Dear Readers, are you tall or short? What colour are your eyes? Do you have straight or curly hair? How well would you be able to describe yourselves in Italian?

Mugshot of an infamous Italian … who is it?
Photo: Public Domain

Here are a few examples of simple descriptions of a couple of my friends.

Michele: è di media altezza e grasso. Ha il viso tondo, gli occhi piccoli e porta gli occhiali spessi. I suoi capelli sono brizzolati, e ha il naso un po’ a patata. Ha un bel sorriso simpatico.
Michele: is medium height, and fat. He has a round face, small eyes, and wears thick glasses. His hair is grizzled, and he has a flat nose. He has a really nice friendly smile

Omar: è alto e di corporatura media. Ha il viso tondo e sorridente, ed è calvo in alto e rasato ai lati. Ha la carnagione rosea scura, e un po’ di barba ispida.
Omar: is tall and medium weight. He has a round smiling face, and is bald on top with the sides shaven. He has dark and rosy skin, and a bit of stubbly beard.

Here’s a list of some of the basic vocabulary that we use when describing physical attributes:

Ha gli occhi verdi. Photo (CC) by Tess Mayer

la statura = stature
l’altezza = height
alto = tall
basso = short
di media altezza/statura = medium height

la corporatura = body size
grasso = fat
magro = thin
normale = normal

il viso = the face
rotondo =round
ovale = oval shaped
quadrato = square

gli occhi = the eyes
neri = black
castani, castani chiari, castani scuri = brown, light brown, dark brown
azzurri = blue
verdi = green
grandi/piccoli = big/small
a mandorla = almond shaped

la bocca = the mouth
grande/piccola = big/small
labbra carnose/sottili= full/thin lips

il naso = the nose
grande/piccolo = big/small
a patata/schiacciato = flat
all’insù = upturned
aquilino = eagle like

la carnagione = skin colour
chiara, scura, olivastra = light, dark, olive

Ha i capelli lunghi. Photo (CC) by Tambako The Jaguar

i capelli = the hair
lunghi = long
corti = short
calvo = bald
ricci = curly
lisci = straight
mossi = between curly and straight
biondi = blonde
castani, castani chiari, castani scuri = brown, light brown, dark brown
rossi = ginger/red
neri = black
grigi = grey
brizzolati = grizzled/salt and pepper grey

we also say: è bionda/o, è castana/o, è brizzolata/o, è mora/o

altre caratteristiche = other characteristics
le sopracciglia folte/sottili = bushy/thin eyebrows
la barba = beard
i baffi = moustache
il pizzetto = goatee
porta gli occhiali = (he/she) wears glasses
ha le spalle larghe/strette = (he/she) has broad/narrow shoulders

Now, imagine that you’re arriving in Italy at short notice. You will be met at the airport/railway station by an Italian acquaintance who has never seen you before, and who speaks no English. Describe yourself to them in Italian so that they’ll be able to pick you out from the crowd. Over to you.

As usual, don’t hesitate to ask if you need help.