Tom Jakes is quite short.
If you aren’t tall or short, you are of medium height.
Agata Sanchez is really slim.
I was very thin when I was in hospital. [slim is more polite than thin]
The doctor said I am overweight. [weigh too much]
Their cat is very fat. It needs to go on a diet.
Polly has blonde (or fair) hair and fair skin. She has blue eyes.
Ben has a beard and long hair. He has green eyes.
Luca has a moustache /mυˈstɑːʃ/ and short hair.
You can also use has got, for example, Suri has got dark hair and dark skin.
My mother is a very beautiful woman. [very pretty]
My dad’s a very good-looking man.
Common mistakes
People are tall [NOT People are high].
People have blonde or dark hair [NOT hairs].
My sister is pretty. (usually girls / women only)
Bob’s an ugly man. [ugly = the opposite of beautiful or good-looking]
I’m not ugly or beautiful, I’m just average-looking!
My grandmother is 97. She’s very old. My sister is 14. She’s young, but would like to be older. My father is 56.
He’s middle-aged, but would like to be younger!
This hospital is for elderly people. (more polite than old)
A: How tall is Bettina / Tom?
B: She’s 1.85 metres tall. / He’s 1.48 metres tall.
A: How heavy are you? / How much do you weigh?
B: I weigh 62 kilos / 74 kilos, etc.
A: How old is he?
B: He’s 84.
A: What does Gemma / your sister look like?
B: She’s tall and dark. She’s very pretty.
Tips
Some of the words on this page are a little negative, so be careful how you use them. It’s better not to say to someone: ‘You are fat / thin / ugly / old.’
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age
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average-looking
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beard
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blonde
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blue
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brown
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dark
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elderly
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face
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fair
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fat
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good-looking
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green
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head
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heavy
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height
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long
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look like
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middle-aged
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moustache
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old(er)
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overweight
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pretty
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short
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skin
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slim
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tall
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thin
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ugly
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weigh
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young(er)
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beautiful
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hair
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medium