How do you describe someone’s height, build, hair or face in English? Here are 13 common words and phrases you can use right away in everyday conversation.
Words for height, build, hair and face
- tallfor people; for things, use high
- shortnot tall; also used for hair length: short hair
- of medium heightneither tall nor short
- slimthin in an attractive, healthy way; usually positive
- thinvery light in weight; can sound negative
- well-builtstrong, muscular body
- curly hairhair with curls
- straight hairhair with no curls or waves
- baldhaving no hair on the head: He is bald.
- a beardhair on the chin and cheeks: a man with a beard
- round facea face shaped like a circle
- frecklessmall brown spots on the skin; usually plural: freckles on her nose
- glassesfor seeing better; always plural: a pair of glasses
When you need to describe someone you’re meeting, like a friend at the airport, a few sentences are enough. See the airport vocabulary post, or the family vocabulary post for relatives.
- He’s tall, with short dark hair.
- She’s of medium height, with long curly hair.
- He has a beard and wears glasses.
- He’s about 180 centimeters tall.
Use tall for people and high for things and levels: a high building, high prices. Be careful: He is high is slang for being under the influence of drugs, so say He is tall. Also, hair is uncountable: say long hair, not long hairs.
Check yourself
Fill in the gap, then reveal the answer:
1.She is very ___ — she’s almost two metres tall. (tall / high)
Answer
tall
2.My grandfather is ___; he has no hair on his head. (bald / curly)
Answer
bald
3.Anna has ___ on her nose in summer. (freckles / glasses)
Answer
freckles
4.Ben has ___ hair; it’s very hard to comb. (curly / straight)
Answer
curly
Want to describe people confidently, not just recognise the words? Book a free trial lesson at Slay School and practise them in a real conversation.
