List of Spanish adjectives to describe people

If you are currently learning how to speak Spanish, you will eventually need a list of Spanish adjectives to describe people.

Adjectives are an essential part of any language and, while you may feel that the adjectives “bueno” or “malo” are perfectly adequate at your current Spanish level, there will come a time when you would like to use something more expressive.

This article will discuss how to use Spanish adjectives to describe a person so that you can express yourself more creatively and clearly in Spanish.

Of course, it may seem daunting to learn a list of adjectives by heart, but there is some good news! Many Spanish adjectives are actually quite similar to their counterparts in English and this will no doubt help you along. Also, learning some Spanish adjectives to describe people will help your vocabulary to improve.

The following is a list of some common Spanish adjectives to describe people.

Spanish adjectives to describe a person physically:

 ÉL ES/ELLA ES… – He is/She is…

• ALTO (m) / ALTA (f) = Tall
• BAJO (m) / BAJA (f) = Short
• DELGADO (m) / DELGADA (f) = Thin
• GORDO (m) / GORDA (f) = Fat
• GUAPO (m) / GUAPA (f) = Good-looking
• FEO (m) / FEA (f) = Ugly
• JOVEN (m/f) = Young
• MAYOR (m/f) = Old

ÉL/ELLA TIENE EL PELO… – His/Her hair is…

• CASTAÑO = Brown
• CANOSO/GRIS = Grey
• NEGRO = Black
• RUBIO = Blond
• CORTO = Short
• LARGO = Long
• LISO = Straight
• ONDULADO = Wavy
• RIZADO = Curly

ÉL/ELLA TIENE LOS OJOS… – His/Her eyes are…

• AZULES = Blue
• MARRONES = Brown
• NEGROS = Black
• VERDES = Green
• GRANDES = Big
• PEQUEÑOS = Small

Spanish adjectives to describe personality:

• ALEGRE (m/f) = Cheerful
• AMABLE (m/f) = Kind
• ANTIPÁTICO (m) / ANTIPÁTICA (f) = Unpleasant
• BUENO (m) / BUENA (f) = Good
• CARIÑOSO (m) / CARIÑOSA (f) = Affectionate
• CELOSO (m) / CELOSA (f) = Jealous
• COBARDE (m/f) = Cowardly
• EGOISTA (m/f) = Selfish
• EMPÁTICO (m) / EMPÁTICA (f) = Empathic
• ENVIDIOSO (m) / ENVIDIOSA (f) = Envious
• GENEROSO (m) / GENEROSA (f) = Generous
• INTELIGENTE (m/f) = Intelligent
• LISTO (m) / LISTA (f) = Bright/Clever
• OPTIMISTA (m/f) = Optimistic
• MAJO (m) / MAJA (f) = Nice/Pleasant
• MALO (m) / MALA (f) = Evil
• PESIMISTA (m/f) = Pessimistic
• RESPONSABLE (m/f) = Responsible
• SENSIBLE (m/f) = Sensitive
• SIMPÁTICO (m) / SIMPÁTICA (f) = Nice/Pleasant
• VALIENTE (m/f) = Brave

These adjectives will help you when you want to express yourself, explain a thought or opinion about someone. Once you begin using these Spanish adjectives to describe people, you will find that your speech is full of colour, excitement and variety and that you can also understand others better.

It should be noted that in Spanish the order of the adjective placement is very important. In contrast to English adjectives, Spanish adjectives are placed after the noun.

This may sound counter-intuitive if you are a native English speaker but you will soon become used to this order.

In addition, Spanish adjectives are also either feminine or masculine and singular or plural and must therefore agree with the noun that it is modifying.

As Spanish is a very expressive and colourful language, learning this list of Spanish adjectives to describe people is vital. Rest assured, it will take less time than you think to learn your Spanish adjectives and you will not regret it once you start using them in your daily Spanish conversation!

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