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Describing a person’s appearance sounds simple at first, but when you do it, you find it’s not as easy as you think. Whether you want to describe someone you just met or report a suspect to the police, it’s crucial to identify key physical features and distinguishing features. On the other hand, if you’re portraying a character for your story, it’s equally important to leave some detail to the imagination to convey directly to the reader.
Steps
Description of general features
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Identify whether the person is male or female, if possible. In many cases, this feature is very obvious, and is almost the first thing that you notice. Not everyone fits into these two genders, though, and it’s best not to make assumptions if it’s not necessary. [1] X Research Source
- For example, if you’re describing a suspicious person to the police, you could say, “I think it’s a male, but I’m not sure.”
- In other cases, you can simply skip it and move on to describing other characteristics.
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Pay attention to skin color and guess race or ethnicity if necessary. In this regard, too, there is a difference between a description for the police and a description for other purposes. In the first situation, you might have to make a guess – like, “He looks like a white person” or “I think she looks Korean.” In some cases this can be quite sensitive or offensive. [2] X Research Source
- Maybe you can simply describe their skin color with phrases like “olive skin”, “white skin”, “pumpkin skin”, etc… and let other people make their own guesses if they want to.
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Estimate age in steps of 5 or 10 years. In many cases, you can guess someone is “about 25 years old” or “over 60”. Consider estimating your age within a narrow range of your guesses – so it’s easier for your audience to imagine the person you’re describing. [3] X Research Sources
- For example, the person’s image will be clearer if you say they are between the ages of 30 and 35 instead of between 30 and 40.
- This is especially important for young people—obviously a 10-year-old is a far cry from a 20-year-old!
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Mention height by description or estimate. If you only had a chance to glance at it, it would be best if you could just state your height in general terms such as “very tall”, “tall”, “medium” or “very short”. This vague expression is a little more helpful when the person is identified as a male, female, or child. [4] X Research Sources
- If you can get a more specific estimate, try to describe it in 5 cm increments – for example, “She is about 1.6m to 1.65m tall or “He is about 1.8m to 1m tall”. ,85 meters.”
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Describe your weight with adjectives like “thin,” “fit,” and “large. “ Usually estimating a person’s weight is much more difficult than estimating height. Therefore, you should rely on general classifications to describe a person’s “body shape”, such as “She is very thin” or “He has a large body”. [5] X Research Sources
- Sometimes describing someone’s size and/or weight can sound a little tacky, so unless you have to be as precise as possible (for example, when describing a missing person), you should stick to the description. “body shape” – “thin”, “fit”, etc. [6] X Research source
- Some descriptive words in one dialect seem less tactful than in another. For example, the word “plump” used to describe a woman in British English has a more polite meaning than in American English where people often use “large” or “curvy” rounded curves).
- If specific weight descriptions are required, you should try to estimate in 10-kg increments, if possible.
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Describe the person’s general appearance as tactfully as possible. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so your perception of a “beautiful” person may not be the same as what others see. You can describe your feelings, but be clever, for example: [7] X Research source
- Calling an unattractive person “ordinary” instead of “bad”.
- Use the word “shabby” or “shabby” instead of “dirty.”
- Use the word “good looking” to describe someone with good looks instead of “pretty,” “gorgeous,” even “handsome.”
- The word “soft” is not very precise, but may be the best way to describe someone whose body is the opposite of “fit”, “toned”, or “tough”.
Describing facial contours and characteristic details
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Pay attention to the hair color, length, hairstyle and the nature of the hair. Use generic terms that almost anyone can imagine. For example: [8] X Research Source
- Color: brown, black, yellow, red, red, gray
- Length: shaved, short, long, medium, shoulder length, etc…
- Style: straight, curly, wavy, curly, ponytail, rope braid, bun, etc.
- Properties: messy, sparse, ruffled, clean, shiny, shiny, etc.
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Describe eye color, eye shape, eyebrows and eyeglasses. Similar to hair, you should use simple words that most people can imagine. Example: [9] X Research Source
- Color: black, brown, grey, sky blue, green, hazel
- Shape: big eyes, small eyes, bulging eyes, sunken eyes, crossed eyes, etc.
- Eyebrows: color with properties such as dense, thin, intersecting, etc.
