fat.	Can be rude for people. Be careful.
sportlich	SHPORT-lich	athletic / sporty	Er sieht sportlich aus.	He looks athletic.	Often used with aussehen.
attraktiv	at-trak-TEEF	attractive	Sie ist sehr attraktiv.	She is very attractive.	Direct but normal in German.
hübsch	huepsh	pretty / nice-looking	Das ist ein hübsches Kleid.	That is a pretty dress.	Often used for women, children, things.
elegant	eh-leh-GANT	elegant	Sie sieht elegant aus.	She looks elegant.	Good for style and appearance.
gut aussehend	goot OWSS-zay-end	good-looking	Er ist sehr gut aussehend.	He is very good-looking.	More formal than everyday chat.
eine Brille tragen	INEH BRIL-uh TRAH-gen	to wear glasses	Sie trägt eine Brille.	She wears glasses.	tragen is common for clothes and glasses.

Useful Phrases For Hair, Eyes, And Face

German	Pronunciation	Meaning	Example Sentence	Translation	Learner Note
braune Haare	BROWN-uh HAH-reh	brown hair	Sie hat braune Haare.	She has brown hair.	Haare is plural in German.
blonde Haare	BLON-duh HAH-reh	blond hair	Er hat blonde Haare.	He has blond hair.	German often uses the plural Haare.
schwarze Haare	SHVAR-tsuh HAH-reh	black hair	Sie hat schwarze Haare.	She has black hair.	Adjective ending changes because of plural noun.
lockige Haare	LOK-ih-guh HAH-reh	curly hair	Er hat lockige Haare.	He has curly hair.	lockig = curly.
glatte Haare	GLA-tuh HAH-reh	straight hair	Sie hat glatte Haare.	She has straight hair.	Very common description word.
blaue Augen	BLOW-eh OW-gen	blue eyes	Er hat blaue Augen.	He has blue eyes.	Augen is plural too.
grüne Augen	GRUE-nuh OW-gen	green eyes	Sie hat grüne Augen.	She has green eyes.	The ü sound is rounded. Not “gree-neh.”
helle Haut	HEL-uh howt	light skin	Er hat helle Haut.	He has light skin.	Use carefully and respectfully.
ein Bart	INE bart	a beard	Er hat einen Bart.	He has a beard.	Bart is masculine: der Bart.
ein Schnurrbart	SHNOOR-bart	a mustache	Er hat einen Schnurrbart.	He has a mustache.	Long-ish word, very German. Of course it is.

A quick pronunciation note: au sounds like “ow” in Augen, ei sounds like “eye,” and sch sounds like “sh.” German spelling is often friendlier than it first looks — it just likes to act mysterious.

Useful Phrases For Character And Personality

German	Pronunciation	Meaning	Example Sentence	Translation	Learner Note
freundlich	FROYN-dlich	friendly	Die Verkäuferin ist freundlich.	The sales assistant is friendly.	Neutral and very useful.
nett	net	nice	Er ist nett zu allen.	He is nice to everyone.	Common everyday word.
lustig	LOOS-tikh	funny	Sie ist sehr lustig.	She is very funny.	Can also mean “amusing” or “odd,” depending on context.
ruhig	ROO-ikh	quiet / calm	Das Kind ist ruhig.	The child is quiet.	Great for people and situations.
schüchtern	SHUEKH-tern	shy	Er ist am Anfang etwas schüchtern.	He is a little shy at first.	The ü matters here.
selbstbewusst	ZELBST-beh-VUSST	confident	Sie wirkt sehr selbstbewusst.	She seems very confident.	Common in character descriptions.
intelligent	in-tel-LEE-gent	intelligent / smart	Er ist sehr intelligent.	He is very intelligent.	Standard and useful.
ehrlich	AIR-likh	honest	Sie ist immer ehrlich.	She is always honest.	Good for describing trustworthiness.
hilfsbereit	HILFS-beh-rite	helpful	Mein Kollege ist hilfsbereit.	My colleague is helpful.	Very common in school and work contexts.
faul	fowl	lazy	Er ist heute faul.	He is lazy today.	Can sound harsh. Use carefully.
freundlich und offen	FROYN-dlich oont OFF-en	friendly and open	Sie wirkt freundlich und offen.	She seems friendly and open.	Useful for first impressions.
streng	shtreng	strict	Der Lehrer ist streng.	The teacher is strict.	Very common in family and school talk.

How To Say “He Looks…” And “She Seems…”

German loves the verb aussehen. It literally means “to look” in the sense of appearance.

