Me, Friends and Family: Describing People

Me, Friends and Family: Describing People

Describing People

Physical Appearance

  • Use Er/Sie ist… to say He/She is… followed by an adjective to describe someone else.
  • Some adjectives you could use include: dünn (thin), muskulös (muscular), attraktiv (attractive), jung (young), alt (old), blond (blonde), brünett (brunette).

Hair

  • Er/Sie hat… Haare (He/She has… hair), could be: lange (long), kurze (short), lockige (curly), gerade (straight), schwarze (black), rote (red).

Eyes

  • Er/Sie hat… Augen (He/She has… eyes), could be: blaue (blue), grüne (green), braune (brown).

Personal Details

  • Use Er/Sie heißt… (His/Her name is…).
  • Er/Sie wohnt in… (He/She lives in…).
  • Er/Sie ist… Jahre alt (He/She is… years old).
  • Sein/Ihr Geburtstag ist am… (His/Her birthday is on…).

Character and Personality

  • To describe someone else’s character, use Er/Sie ist… (He/She is…) followed by an adjective.
  • Possible adjectives include: hilfreich (helpful), ehrlich (honest), klug (smart), schüchtern (shy), mutig (brave), gemein (mean).

Hobbies and Interests

  • Er/Sie mag… (He/She likes…), followed by a noun or verb.
  • Er/Sie liebt… (He/She loves…), Er/Sie hasst… (He/She hates…), and Er/Sie genießt… (He/She enjoys…) can also be used.
  • Sein/Ihr Lieblings… ist (His/Her favourite… is) followed by a noun.

Describing Family

  • Start with Meine Familie besteht aus… (My family consists of…) and list the family members.
  • Useful family vocabulary include: der Vater (father), die Mutter (mother), der Bruder (brother), die Schwester (sister), der Großvater (grandfather), die Großmutter (grandmother).
  • Describe relationships with: Er/Sie ist mein(e)… (He/She is my…) followed by the relationship, for example: Bruder (brother), Mutter (mother), Vater (father), Cousin (male cousin), Cousine (female cousin).

Describing Friends

  • To describe your friends, use their name and apply the concepts mentioned above in describing characteristics and interests.
  • Er/Sie ist mein(e) Freund(in) (He/She is my friend).
  • Talk about the type of things you do together, favourite activities, where you met, shared interests with: Wir mögen…, (We like…), Wir gehen gern… (We like going…).

Regular practice and application will help you to master these phrases and be able to use them confidently. Always look to expand your vocabulary and try new complex sentences.