How to Describe people in Chinese 1-on-1 online lessons at tutormandarin

Do you remember the lady who sits across you in the metro last night? Or the man who stand next to you on the bus this morning? What does he or she look like? Is he tall? Is her hair blond? With long curly hair? Wearing glasses or earrings? Don’t worry, this is not a memory test. Today, we’ll teach you how to describe people in Chinese. How they look, their hair, their eye color, their nose, their height, their body shape….etc.

Also, are you heading to China soon and need some tips about how to say “thank you”, “sorry” or, “I love you” in Chinese? Check out our posts about different ways to say thank you in Chinese, 5 ways to say sorry in Chinese, 5 ways to say I love you. Looking for some simple Chinese phrases ? Check out or posts about ask about the weather, ask about relationships and marriage, or our last post about Chinese superstition. 

 

Describing Hair   头发 Tóufǎ

Long/ short hair	长/ 短 发	zhǎng/ duǎn fā
Straight/ curly / wavy hair	直/ 卷/ 波浪 发	zhí/ juǎn/ bōlàng fā
Brown/ black/ blond/red hair	咖啡色/ 黑色/ 金色/ 红色 头发	kāfēisè/ hēisè/ jīnsè/ hóngsè tóufǎ
Pony tail	马尾	mǎwěi
bald/ crew, buzz cut/ bareheaded	秃头/ 平头/ 光头	tūtóu/ píngtóu/ guāngtóu

She has beautiful long black hair.

她留着一头乌黑的长发

Tā liúzhe yītóu wūhēi de cháng fā

His brother got a buzz cut a few days ago.

他哥哥前几天理了平头

Tā gēgē qián jǐ tiān lǐle píngtóu

 

Describing Eyes   眼睛   Yǎnjīng

Big / small Eyes	大/ 小眼睛	Dà/ xiǎo yǎnjīng
Double/ single eyelids	双/ 单眼皮	shuāng/ dānyǎnpí
Blue/ brown/ black/ gray eyes	蓝色/ 棕色/ 黑色/ 灰色 眼睛	lán sè/ zōngsè/ hēisè/ huīsè yǎnjīng
Long/ short eyelashes	眼睫毛很长/ 很短	yǎnjiémáo hěn zhǎng/ hěn duǎn
Thick/ thin eyebrow	浓/ 细眉	nóng/ xì méi

His sister has a pair of big brown eyes.

他姊姊有着一双棕色的大眼睛

Tā jiě jie yǒuzhe yīshuāng zōngsè de dà yǎnjīng

With his thick eyebrows and big eyes with double eyelashes, girls always fall for him.

有着浓眉大眼和双眼皮的他，总是迷倒许多女生

Yǒuzhe nóngméi dà yǎn hé shuāng yǎnpí de tā, zǒng shì mí dào xǔduō nǚshēng

 

Describing Nose, Mouth, Ears

鼻子, 嘴巴, 耳朵   Bízi, zuǐba, ěrduo

Big/ small nose	大/ 小 鼻子	Dà/ xiǎo bízi
Straight/ flat nose	鼻子挺/ 塌	bízi tǐng/ tā
Big/ small mouth	大/ 小 嘴巴	dà/ xiǎo zuǐba
Beard/ mustache	胡子	húzi
Big/ small ears	大/ 小 耳朵	dà/ xiǎo ěrduo

His dad has a straight nose and bushy beard.

他爸爸有着直挺的鼻子和浓密的胡须

Tā bàba yǒuzhe zhí tǐng de bízi hé nóngmì de húxū

 

Describing Height, Body Shape

身高, 体型   Shēngāo, tǐxíng

Tall/ short	高/ 矮	Gāo/ ǎi
Fat/ skinny/ fit/ strong	胖/ 瘦/ 健康/ 强壮	pàng/ shòu/ jiànkāng/ qiángzhuàng
Tanned/ White	黑/ 白	hēi/ bái

She has two brothers, one is taller and skinnier. The other is shorter and fatter.

她有两个哥哥，一个哥哥比较高、比较瘦，另一个比较矮也比较胖

Tā yǒu liǎng gè gēgē, yīgè gēgē bǐjiào gāo bǐjiào shòu, lìng yīgè bǐjiào ǎi yě bǐjiào pàng

Other useful descriptions

Wearing glasses	戴眼镜	Dài yǎnjìng
Wearing earrings	戴耳环	Dài ěrhuán
Wearing a hat/ cap	戴帽子	Dài màozi