Appearance and character

When we speak of somebody’s appearance we mean his (her) figure, hair, feet, hands, etc. In describing the figure we mention the build. A man or a woman may be solidly built, delicately built, well-made, stocky, frail and petite. The figure may be slender, unright or stooping, thin or stout (fat – it is more polite to call a person stout, as fat implies the idea of something unpleasant. Thick in this meaning is used for parts of the body, but not when speaking of the figure as a whole).

A person may be tall, tallish, short, shortish or middle-sized. The arm may be short, long, thin, shapely. The hand may be small, large, plump, delicate. The fingers may be thin, thick, short, long, bony. (Fingers: thumb, forefinger, middle finger, ring finger, little finger.) The legs may be short, long, fine, shapely. The feet (which are at the very ends of the legs) may be small, large, flat, narrow, pretty. We have five toes on each foot. The manner of walking is called the walk. One’s steps may be light, heavy, firm.

The head is covered with hair. Hair may be short, long, straight, curly, wavy, crisp. As to the colour hair may be black, dark, red, brown, auburn, chestnut, golden, fair, grey, silver, white, jet-black, grizzled. Women have their hair done in various styles at the hair dresser’s. Men go to have a shave, to have their hair cut, to have their whiskers (sideburns), beards, moustache trimmed. According to the fashion women’s hair may be bobbed, shingled, waved or done in a knot. Women may wear their hair long, short, in plaits, in locks, some may have a fringe. Some men lose their hair and go bald.

The face may be squared, oval, round, thin, plump. The colour of the skin, especially of the face, is called the complexion. It may be dark, fair, ruddy, rosy, fresh, pale.

The forehead may be large, broad, narrow, high, low, lined, wrinkled, furrowed, sloping.

The eyes are protected by the eyelids with the eyelashes on their edges. The eyes may be of different colours: dark, black, hazel, brown, blue, grey, green, amber. The eyes may be deep-set, wide-set, close-set, sunken (hollow), hooded, or protuberant.

The cheeks may be rosy, pink, pale, with a beauty spot. Many old people or ill people have hollow cheeks.

The nose may be straight, hooked, aquiline, Grecian, Roman, retroussé, turned-up or snub.

The shape of the lips makes them well-cut, firm, thin, full, delicate.

The teeth may be even, uneven, large, small, tiny.

When a woman’s face and figure delights us we say: She is beautiful, good- looking. When we speak of a man we use the words handsome, good-looking but not beautiful. The words attractive and pretty help to describe a person pleasant to look at.

If there is nothing particular in one’s appearance we call it common. To characterize somebody’s appearance in a negative way we use the words plain or ugly. When we ask for a description of a person we do not know we say: What does she (he) look like? or What is she (he) like? If we speak about a person whom we know but have not seen for a long time, we say: How does she (he) look like? If a person resembles (bears resemblance to) somebody we say: He looks like his father or He takes after his father.

Twins are usually alike as two peas (in a pod), but sometimes they are alike as chalk and cheese.

We say that a person looks his age when he looks neither older nor younger than he is in reality. But if he looks younger or older we say: He looks young (old) for his age. When the person looks younger than he is we say that he is well-preserved. When a person takes great care of his appearance we say that he is well-groomed.

During life we get in touch with many people. We all know a saying: “So many characters, so many people” and it is really true. Character is the most important thing in a person which attracts or repulses other people. Each of us has his or her good and bad traits of character, but some of them come to the fore, that’s why we can say: He is a bad man, because he is rude or impertinent. And he is good man, because he is courageous, generous, and kind-hearted. Every person has many friends and a lot of acquaintances and they are all different. Probably some of them are very kind-hearted and friendly, some are not so kind but they are devoted friends and always help their friends, but they can be cold or indifferent to other people. Also some traits have a double nature. For example: persevering people can become obstinate. A lot of things can change a person’s character. Every character is formed in the society therefore the society determines one’s character.