Spanish Adjectives to Describe People
Essential A1–A2 Spanish adjectives for describing physical appearance and personality.
Spanish Adjectives to Describe People
Spanish adjectives for describing people can talk about physical appearance or personality. Common examples include alto (tall), joven (young), simpático (friendly), and tímido (shy).
At A1–A2, focus on common adjectives and learn how they change to agree with the person you are describing.
Physical appearance in Spanish
Height and build
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| alto / alta | tall |
| bajo / baja | short |
| delgado / delgada | slim / thin |
| fuerte | strong |
| musculoso / musculosa | muscular |
- Mi hermano es alto. — My brother is tall.
- Ana es baja y delgada. — Ana is short and slim.
- Es muy fuerte. — He / She is very strong.
Age
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| joven | young |
| mayor | older / elderly |
- Es joven. — He / She is young.
- Es una mujer mayor. — She is an older woman.
To give someone’s exact age, Spanish normally uses tener + number + años, not ser:
- Tiene veinte años. — He / She is twenty years old.
- Mi padre tiene cincuenta años. — My father is fifty years old.
General appearance
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| guapo / guapa | good-looking / attractive |
| bonito / bonita | pretty / beautiful |
| atractivo / atractiva | attractive |
- Es muy guapa. — She is very attractive / pretty.
- Es un chico atractivo. — He is an attractive guy.
For specific features such as hair and eyes, Spanish often uses tener rather than ser:
- Tiene el pelo corto. — He / She has short hair.
- Tiene los ojos verdes. — He / She has green eyes.
Personality adjectives in Spanish
These are some of the most useful A1–A2 adjectives for describing someone’s personality.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| simpático / simpática | nice / friendly |
| amable | kind / friendly |
| tímido / tímida | shy |
| divertido / divertida | fun / funny |
| gracioso / graciosa | funny |
| serio / seria | serious |
| bueno / buena | good / kind |
| paciente | patient |
| sociable | sociable / outgoing |
| extrovertido / extrovertida | extroverted / outgoing |
| tranquilo / tranquila | calm / quiet |
| callado / callada | quiet / not very talkative |
Examples
- Mi profesora es muy simpática y paciente. — My teacher is very friendly and patient.
- Carlos es tímido, pero muy amable. — Carlos is shy but very kind.
- Mi hermana es muy sociable. — My sister is very sociable.
- Es bastante serio y callado. — He is quite serious and quiet.
- Lucía es muy divertida. Siempre lo pasamos bien con ella. — Lucía is a lot of fun. We always have a good time with her.
Divertido vs gracioso
Both words can sometimes be translated as funny, but they are not exactly the same.
- divertido = fun, entertaining, enjoyable
- gracioso = funny, amusing; makes you laugh
Compare:
- Pablo es muy divertido. — Pablo is a lot of fun.
- Pablo es muy gracioso. — Pablo is very funny.
For beginners, think of divertido as someone who is fun to be around and gracioso as someone who makes you laugh.
Tranquilo vs callado
English quiet can correspond to different Spanish adjectives.
Tranquilo means calm or peaceful:
- Es una persona tranquila. — He / She is a calm person.
Callado means quiet in the sense of not talking much:
- Es bastante callado. — He is fairly quiet / not very talkative.
Adjective agreement
Many Spanish adjectives change according to the gender and number of the person they describe.
Adjectives ending in -o usually change to -a for a feminine singular noun:
- un chico alto
- una chica alta
- un hombre tímido
- una mujer tímida
For plural descriptions:
- dos chicos altos
- dos chicas altas
Many adjectives do not change between masculine and feminine:
- un chico amable / una chica amable
- un hombre paciente / una mujer paciente
- un chico sociable / una chica sociable
They still change for the plural:
- personas amables
- personas pacientes
How to describe someone in Spanish
For a simple A1–A2 description, you can combine physical appearance and personality:
Mi amiga Laura es alta y delgada. Tiene el pelo largo y los ojos marrones. Es muy simpática, sociable y divertida. También es bastante paciente.
My friend Laura is tall and slim. She has long hair and brown eyes. She is very friendly, sociable, and fun. She is also quite patient.
Useful patterns include:
- Es + adjective — Es alto.
- Es muy + adjective — Es muy simpática.
- Es bastante + adjective — Es bastante tímido.
- Tiene + physical feature — Tiene el pelo corto.
- Tiene + number + años — Tiene treinta años.
Asking what someone is like
To ask about someone’s general appearance or personality, use:
¿Cómo es + person?
- ¿Cómo es tu hermano? — What is your brother like?
- Es alto, tranquilo y muy amable. — He is tall, calm, and very kind.
To ask specifically about physical appearance, you can use:
¿Cómo es físicamente?
- ¿Cómo es físicamente? — What does he / she look like?
- Es alta y delgada. Tiene el pelo largo. — She is tall and slim. She has long hair.
Quick rule
To describe people in Spanish:
- use ser + adjective for characteristics: Es alto y simpático.
- use tener for age and many physical features: Tiene 25 años. Tiene el pelo corto.
- make adjectives agree when necessary: alto → alta → altos → altas.