How to Use Spanish Adjectives to Describe a Person

1. Descriptive Adjectives in Spanish
2. Words to Describe Personality
3. Adjectives to Describe Yourself and Your Appearance

This thematic group of words is one of the most important, in essence it is the basis in language learning. Just imagine that you can correctly name everything you like and dislike about your friends or yourself! It is fantastic! And after our word study tips, you can talk about appearance without any hitch. 

 

Descriptive Adjectives in Spanish

The adjective (nombre adjetivo) is a part of language that denotes the sign of a subject or a person and answers the questions what?; which? As in our language, Spanish philology distinguishes between two types of adjectives, namely:

• qualitative ones that convey the presence of a sign to a greater or lesser extent;
• relative ones that translate the relation of the feature described by them to the substance, time, material, place and other factors.

Consider the defining features of los adjetivos.

• There are no possessive adjectives like mom’s, dad’s, etc.
• They have male and female meanings. If adjetivo in its original form ends with -o, then in coordination with a female noun, it changes the ending to -a. For instance: bonito – nice, but una casa bonita – a nice house. However, if adjetivo in the initial form ends with -e or consonant, then in coordination with a noun the ending does not change. For example: alegre – cheerful, una chica alegre – a cheerful girl.
• They change in numbers depending on the number of the noun to which they belong: una chica alegre – a cheerful girl, unas chicas alegres – cheerful girls.
• In most cases, the position in the sentence is different: los adjetivos usually stand after the noun: una chica guapa – a beautiful girl, un hombre inteligente – a smart man.

 

Read more: The Most Beautiful Quotes of the Spanish Language!

 

Words to Describe Personality

The words we use to talk about character traits divide into two large groups:

• those that denote positive traits;
• those that denote negative traits.

Let us look at a list of los adjetivos that provide information about a variety of good human manifestations. 

But let us not forget that in Spanish there are very broad synonymous ranks. For example, hard-working in Spanish will sound like trabajador. It is quite a common word, but it is supplemented by such synonyms as laborioso, esforzado, empeñosa, hacendoso, luchadora, and others. Generally speaking, those who learn the language should know 2-3 synonyms for each word to quickly achieve a higher level.

 

At first glance, it seems that this language is quite simple. But when you start studying it, you get a lot of so-called pitfalls. These may be difficulties of understanding grammar and even memorizing words. As a way out of such situations, classes with a tutor should be considered. In particular, on the UpskillsTutor site you can find a competent teacher who will be to your liking. 

 

And now let us see how common words sound to denote negative traits of character.

Adjectives to Describe Yourself and Your Appearance 

Not only fashionistas like to talk about facial features, waist slenderness or hairstyle. Each person should be able to narrate about their height, eye color, age, hair length, physical data, etc. For example, strong in Spanish will be fuerte, and the athletic physique – contextura atlética.

 

Next, we present to you the table with the most common adjectives that relate to appearance. 

The examples of words to describe some parts of a body, in particular:

In fact, this is only part of the topic. These words can be learnt quickly, but to use them skillfully, you need a practice of communication. Especially, you should know well the nouns with which they are combined and special expressions, for example, arreglarse el pelo. That is why a Spanish tutor is important. The advantages of this way of studying are:

• continuous control from your teacher;
• regular knowledge checking;
• the ability to develop communication skills;
• high-quality and affordable grammar explanation;
• convenient timetable.

 

Read more: Past Tense: Imperfect or Preterite in Spanish Grammar