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Describing People in Italian
In this lesson, you will learn how to describe physical characteristics such as height, build, hair, and eyes. In Italian, adjectives must match the gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) of the person you are describing!
Key Rules:
- Height and Build: Use the verb essere (to be). Adjectives end in -o (masculine singular), -a (feminine singular), -i (masculine plural), or -e (feminine plural).
- Hair and Eyes: Use the verb avere (to have) followed by the noun and the adjective.
Common Adjectives:
| Italian (M/F) | English |
|---|---|
| alto / alta | tall |
| basso / bassa | short |
| biondo / bionda | blond |
| moro / mora | dark-haired |
Common Mistake: Do not use essere for hair color! Say 'ho i capelli biondi' (I have blond hair), not 'sono biondo' (unless you are saying 'I am blond' as a whole person description).
Words
alto
tall
Marco è molto alto.Marco is very tall.
basso
short
Anna è bassa.Anna is short.
biondo
blond
Lei ha i capelli biondi.She has blond hair.
moro
dark-haired
Il ragazzo è moro.The boy has dark hair.
i capelli
the hair
Ho i capelli neri.I have black hair.
gli occhi
the eyes
Lui ha gli occhi azzurri.He has blue eyes.
magro
thin
Mio fratello è magro.My brother is thin.
grasso
fat
Il gatto è grasso.The cat is fat.
Lessons are prepared with the help of AI.
Patterns
___ è alto
Describing someone as tall (masculine)
Il ragazzo è alto.The boy is tall.
ho i capelli ___
Describing your own hair color
Ho i capelli biondi.I have blond hair.
lui ha gli occhi ___
Describing someone's eye color
Lui ha gli occhi azzurri.He has blue eyes.