Physical appearance
Aspetto fisico
- Describe people's physical appearance
- Use adjectives to describe people.
- The agreement of adjectives
This lesson covers the agreement of adjectives to describe physical appearance in Italian, focusing on useful words like alto (tall), basso (short), bello (beautiful), and carino (nice). You will learn to describe people’s height and beauty using phrases such as "Lei ha i capelli lunghi e lisci" and "Com'è il tuo amico? È alto e biondo."
Listening & reading materials
Practice vocabulary in context with real materials.
Vocabulary (17) Share Copied!
Exercises Share Copied!
These exercises can be done together during conversation lessons or as homework.
Exercise 1: Reorder sentences
Instruction: Make correct sentences and translate.
Exercise 2: Match a word
Instruction: Match the translations
Exercise 3: Cluster the words
Instruction: Divide these words into two groups: those that indicate a person's height and those that describe their aesthetic appearance.
Parole che indicano l'altezza
Parole che descrivono l'aspetto estetico
Exercise 4: Translate and use in a sentence
Instruction: Pick a word, translated and use the word in a sentence or dialogue.
1
Moro
Dark-haired
2
Liscio
Straight
3
Guardare
To watch
4
Castano
Brown
5
Brutto
Ugly
Esercizio 5: Conversation exercise
Istruzione:
- Describe the people and animals in the pictures. (Describe the people and animals in the pictures.)
- Describe the person sitting next to you. (Describe the person sitting next to you.)
Teaching guidelines +/- 10 minutes
Example phrases:
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La prima donna ha i capelli corti e biondi. The first woman has short blond hair. |
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Ha i capelli corti e neri. Si fa la barba. He has short black hair. He shaves himself. |
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Il cane è molto alto e magro. The dog is very tall and thin. |
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Claire è alta e ha lunghi capelli biondi. Claire is tall and has long blond hair. |
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Ha i capelli corti e scuri. He has short dark hair. |
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Lui è molto alto. He is very tall. |
| ... |
Exercise 6: Dialogue Cards
Instruction: Select a situation and practice the conversation with your teacher or fellow students.
Exercise 7: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Choose the correct solution
1. _____ spesso le persone per capire come sono fisicamente.
(_____ often watch people to understand how they are physically.)2. Lei _____ molto a sua madre, ha i capelli biondi.
(She _____ a lot like her mother, she has blonde hair.)3. Noi _____ le differenze tra le persone che incontriamo ogni giorno.
(We _____ at the differences between the people we meet every day.)4. Gli amici di Marco _____ tra loro perché sono tutti magri e alti.
(Marco's friends _____ alike because they are all thin and tall.)Exercise 8: Describing the physical appearance of new people
Instruction:
Verb Tables
Guardare - Look
Presente
- io guardo
- tu guardi
- lui/lei guarda
- noi guardiamo
- voi guardate
- loro guardano
Avere - Have
Presente
- io ho
- tu hai
- lui/lei ha
- noi abbiamo
- voi avete
- loro hanno
Sembrar - Seem
Presente
- io sembro
- tu sembri
- lui/lei sembra
- noi sembriamo
- voi sembrate
- loro sembrano
Assomigliare - Resemble
Presente
- io assomiglio
- tu assomigli
- lui/lei assomiglia
- noi assomigliamo
- voi assomigliate
- loro assomigliano
Exercise 9: La concordanza degli aggettivi
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
Grammar: The agreement of adjectives
Show translation Show answersmagro, biondi, castani, bella, bassi, lunghe, mossi, piccola
Grammar Share Copied!
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Verb conjugation tables for this lesson Share Copied!
Guardare to watch Share Copied!
Presente
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| (io) guardo | I watch |
| (tu) guardi | You watch |
| (lui/lei) guarda | he/she watches |
| (noi) guardiamo | we watch |
| (voi) guardate | you watch |
| (loro) guardano | they watch |
Assomigliare to resemble Share Copied!
Presente
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| (io) assomiglio | I resemble |
| (tu) assomigli | You resemble |
| (lui/lei) assomiglia | he/she resembles |
| (noi) assomigliamo | we resemble |
| (voi) assomigliate | You resemble |
| (loro) assomigliano | they resemble |
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Introduction to Describing Physical Appearance in Italian
This lesson focuses on describing physical appearance using Italian adjectives and expressions. You'll learn to talk about height, hair, eyes, and beauty traits with simple sentences and how to agree adjectives properly with the nouns they describe.
Key Grammar Point: Adjective Agreement (La concordanza degli aggettivi)
In Italian, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. For example:
- Com'è il tuo amico? È alto e biondo.
- Lei ha i capelli lunghi e lisci, molto belli.
Common Adjectives to Describe Height
- alto (tall)
- basso (short)
- piccolo (small)
Common Adjectives to Describe Beauty and Appearance
- bello / bella (beautiful)
- brutto (ugly)
- carino (cute, nice)
Useful Expressions and Vocabulary
Here are some phrases useful for describing people:
- Lei ha i capelli biondi e gli occhi azzurri. (She has blond hair and blue eyes.)
- Il signore è alto e porta gli occhiali. (The gentleman is tall and wears glasses.)
- I bambini sono bassi ma molto veloci. (The children are short but very fast.)
- La ragazza ha i capelli mossi e un sorriso carino. (The girl has wavy hair and a cute smile.)
Dialogues for Practice
Several dialogues help describe physical appearance in real-life settings like the park, workplace, and social environments. For example:
- Discuss the physical traits of people at the park: "Guarda quella donna al parco. Sì, è alta e ha i capelli lunghi e biondi."
- Describe colleagues' appearances: "Hai visto il nuovo collega? È alto e magro."
Verb Use in Descriptions
Important verbs related to physical description include:
- guardare (to look/watch): io guardo, tu guardi...
- assomigliare (to resemble): io assomiglio, tu assomigli...
- essere (to be): io sono, tu sei...
Example sentence: Io guardo spesso le persone nella piazza per descrivere il loro aspetto fisico.
Short Story for Context
A short story about describing people at a party uses the verbs and adjective agreements learned:
Ieri sera sono andato a una festa con i miei amici. Quando guardiamo tutti gli invitati, ci accorgiamo che molte persone assomigliano a qualcuno che conosciamo.
Note on Language Differences
Italian adjective agreement is more explicit and important than in English. In Italian, adjectives must match both gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) of the noun, unlike English where adjectives are invariable. For example, "alto" becomes "alta" for feminine singular and "alti" or "alte" for plurals. Also, Italian sentences often place adjectives after nouns, e.g., "ragazzo alto" (tall boy), whereas English places adjective before the noun.
Useful phrases for daily use include:
- Com'è ...? - "What is ... like?" (to ask about someone's appearance)
- È ... e ... - "He/She is ... and ..." (to describe features)
- assomiglia a ... - "He/She resembles ..."
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