🧍 Physical Appearance

⏱ 6 min read

In this section you'll learn useful Spanish vocabulary for describing physical appearance, including height, build, hair, eyes, and other common features.

🟢 Basic Appearance Vocabulary

📏 Tall → Alto / Alta
📉 Short → Bajo / Baja
💪 Strong → Fuerte
🏃 Thin / Slim → Delgado / Delgada
🏋️ Muscular → Musculoso / Musculosa
🏃‍♀️ Athletic → Atlético / Atlética
😊 Good-looking / Attractive → Atractivo / Atractiva
✨ Beautiful → Hermoso / Hermosa

🟡 Describing Hair

🟤 Brown hair → Cabello castaño
⚫ Black hair → Cabello negro
🟡 Blonde hair → Cabello rubio
🧑‍🦰 Red hair → Cabello pelirrojo
✨ Curly hair → Cabello rizado
➖ Straight hair → Cabello liso
💇 Long hair → Cabello largo
✂️ Short hair → Cabello corto

👀 Eyes & Facial Features

🔵 Blue eyes → Ojos azules
🟤 Brown eyes → Ojos marrones
🟢 Green eyes → Ojos verdes
👁️ Dark eyes → Ojos oscuros
🧔 Beard → Barba
🥸 Mustache → Bigote
😊 Smile → Sonrisa
👓 Glasses → Gafas / Lentes

👕 Appearance & Gender Agreement

Many adjectives used to describe people change their ending for masculine and feminine.

Alto    Alta

Delgado    Delgada

Atlético    Atlética
Some adjectives keep the same form for masculine and feminine.

Fuerte
💡 When describing hair and eyes, the adjective agrees with the noun being described.

Cabello negro
Black hair - "negro" agrees with the masculine noun "cabello."

Ojos verdes
Green eyes - "verdes" agrees with the plural noun "ojos."

🧠 Ways to Describe Appearance

👤 Use ser with many general physical characteristics.

Él es alto.
He is tall.
👀 Use tener when describing features someone has, such as hair, eyes, or a beard.

Ella tiene ojos verdes.
She has green eyes.
🧔 The expression llevar can be used for things someone wears or has as part of their appearance.

Él lleva barba.
He has / wears a beard.
👓 Llevar gafas is a common way to say that someone wears glasses.

Mi profesora lleva gafas.
My teacher wears glasses.

💬 Talking About Appearance

📏 Mi hermano es alto y bastante atlético.
My brother is tall and quite athletic.
👀 Tiene los ojos verdes y el cabello oscuro.
He/She has green eyes and dark hair.
✨ Lucía tiene el cabello largo y rizado.
Lucía has long, curly hair.
👓 El hombre de las gafas es mi profesor.
The man with the glasses is my teacher.

💬 Everyday Conversations

Looking for someone

A: ¿Cómo es tu amigo?
B: Es alto, tiene el cabello corto y lleva gafas.

A: What does your friend look like?
B: He's tall, has short hair, and wears glasses.
Describing a family member

A: ¿Te pareces a tu hermana?
B: Un poco. Las dos tenemos los ojos marrones, pero ella tiene el cabello rizado.

A: Do you look like your sister?
B: A little. We both have brown eyes, but she has curly hair.

📝 Example Sentences

🧑‍🦰 El nuevo vecino tiene el cabello pelirrojo y una barba corta.
The new neighbor has red hair and a short beard.
👀 Reconocí a Marta por sus ojos verdes y su cabello rizado.
I recognized Marta by her green eyes and curly hair.
👓 Mi abuelo lleva gafas para leer el periódico por la mañana.
My grandfather wears glasses to read the newspaper in the morning.
😊 La mujer que está junto a la puerta tiene una sonrisa muy bonita.
The woman standing by the door has a very pretty smile.

🏆 Final Practice

Try saying each phrase before pressing play.

  • ¿Cómo es tu amigo?
  • Ella tiene el cabello largo.
  • Mi hermano tiene los ojos verdes.
  • Él lleva barba y gafas.
  • Mi prima es alta y atlética.
  • Tengo el cabello corto y rizado.