Pattern	Meaning	German Example	English Translation	Learner Note
Er sieht … aus.	He looks …	Er sieht müde aus.	He looks tired.	aussehen is a separable verb. The aus goes to the end.
Sie sieht … aus.	She looks …	Sie sieht freundlich aus.	She looks friendly.	Very common in everyday German.
Er wirkt …	He seems …	Er wirkt nett.	He seems nice.	wirken = seem / give the impression.
Sie scheint …	She seems …	Sie scheint nervös.	She seems nervous.	A bit more analytical or careful in tone.

Er sieht gut aus. does not mean “He sees himself well.” It means “He looks good.” German is helpful like that, after it decides to hide the verb in two pieces.

Real-Life Descriptions You Can Actually Use

Here are natural full sentences you can use when describing a friend, colleague, classmate, or someone in a photo. These are the kinds of sentences that come up in introductions, small talk, and “Who was that again?” moments.

German	Pronunciation	Meaning	Example Sentence	Translation	Learner Note
Er ist ziemlich groß und schlank.	air ist TSEE-mikh gros oont shlangk	He is fairly tall and slim.	Er ist ziemlich groß und schlank.	He is fairly tall and slim.	ziemlich = quite / fairly.
Sie hat kurze blonde Haare.	zee hat KOORT-suh BLON-duh HAH-reh	She has short blond hair.	Sie hat kurze blonde Haare.	She has short blond hair.	Adjective endings matter here, yes, even in simple phrases.
Er trägt eine Brille und hat blaue Augen.	air trairgt IN-uh BRIL-uh oont hat BLOW-eh OW-gen	He wears glasses and has blue eyes.	Er trägt eine Brille und hat blaue Augen.	He wears glasses and has blue eyes.	Great basic description pattern.
Sie sieht sehr elegant aus.	zee zeet zair eh-leh-GANT ows	She looks very elegant.	Sie sieht sehr elegant aus.	She looks very elegant.	Common with clothes, style, and posture.
Er ist freundlich, aber etwas ruhig.	air ist FROYN-dlich AH-ber ET-was ROO-ikh	He is friendly, but a bit quiet.	Er ist freundlich, aber etwas ruhig.	He is friendly, but a bit quiet.	Use aber to connect two traits naturally.
Sie ist selbstbewusst und offen.	zee ist ZELBST-beh-vusst oont OFF-en	She is confident and open.	Sie ist selbstbewusst und offen.	She is confident and open.	Good for personality and first impressions.
Er wirkt sehr intelligent.	air virst zair in-tel-LEE-gent	He seems very intelligent.	Er wirkt sehr intelligent.	He seems very intelligent.	wirken often sounds a little more observant.
Sie ist nett und hilfsbereit.	zee ist net oont HILFS-beh-rite	She is nice and helpful.	Sie ist nett und hilfsbereit.	She is nice and helpful.	Two very safe character words.
Er hat einen Bart und dunkle Haare.	air hat IN-en bart oont DOON-kluh HAH-reh	He has a beard and dark hair.	Er hat einen Bart und dunkle Haare.	He has a beard and dark hair.	einen Bart shows accusative case after haben.
Sie ist nicht sehr groß, aber sehr freundlich.	zee ist nikhht zair gros, AH-ber zair FROYN-dlich	She is not very tall, but very friendly.	Sie ist nicht sehr groß, aber sehr freundlich.	She is not very tall, but very friendly.	nicht negates the adjective phrase.

Helpful Grammar: Adjective Endings In Simple Descriptions

When an adjective comes before a noun, it often changes ending. That’s the part that makes learners mutter things under their breath. Fair enough.

Pattern	Meaning	German Example	English Translation	Learner Note
ein guter Freund	a good friend	Er ist ein guter Freund.	He is a good friend.	With ein, the adjective often gets -er in masculine nominative.
eine freundliche Frau	a friendly woman	Sie ist eine freundliche Frau.	She is a friendly woman.	With eine, feminine adjectives often take -e.
der nette Mann	the nice man	Er ist der nette Mann.	He is the nice man.	Definite articles change the adjective ending too.
schöne Augen	beautiful eyes	Sie hat schöne Augen.	She has beautiful eyes.	Plural adjective endings are often simpler than they look.

For person descriptions, you don’t need to master every adjective ending at once. Start by recognizing the most common patterns: ein guter Freund, eine nette Kollegin, schöne Augen, freundliche Leute. That already gets you a long way.

