Spanish adjectives to describe a person
There exist many Spanish adjectives to describe a person. We want to show you the 25 most essential words and the necessary Spanish phrases to describe a person.
If you are not very familiar with how to use the Spanish adjectives correctly, we strongly recommend watching our video on YouTube:
The essential Spanish phrases to describe a person
Let’s start with the essential Spanish phrases to describe a person.
If you want to describe yourself as a person in Spanish, you would say Soy una persona (muy)…. (I am a (very) …. person.). For example:
Soy una persona muy tímida. (I am a very shy person.)
Please note that you have to say tímida and not tímido, whether you are male or female. The adjective tímida refers to the noun (la persona) in this sentence.
Also, you can simply use the verb ser to describe a person in Spanish.
Julia es (muy) celosa. (Julia is very jealous).
Pedro es (muy) celoso. (Pedro is very jealous).
In this case, it important to mention that you have to declinate the Spanish adjective correctly, whether you are male or female!
Using SER or ESTAR to describe a person in Spanish?
In most cases, you would have to use the Spanish verb ser, because a person’s character is permanent. It usually doesn’t change. Also, you have to use ser if you describe the person’s nationality or profession.
If you describe temporary states (like emotions) caused by a specific situation, you must use the verb estar. For example : “Julia is very nervous because she has an exam today.”
If you want to learn about the correct use of ser and estar, please read more here or watch our learning video on Youtube.
How to describe a person in Spanish?
In general, you could follow a few simple steps to describe a person in Spanish. You could tell something about:
- the nationality
- the profession
- the physical appearance
- and the personality/character
No doubt that there exist numerous Spanish adjectives to describe a person. We always recommend only practicing a few first and making them part of your active vocabulary, meaning that you can use them as a Spanish speaker.
Let’s start with describing yourself as a person in Spanish. Have a look at this chart and try to describe yourself like in the example!
Soy…
alemán/a (german)
de Alemania (from Germany).
francés (french)
de Francia (from France).
sueco/a (swedish)
de España (from Spain)
de los Estados Unidos (from the US)
Soy…
un profesor / una profesora
un médico
Trabajo como…
abogado/a
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Fun Exercise: Famous persons!
Why don’t you try to describe famous persons in Spanish? You could make a fun game out of it. You need at least two more people to play it. Write the name of a famous person on a small note. Stick it on the forehead of another person so they can’t see who they are supposed to guess.
Every player is only allowed to ask questions that the others can answer with “yes” or “no The player who first guesses correctly wins.
You can ask like:
“Soy una persona ….?
or
“Tengo un character….?
It’s a good way to practice your vocabulary and, of course also the Spanish adjectives to describe a person.