- Eyewear: color, shape, material, thickness and color.
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Notice the contours of the face such as the nose, ears, and lips. Words like “big”, “medium” or “small” are often used to describe ears. To describe your lips, you can use words like “thin”, “medium”, or “juicy”. Nose is often described by the words “short”, “long”, “big”, “small”, “pointed”, “round”, “beak”, “twist”, etc… The face can be described as “long” , “round”, or “flat”. [10] X Research Source
- If you are writing a police report, you should write down features such as “red cheeks”, “puffy eyes” or “double chin”. Otherwise, be tactful and ignore those details!
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Identify distinctive features such as scars and tattoos. These characteristics are extremely important if you are describing a person to the authorities – such as in missing persons or suspect hunting cases. Notice such permanent features and describe them in detail. [11] X Research Source
- Instead of saying “He has a tattoo on his arm,” you should say, “He has a black and red heart tattoo with “Mother” cursive on his upper bicep.”
- If you say generic descriptive words like “tattooed”, people will picture a person with a full body tattoo. [12] X Research Source
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Look for idiosyncrasies such as posture and habits. Do they have a “sloppy” or “humpback” posture? Do they tilt their head to one side or blink their eyes when talking? Do they often shake their thighs while sitting? Small details like these can make it easier for your listeners to visualize the person you’re describing. [13] X Research Source
- Some of these traits will help connect physical appearance to the personality of the person you’re describing, in addition to helping to paint a fuller portrait of that person. [14] X Research Source
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Describe their outfits, or at least their “appearance” or style. If you’re describing to the authorities, try to be as detailed as possible about everything they’re wearing – pants, tops, coats, shoes, hats, etc. For a more general description, you can Talk about a general outfit or style. [15] X Research Source
- Many places use the word “face” to describe a well-dressed and groomed person. [16] X Research Source
Be creative when writing descriptions
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Use figurative language when describing details. Use figurative language to describe the person’s appearance as much as possible with expensive descriptions. This is the creative part of composing! [17] X Research Source
- Instead of writing “She has long red hair”, you can write “Her hair flutters in the wind like a flickering flame”.
- The sentence describing a person “standing like a proud oak tree” conveys a lot about a person’s appearance in just a few words.
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Describe the character so that it fits the style of the article. For example, if you write in a humorous tone, use humorous language to describe the character. If the scene is tense and dramatic, don’t use humorous metaphors in the character description. [18] X Research Sources
- For example, consider the difference between “a sharp glance like a knife” and “a glance as sharp as Thi Color’s.”
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Describe actions that can reveal physical characteristics. By using your character’s actions to evoke details about their appearance, you can cut down on direct descriptions. Incorporate figurative language to help the reader visualize the character. [19] X Research Source
- Example: “He glided through the crowd like a wave licking through a sandcastle at low tide.”
- Or: “She wriggled quietly through the crowd like water through cracks in the sidewalk.”
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Leave something for the reader to imagine. You do not need to describe to the smallest detail of the character! Outline the main features of your character’s appearance and let the reader fill in the gaps with their imagination. [20] X Research Source
- The less a trait contributes to a character, the less it should be mentioned. If your character is tall or short, dark hair or brown hair doesn’t really matter, let the reader decide!
Advice
- Follow a consistent order when you identify a person’s characteristics, and it will be easier for you to remember.
- Try to identify the most prominent feature of the person you want to describe. Take a step back and notice the first thing you notice about the person: a brightly colored hair, for example, or something they wear that you find odd.
- Be discreet when observing someone, because staring is rude, and head-to-toe looks can spark a fight — especially if that person’s lover is watching you too! [21] X Research Source
- Describe more colors. Color of clothes, shoes, eye color, hair color, skin color, etc. can help support your memory.
X
wikiHow is a “wiki” site, which means that many of the articles here are written by multiple authors. To create this article, 49 people, some of whom are anonymous, have edited and improved the article over time.
This article has been viewed 28,959 times.
Describing a person’s appearance sounds simple at first, but when you do it, you find it’s not as easy as you think. Whether you want to describe someone you just met or report a suspect to the police, it’s crucial to identify key physical features and distinguishing features. On the other hand, if you’re portraying a character for your story, it’s equally important to leave some detail to the imagination to convey directly to the reader.
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