Spanish: Describing People Vocabulary

• These flashcards cover vocabulary for describing people in Spanish, including physical appearance and personality traits.
• They also include questions and answers related to describing people.

Describing people

• ¿Cómo eres? translates to "What are you like?".
• Soy... translates to "I am..." and is used to describe oneself.
• ¿Cómo es él / ella / usted? means "What is he / she / you (formal) like?".
• Él / Ella / Usted es... means "He / She is, You (formal) are...".
• ¿Cómo es tu madre / padre? asks "What is your mom / dad like?".
• Mi madre / padre es... means "My mom / dad is...".

Personality traits

• Bueno(a) means good-natured.
• Artístico(a) means artistic.
• Atlético(a) means athletic.
• Cómico(a) means funny.
• Simpático(a) means nice.
• Serio(a) means serious.
• Talentoso(a) means talented.
• Perezoso(a) means lazy.
• Trabajador(a) means hardworking.
• Paciente means patient.
• Impaciente means impatient.
• Amable means friendly.

Physical Attributes

• Alto(a) means tall.
• Bajo(a) means short (height).
• Joven means young.
• Viejo(a) means old.
• Organizado(a) means organized.
• Desorganizado(a) means disorganized.
• Sociable means sociable.
• Tímido(a) means shy.
• Rubio(a) means blonde (headed).
• Pelirrojo(a) means red-haired.
• Moreno(a) means brunette.

People

• El amigo means friend (male).
• La amiga means friend (female).
• El profesor means teacher (male).
• La profesora means teacher (female).
• El chico means boy.
• La chica means girl.
• El hombre means man.
• La mujer means woman.

Describing hair

• El pelo means hair.
• ¿Cómo es tu pelo? translates to "What is your hair like? (color, length, etc.)".
• Tengo el pelo _______ translates to "I have ________ hair."
• ¿Cómo es el pelo de tu hermana? asks "What is your sister's hair like?".
• El pelo de mi hermana es rojo / Su pelo es rojo translates to "My sister's hair is red / Her hair is red."
• Café / marrón means dark / brown.
• Negro means black.
• Rojo means red.
• Canoso means gray.
• Corto means short (used w/ hair).
• Largo means long.

Describing eyes

• Los ojos means eyes.
• ¿Cómo son tus ojos? asks "What are your eyes like?".
• Tengo los ojos _____ means "I have ________ eyes".
• Él / Ella / Usted tiene los ojos _____ means "He /She has, You (formal) have _____ eyes."
• Azul, azules means blue.
• Verde, verdes means green.
• ¿Cómo son los ojos de tu madre? asks "What are your mother's eyes like?".
• Los ojos de mi madre son azules / Sus ojos son azules translates to "My mother's eyes are blue / Her eyes are blue."

Pronouns

• Nosotros, nosotras means we.
• Vosotros, vosotras means y'all (plural, used in Spain).
• Ustedes means you all (plural).
• Subject pronouns indicate who is performing the action of the verb.
• They include:
  • Yo (I)
  • Tú (You, informal)
  • Él (He)
  • Ella (She)
  • Usted (You, formal)
  • Nosotros/Nosotras (We, masculine/feminine)
  • Vosotros/Vosotras (You, plural, informal, masculine/feminine – mainly used in Spain)
  • Ellos/Ellas (They, masculine/feminine)
  • Ustedes (You, plural, formal – used in Latin America and also accepted in Spain)

Conjugations of Ser

• Nosotros, nosotras somos translates as we are.
• Vosotros, vosotras sois translates as y'all (plural, used in Spain) are.
• Ustedes son translates as you (plural) are.
• "Ser" is an irregular verb, so its conjugations do not follow typical patterns.
• Here are the present tense conjugations:
  • Yo soy (I am)
  • Tú eres (You are, informal)
  • Él/Ella/Usted es (He/She is/You are, formal)
  • Nosotros/Nosotras somos (We are)
  • Vosotros/Vosotras sois (You are, plural, informal)
  • Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes son (They are/You are, plural, formal)

Conjugations of Tener

• Tenemos means we have.
• Tenéis means y'all (plural, used in Spain) have.
• Ellos / Ellas / Uds. tienen means They or you all (plural) have.

