FlexiLingoIn one line
avoir les yeux bleus— with the article, not a possessive — and appearance takesêtreoravoirdepending on whether it is an adjective or a noun.
Phrases
Height and build — with être
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
Il est grand. | /il ɛ ɡʁɑ̃/ | he's tall |
Elle est petite. | /ɛl ɛ pə.tit/ | she's short |
Il est de taille moyenne. | /il ɛ də taj mwa.jɛn/ | he's of medium height |
Elle est mince. | /ɛl ɛ mɛ̃s/ | she's slim |
Il est fort. | /il ɛ fɔʁ/ | he's well built |
Elle est sportive. | /ɛl ɛ spɔʁ.tiv/ | she's athletic |
Il fait un mètre quatre-vingts. | /il fɛt œ̃ mɛtʁ katʁ.vɛ̃/ | he's 1m80 |
Hair and eyes — with avoir and the article
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
Il a les cheveux bruns. | /il a le ʃə.vø bʁœ̃/ | he has brown hair |
Elle a les cheveux longs. | /ɛl a le ʃə.vø lɔ̃/ | she has long hair |
Il a les cheveux courts et frisés. | /il a le ʃə.vø kuʁ e fʁi.ze/ | he has short curly hair |
Elle a les yeux bleus. | /ɛl a lez jø blø/ | she has blue eyes |
Il a une barbe. | /il a yn baʁb/ | he has a beard |
Elle porte des lunettes. | /ɛl pɔʁt de ly.nɛt/ | she wears glasses |
Il est chauve. | /il ɛ ʃov/ | he's bald |
Two things English will get wrong in the same sentence.
1. The article, not a possessive. English says "his brown hair"; French says
les cheveux bruns, with the plain article. Neverses cheveux. Seeadjectifs-possessifs.2.
cheveuxis plural. English "hair" is uncountable and singular; French counts the individual hairs, so it is alwaysles cheveux.un cheveuis one single hair. The same applies toles yeux.
Hair colour
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
blond blonde | /blɔ̃/ · /blɔ̃d/ | blond |
brun brune | /bʁœ̃/ · /bʁyn/ | dark brown |
châtain | /ʃa.tɛ̃/ | light brown — usually invariable |
roux rousse | /ʁu/ · /ʁus/ | red |
noir noire | /nwaʁ/ | black |
gris grise | /ɡʁi/ · /ɡʁiz/ | grey |
blanc blanche | /blɑ̃/ · /blɑ̃ʃ/ | white |
Personality
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
Il est gentil. | /il ɛ ʒɑ̃.ti/ | he's kind |
Elle est très sympa. | /ɛl ɛ tʁɛ sɛ̃.pa/ | she's very nice |
Il a bon caractère. | /il a bɔ̃ ka.ʁak.tɛʁ/ | he's good-natured |
Elle est un peu timide. | /ɛl ɛt œ̃ pø ti.mid/ | she's a bit shy |
Il est toujours de bonne humeur. | /il ɛ tu.ʒuʁ də bɔn y.mœʁ/ | he's always in a good mood |
Elle a beaucoup d'humour. | /ɛl a bo.ku dy.muʁ/ | she has a great sense of humour |
On s'entend très bien. | /ɔ̃ sɑ̃.tɑ̃ tʁɛ bjɛ̃/ | we get on very well |
Age — approximate
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
Il a une trentaine d'années. | /il a yn tʁɑ̃.tɛn da.ne/ | he's about thirty |
Elle a la quarantaine. | /ɛl a la ka.ʁɑ̃.tɛn/ | she's in her forties |
Il est jeune. | /il ɛ ʒøn/ | he's young |
Elle est plus âgée que moi. | /ɛl ɛ plyz a.ʒe kə mwa/ | she's older than me |
Il a mon âge. | /il a mɔ̃n aʒ/ | he's my age |
The full description template
| Step | Example | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. relationship | C'est mon meilleur ami. | /sɛ mɔ̃ mɛ.jœʁ a.mi/ |
| 2. age | Il a une trentaine d'années. | /il a yn tʁɑ̃.tɛn da.ne/ |
| 3. height and build | Il est grand et plutôt mince. | /il ɛ ɡʁɑ̃ e ply.to mɛ̃s/ |
| 4. hair and eyes | Il a les cheveux bruns et les yeux verts. | /il a le ʃə.vø bʁœ̃ e le.z‿jø vɛʁ/ |
| 5. details | Il porte toujours des lunettes. | /il pɔʁt tu.ʒuʁ de ly.nɛt/ |
| 6. personality | Il est très drôle et toujours de bonne humeur. | /il ɛ tʁɛ dʁol e tu.ʒuʁ də bɔ.n‿y.mœʁ/ |
| 7. your relationship | On se connaît depuis dix ans. | /ɔ̃ sə kɔ.nɛ də.pɥi di.z‿ɑ̃/ |
Step seven earns extra marks —
depuis+ present tense is an A2 structure.
être or avoir — the rule
| Structure | With what | Example |
|---|---|---|
être /ɛtʁ/ + adjective | a quality | Il est grand. /il ɛ ɡʁɑ̃/ |
avoir /a.vwaʁ/ + noun | a body part | Il a les yeux bleus. /il a le.z‿jø blø/ |
porter /pɔʁ.te/ | clothes and glasses | Il porte des lunettes. /il pɔʁt de ly.nɛt/ |
faire /fɛʁ/ | height and weight | Il fait 1m80. /il fɛ.t‿œ̃ ɛm ka.tʁə.vɛ̃/ |
Il est les yeux bleusis wrong — and so isIl a grand. The rule is clear: adjectives withêtre, nouns withavoir.English uses "have" for both — "he is tall", "he has blue eyes" — so the split actually matches. What does not match is
fairefor height: French saysIl fait 1m80, "he makes 1m80".
Traps
| Trap | Explanation |
|---|---|
avoir les yeux, not ses yeux | The article, not the possessive. |
les cheveux is always plural | A single hair is un cheveu. |
châtain usually does not change | des cheveux châtain. |
sympa is invariable | Elle est sympa — not sympathe. |
| Colour adjectives go after the noun | les cheveux bruns, not les bruns cheveux. |
grand changes meaning by position | un grand homme = a great man un homme grand = a tall man. See place-adjectif. |
vieux is rude about a person | âgé is politer. |
Describing someone in the speaking exam
three tools that lift the level
A plain description — "he's tall, he has brown hair" — is A1. Three tools take it to B1:
1. A relative clause
| Plain | With a relative |
|---|---|
Il est drôle. Il me fait rire. | C'est quelqu'un qui me fait toujours rire. |
2. Comparison
Il est plus grand que moi.Elle est aussi sympa que sa sœur.
3. A concrete example instead of an adjective
| Adjective | Example |
|---|---|
Il est généreux. /il ɛ ʒe.ne.ʁø/ | Il offre toujours le café. /il ɔfʁ tu.ʒuʁ lə ka.fe/ |
Elle est organisée. /ɛl ɛ.t‿ɔʁ.ɡa.ni.ze/ | Elle note tout dans son agenda. /ɛl nɔt tu dɑ̃ sɔ̃.n‿a.ʒɛ̃.da/ |
The third is the most important. An examiner counts adjectives, but a concrete example shows you can build sentences rather than just place words.
And one cultural note. Avoid referring to weight, race or other sensitive characteristics in a description — these do not appear in ordinary French descriptions and are not expected in an exam. The convention is the same as in English, so your instinct is right; the point is simply that the exam expects the safe categories.
Concentrate on these: height, hair, glasses, style of dress, personality, and your relationship with them.