Noun Gender You’ll Actually Need

Some people words are easy to guess, others are German just being German. Here are a few useful nouns for describing someone:

German	Pronunciation	Meaning	Example Sentence	Translation	Learner Note
der Mann	der mahN	the man	Der Mann ist freundlich.	The man is friendly.	Masculine noun.
die Frau	dee frow	the woman	Die Frau ist nett.	The woman is nice.	Feminine noun.
das Kind	das kint	the child	Das Kind ist schüchtern.	The child is shy.	Neuter noun.
der Junge	der YUHN-guh	the boy	Der Junge ist klein.	The boy is small.	Ends in -e, but still masculine.
das Mädchen	das MAIRKH-en	the girl	Das Mädchen ist ruhig.	The girl is calm.	Neuter in German. Yes, really.
der Freund / die Freundin	der froynt / dee FROYN-din	male friend / female friend	Mein Freund ist lustig.	My friend is funny.	Can also mean boyfriend/girlfriend depending on context.
der Kollege / die Kollegin	der koh-LEH-guh / dee koh-LEH-gin	male colleague / female colleague	Meine Kollegin ist hilfsbereit.	My colleague is helpful.	Great for work descriptions.
die Person	dee pair-ZON	the person	Die Person ist sehr höflich.	The person is very polite.	Feminine in German.

Mini Practice: Describe These People

Try building your own descriptions using the words above. Don’t worry about sounding like a novel. Simple, clear German is a win.

1. Describe a tall, friendly man with brown hair.
2. Describe a shy woman with blue eyes.
3. Describe a confident friend who wears glasses.
4. Describe a child who is small and quiet.
5. Describe someone who looks elegant and smart.

Possible answers:

Task	Possible German Answer	English Translation	Learner Note
1	Er ist groß, freundlich und hat braune Haare.	He is tall, friendly, and has brown hair.	Nice basic sentence with haben.
2	Sie ist schüchtern und hat blaue Augen.	She is shy and has blue eyes.	Very common description structure.
3	Mein Freund ist selbstbewusst und trägt eine Brille.	My friend is confident and wears glasses.	trägt is the 3rd person singular form of tragen.
4	Das Kind ist klein und ruhig.	The child is small and quiet.	Simple adjective chain with und.
5	Sie sieht elegant und intelligent aus.	She looks elegant and intelligent.	Great example of aussehen with two adjectives.

Common Mistakes And Easy Fixes

Mistake	Correct Form	Why
Sie ist groß Haare.	Sie hat große Haare.	Use haben for hair, and the adjective must match the noun.
Er ist aussehen gut.	Er sieht gut aus.	aussehen is separable: verb first, aus at the end.
Er hat braun Haare.	Er hat braune Haare.	Plural noun + adjective ending.
Das Frau ist nett.	Die Frau ist nett.	Frau is feminine, so it takes die.
Er ist dick. when you mean “he is chubby”	Er ist etwas kräftig. or Er ist etwas füllig.	dick can sound rude for people.
Sie hat die blaue Augen.	Sie hat blaue Augen.	Plural often uses no article in this type of description.
Er ist ein freundlich Mann.	Er ist ein freundlicher Mann.	Adjective ending changes after ein.

If you want a reliable dictionary check for any word in this lesson, Duden is the boring-but-trustworthy option. A classic. Not exciting. Very German.

Germany, Austria, And Switzerland: Any Differences?

For describing people, standard German is understood everywhere. Most of the words in this guide work across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Word / Phrase	Germany	Austria	Switzerland	Note
hübsch	common	common	common	Safe choice everywhere.
nett	common	common	common	Very broadly useful.
ehrlich	common	common	common	Good for personality and trust.
schick	common	common	common	Means stylish / smart-looking.
korpulent	formal	formal	formal	Polite, older, or more official than dick.

In Switzerland, people may use some local words in casual speech, but for describing a person, standard German vocabulary is still your safest bet. No drama required.

Quick Reference: Best Words To Remember

groß = tall
klein = short / small
freundlich = friendly
nett = nice
schüchtern = shy
selbstbewusst = confident
intelligent = intelligent
lustig = funny
hat … Haare = has … hair
sieht … aus = looks …
trägt eine Brille = wears glasses
hat blaue Augen = has blue eyes

One more handy thing: German loves compound descriptions like freundlich, hilfsbereit, and selbstbewusst. They pack a lot of meaning into one word, which is efficient if mildly suspicious.

If you want to keep building your German conversation skills, the next smart step is combining these descriptions with greetings, introductions, and basic sentence patterns. Start simple, say it clearly, and don’t let adjective endings boss you around too much.

Yak takeaway: In German, describe people with sein for traits, haben for features, and aussehen for how they look. Keep it simple, keep it natural, and let the grammar do the tiny bit of sweating for you.