Additional Vocabulary

• Alumno/a means student.
• Bonita means beautiful.
• Linda means cute.
• Guapo means handsome.
• Feo means ugly.
• Inteligente means smart.
• Interesante means interesting.
• Novio means boyfriend.
• Novia means girlfriend.
• Tatuaje means tattoo.
• Cantante means singer.
• Rapero/a means rapper.
• Actor means actor.
• Actriz means actress.
• Calvo means bald.
• Loco means crazy.
• Fuerte means strong.
• Débil means weak.
• Gordo/a means fat.
• Flaco/a means skinny.
• Antipático/a means mean.
• Pelo liso means straight hair.
• Pelo ondulado means wavy.
• Pelo rizado means curly hair.

Ser

• "Ser" is a Spanish verb meaning "to be" and is used to describe inherent or permanent characteristics.
• "Ser" is one of the two main verbs for "to be" in Spanish; the other is "estar".
• "Ser" is used to describe things like origin, characteristics, time, and more permanent states.

Uses of Ser

• Origin: To indicate where someone or something is from such as Yo soy de España, meaning I am from Spain.
• Characteristics: To describe inherent qualities such as Ella es inteligente, meaning she is intelligent.
• Time and Date: To tell time and date such as Hoy es lunes, meaning today is Monday.
• Occupation: To state someone's profession such as Él es médico, meaning he is a doctor.
• Relationships: To describe relationships between people such as Nosotros somos amigos, meaning we are friends.
• Possession: To indicate ownership such as El libro es de Juan, meaning the book is Juan's.
• Events: To describe where an event is taking place such as La fiesta es en mi casa, meaning the party is at my house.
• Nationality: To describe someone's nationality such as Usted es mexicano, meaning you are Mexican.
• Physical Attributes: To describe physical attributes of a person or thing such as Ella es alta, meaning she is tall.
• The verb "ser" must agree with the subject pronoun in number and person.
• If the subject is "yo", then the verb form must be "soy".

Making Adjectives Feminine or Masculine

• Adjectives must agree in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) with the nouns they modify.
• Masculine adjectives usually end in -o and feminine adjectives end in -a.

Basic Rules for Adjectives

• Masculine Singular: Adjective usually ends in -o, such as El chico es alto, meaning the boy is tall.
• Feminine Singular: Change the -o to -a, such as La chica es alta, meaning the girl is tall.
• Masculine Plural: Add -s to the masculine singular form if it ends in a vowel, or -es if it ends in a consonant, such as Los chicos son altos (the boys are tall) and Los hombres son trabajadores (the men are hardworking).
• Feminine Plural: Add -s to the feminine singular form if it ends in a vowel, or -es if it ends in a consonant, such as Las chicas son altas (the girls are tall) and Las mujeres son trabajadoras (the women are hardworking).

Adjectives Ending in -e or Consonant

• Adjectives that end in -e or a consonant usually have the same form for both masculine and feminine.
• Masculine/Feminine Singular: The adjective remains the same, such as El hombre es inteligente / La mujer es inteligente (the man is intelligent / the woman is intelligent) and El libro es fácil / La tarea es fácil (the book is easy / the homework is easy).
• Masculine/Feminine Plural: Add -s if the adjective ends in a vowel, or -es if it ends in a consonant, such as Los hombres son inteligentes / Las mujeres son inteligentes (the men are intelligent / the women are intelligent) and Los libros son fáciles / Las tareas son fáciles (the books are easy / the homework assignments are easy).

Exceptions and Irregularities

• Some adjectives have irregular forms or do not change based on gender.
• Adjectives ending in -or (like trabajador) follow the regular pattern, but their feminine form may add an accent, such as El hombre es trabajador / La mujer es trabajadora (The man is hardworking / The woman is hardworking).
• Adjectives of nationality ending in a consonant add -a for the feminine form, such as Él es español / Ella es española (He is Spanish / She is Spanish).

Using Adjectives with Ser

• When using "ser" to describe nouns, the adjective must agree in gender and number with the noun.
• Examples:
  • El coche es rojo (The car is red.)
  • La casa es roja (The house is red.)
  • Los coches son rojos (The cars are red.)
  • Las casas son rojas (The houses are red.)

Learn Spanish vocabulary for describing people, including physical appearance and personality traits. Includes common questions and answers for describing people. Master adjectives like 'atlético' and phrases like '¿Cómo eres?'