Physical appearance
Wygląd zewnętrzny
- Describe people's physical appearance
- Use adjectives to describe people.
This lesson covers vocabulary and expressions to describe physical appearance in Polish, including key words like włosy (hair), oczy (eyes), wysoki (tall), and szczupły (slim), helping you talk about hairstyles, eye colors, and body features naturally.
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: Assign the following words to the appropriate categories related to physical appearance to remember them more easily.
Cechy włosów
Cechy ciała
Ćwiczenie 4: Conversation exercise
Instrukcja:
- 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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Pierwsza kobieta ma krótkie blond włosy. The first woman has short blond hair. |
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Ma krótkie czarne włosy. Goli się. He has short black hair. He shaves himself. |
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Pies jest bardzo wysoki i chudy. The dog is very tall and thin. |
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Claire jest wysoka i ma długie blond włosy. Claire is tall and has long blond hair. |
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On ma krótkie ciemne włosy. He has short dark hair. |
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On jest bardzo wysoki. He is very tall. |
| ... |
Exercise 5: Dialogue Cards
Instruction: Select a situation and practice the conversation with your teacher or fellow students.
Exercise 6: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Choose the correct solution
1. Moja siostra ____ krótkie, blond włosy i zielone oczy.
(My sister ____ short, blonde hair and green eyes.)2. Ona ____ wysoka i szczupła, co bardzo mi się podoba.
(She ____ tall and slim, which I like very much.)3. Mój brat ____ niebieskie oczy i długie, ciemne włosy.
(My brother ____ blue eyes and long, dark hair.)4. Lubię, kiedy ludzie ____ uprzejmi i mają ładny uśmiech.
(I like when people ____ polite and have a nice smile.)Exercise 7: Meeting in the Park
Instruction:
Verb Tables
Iść - To go
Czas teraźniejszy
- ja idę
- ty idziesz
- on/ona/ono idzie
- my idziemy
- wy idziecie
- oni/one idą
Być - To be
Czas teraźniejszy
- ja jestem
- ty jesteś
- on/ona/ono jest
- my jesteśmy
- wy jesteście
- oni/one są
Mieć - To have
Czas teraźniejszy
- ja mam
- ty masz
- on/ona/ono ma
- my mamy
- wy macie
- oni/one mają
Lubić - To like
Czas teraźniejszy
- ja lubię
- ty lubisz
- on/ona/ono lubi
- my lubimy
- wy lubicie
- oni/one lubią
Nosić - To wear
Czas teraźniejszy
- ja noszę
- ty nosisz
- on/ona/ono nosi
- my nosimy
- wy nosicie
- oni/one noszą
Mówić - To say
Czas teraźniejszy
- ja mówię
- ty mówisz
- on/ona/ono mówi
- my mówimy
- wy mówicie
- oni/one mówią
Oglądać - To watch
Czas teraźniejszy
- ja oglądam
- ty oglądasz
- on/ona/ono ogląda
- my oglądamy
- wy oglądacie
- oni/one oglądają
Rozmawiać - To talk
Czas teraźniejszy
- ja rozmawiam
- ty rozmawiasz
- on/ona/ono rozmawia
- my rozmawiamy
- wy rozmawiacie
- oni/one rozmawiają
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Overview of Physical Appearance in Polish
This lesson focuses on describing physical appearance in Polish at the beginner (A1) level. You will learn useful vocabulary related to hair, body features, and facial traits to help talk about yourself and others.
Key Vocabulary Categories
- Hair Characteristics (Cechy włosów): krótkie (short), długie (long), kręcone (curly), proste (straight), jasne (light)
- Body Features (Cechy ciała): wysoki (tall), niski (short), szczupły (slim)
Describing People
Common sentence structures combine these adjectives with verbs like mać (to have) and być (to be). Examples include:
- On ma krótkie, ciemne włosy. - He has short, dark hair.
- Ona jest wysoka i szczupła. - She is tall and slim.
- Mam brodę i noszę czarne okulary. - I have a beard and wear black glasses.
- On ma niebieskie oczy i jasną skórę. - He has blue eyes and fair skin.
Communication Practice
You will find dialogues that let you practice talking about new acquaintances, describing colleagues, or people in photos. These conversations use natural phrases to talk about appearance and personality traits.
Grammar Focus
The lesson also reviews conjugation of important verbs in the present tense, such as być (to be), mać (to have), and lubić (to like), essential for making sentences about physical features.
A short story about meeting people in a park introduces verbs in context, helping to reinforce the grammar and vocabulary learned.
Important Notes on Language Differences
Polish and English handle descriptions differently. In Polish, the verb mać (to have) is frequently used when describing features like hair and eyes, whereas English often uses to be. For example, where English speakers say "She is tall," Poles say Ona jest wysoka using jest (is), and for details like "She has blue eyes," Poles say Ma niebieskie oczy with ma (has).
Useful phrases that are ready to use include:
- Czy masz długie czy krótkie włosy? - Do you have long or short hair?
- On jest wysoki i ma niebieskie oczy. - He is tall and has blue eyes.
- Ona wygląda bardzo młodo. - She looks very young.
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