Do you know how to describe a person’s weight in Russian? Here are some ways, from neutral to complimentary to derogatory.

Вес

The most basic word is вес, weight. You may also hear масса тела (body mass) in medical or scientific contexts. To weight is весить. Weight in Russian is measured in kilograms (килограммы).

— Ско́лько ты ве́сишь?
— Я ве́шу 60 килогра́мм.

(“How much do you weigh?” “I weigh 60 kilograms [around 132 pounds]).”)

Let us look at how Russian talks about weight that is considered—by whoever may be speaking—above or beyond what they consider average.

То́лстый

Probably the most common word for “fat” is то́лстый. This word itself is not rude, apart from the fact that calling someone fat is not considered nice, but that has more to do with the stigma around weight more that the word itself.

Я был болтли́в, толст и трусова́т.
I was chatty, fat, and a tad cowardly.
[Валерий Панюшкин. За Виню (1997) // «Столица», 1997.02.17]

To gain weight may be толсте́ть/растолсте́ть, набира́ть/набра́ть вес or поправля́ться/попра́виться.

По́лный

По́лный, literally “full,” is a more polite way of referring to someone being large. A related word is полне́ть/располне́ть, to gain weight.

Како́го она́ была́ хотя́ бы ро́ста, по́лная и́ли худа́я?
At least, how tall was she, and was she big or skinny?
[Анна Ткачева. Приворот (1996)]

Жи́рный

Жир is a noun meaning fat or grease. Жи́рный is probably the most hurtful word for a fat person and is considered rude. Ожире́ние is the medical term for obesity.

Капитали́сты жи́рные, стра́шные ― это нам внуши́ли с де́тства…
We learned from an early age that capitalists were fat and scary…
[Светлана Алексиевич. Время second-hand // «Дружба народов», 2013]

Худо́й

On the opposite end of the spectrum is худо́й, thin. This word is interesting because худо́й also means “bad,” as is obvious from the degrees of comparison of “bad” in Russian: плохо́й—ху́же—ху́дший (bad—worse—worst). You may also remember it from the saying “Худо́й мир лу́чше до́брой ссо́ры” (literally, “A bad peace is better than a good quarrel”). Of course, now that thinness is considered desirable among speakers of Russian, худо́й has lost some of its bad connotations.

Была́ она́ до черноты́ загоре́лой и ещё бо́лее худо́й, чем обыкнове́нно.
She was extremely tanned and even skinnier than usual.
[Людмила Улицкая. Казус Кукоцкого [Путешествие в седьмую сторону света] // «Новый Мир», 2000]

To lose weight is худе́ть/похуде́ть. Weight loss that is desirable is called похуде́ние (or похуда́ние if you want to sound more bookish or sell someone weight-loss supplements :)). This word has a positive connotation and probably wouldn’t be used to talk about someone who is malnourished.

Стро́йный

Стро́йный is close to “slim” or “slender” and is a positive word. This word is related to стро́ить, to build.

Че́рез неде́лю меня́ полюби́ла стро́йная де́вушка в и́мпортных туфля́х.
A week later, a slender woman in imported shoes fell in love with me.
[Сергей Довлатов. Чемодан (1986)]

This was an overview of some common ways of talking about someone’s weight and build. Do you know any other ones? Are they positive, negative, or neutral?