Physical appearance

Overview of the "Physical Appearance" Lesson

This lesson introduces you to describing people using adjectives in the nominative case combined with definite and indefinite articles in German. Through vocabulary focused on physical traits like hair type, hair color, and body shape, you will learn how to form simple, clear sentences about someone's appearance.

Key Vocabulary Categories

• Hair Type and Hair Color: der Bart (beard), blond, braunhaarig (brown-haired), die Locken (curls), rothaarig (red-haired), kurz (short)
• Body Size and Shape: groß (tall), klein (small), dick (thick/fat)

Important Example Sentences

• Der große Mann hat braune Haare und einen kurzen Bart. (The tall man has brown hair and a short beard.)
• Eine schöne Frau mit blonden Locken steht am Fenster. (A beautiful woman with blonde curls stands by the window.)
• Das kleine Kind hat schwarze Haare und trägt eine dicke Jacke. (The small child has black hair and wears a thick jacket.)

Using Adjectives with Articles

In German, adjectives often change their endings depending on the gender, number, and case of the noun they describe, especially after definite (der, die, das) and indefinite (ein, eine) articles. This lesson focuses on the nominative case, which is used mainly for grammatical subjects.

Example of adjective-noun combinations

Sie hat lange blonde Haare und trägt eine kleine Brille. (She has long blonde hair and wears small glasses.)

Practical Dialogues for Everyday Descriptions

The lesson contains dialogues set in various everyday situations such as the park, workplace, and café, encouraging you to describe people around you naturally with appropriate adjectives and articles.

Sample expressions from dialogues

• Der Mann mit dem schwarzen Bart ist sehr groß und freundlich. (The man with the black beard is very tall and friendly.)
• Die kleine Frau trägt eine rote Jacke. (The small woman wears a red jacket.)
• Mein neuer Kollege ist ein großer Mann mit braunen Haaren. (My new colleague is a tall man with brown hair.)

Highlighted Grammar Points

This unit also includes practice on verb conjugation related to the topics, focusing on verbs like sehen (to see), haben (to have), sein (to be), and beschreiben (to describe), reinforcing language patterns for describing people.

Example verb conjugation

Ich sehe einen großen Mann mit blonden Haaren. (I see a tall man with blonde hair.)

Notes on Language Differences and Useful Expressions

English speakers learning German should note that German adjective endings change based on the article and case, which is a level of grammatical detail not as emphasized in English. For example, "ein netter Mann" (a nice man - nominative masculine) shows an adjective ending that matches the masculine noun and indefinite article. In English, adjectives remain unchanged regardless of such factors.

Useful phrases include:
Der Mann ist groß. (The man is tall.)
Eine Frau mit blonden Locken. (A woman with blonde curls.)