Describing People and Appearance in Catalan

In Brief

Catalan commonly describes general physical characteristics with ser + adjective, hair and eyes with tenir + noun, and things someone wears with portar + noun: És alta, Té els ulls blaus, Porta ulleres. Use estar + adjective for an appearance understood as a current state or result, as in Avui està pàl·lida.

Overview

At A2, describing a person involves more than learning a list of words. Catalan chooses different verbs according to how the description is framed: a characteristic, a body feature, something worn, or a current state. English often uses “to be” for all of these, so translating word for word can lead to unnatural Catalan.

The four most useful patterns are ser (“to be”), tenir (“to have”), portar (“to wear” or “to have on”), and estar (“to be” in a state). You also need adjective agreement: an adjective (a describing word) normally changes to match the gender and number of the noun it describes. Thus un home alt has masculine singular alt, while una dona alta has feminine singular alta.

These patterns let you identify someone, give a neutral physical description, or say how a person looks today. As in English, descriptions of body size, age, and attractiveness can sound personal or judgmental. Grammar may make a sentence correct, but context determines whether it is considerate.

How It Works

1. Ser + adjective for a characteristic

Use ser when you present height, build, or another feature as a characteristic of the person.

• És alt. — He is tall.
• És baixa. — She is short.
• Són rossos. — They are blond.
• La Marta és prima. — Marta is thin.

Catalan often leaves out the subject pronoun because the verb form and context already show who is meant. Consequently, És alt may mean “He is tall,” while És alta may mean “She is tall.” The adjective ending supplies information that English does not.

Do not reduce the choice between ser and estar to “permanent versus temporary.” That shortcut is useful at first, but the more accurate distinction is viewpoint: ser identifies or characterizes; estar presents a condition or result. A characteristic can change over a lifetime and still be expressed with ser.

2. Tenir + body feature for hair, eyes, and facial features

With hair and eyes, Catalan normally uses tenir (“to have”), just as English does. The usual structure is:

tenir + definite article + body feature + adjective

• Té el cabell negre. — He/She has black hair.
• Té els ulls verds. — He/She has green eyes.
• Tinc la cara rodona. — I have a round face.

Catalan normally includes the definite article—the equivalent of “the”—before the body part: el cabell, els ulls, la cara. English translations usually use a possessive or no article: Té els ulls blaus is literally structured like “has the eyes blue,” but natural English says “has blue eyes.”

Both singular el cabell and plural els cabells occur when talking about someone’s hair:

• Té el cabell curt i ros.
• Té els cabells curts i rossos.

The adjective agrees with the body-feature noun, not directly with the person. A woman can therefore have el cabell curt because cabell is masculine singular. With els cabells, the same adjectives become curts and rossos.

3. Portar + item or visible feature

Use portar for something a person wears or carries as part of their current appearance. No equivalent of English “is wearing” is required.

• Porta ulleres. — He/She wears glasses.
• Porta una jaqueta vermella. — He/She is wearing a red jacket.
• Porta barba. — He has a beard.
• Porta els cabells recollits. — She/He wears their hair tied back.

With ordinary clothing, the article depends on meaning: porta una gorra introduces “a cap,” whereas porta la gorra negra refers to a particular black cap. Some common appearance nouns, especially ulleres, barba, and bigoti, frequently appear without an article after portar.

4. Estar + adjective for a current look or resulting state

Use estar when the speaker treats the appearance as a current condition, a visible result, or a contrast with the person’s usual appearance.

• Avui està pàl·lid. — He looks pale today.
• Estàs molt elegant amb aquest vestit. — You look very elegant in that outfit.
• Està molt morena del sol. — She is very tanned from the sun.

Time expressions such as avui (“today”) and causes such as del sol make the state reading especially clear. With some adjectives, changing the verb changes the viewpoint:

Catalan	English	Viewpoint
En Pau és pàl·lid.	Pau is pale.	His pale complexion is presented as characteristic.
En Pau està pàl·lid avui.	Pau looks pale today.	His current appearance is emphasized.
La Júlia és elegant.	Júlia is elegant.	Elegance characterizes her style.
La Júlia està elegant amb aquest vestit.	Júlia looks elegant in this dress.	A current impression in a particular outfit.

5. Make adjectives agree

The adjective must match the grammatical gender and number of the noun it modifies. Grammatical gender means the masculine or feminine class assigned to a noun; it does not always describe a person’s identity.

Pattern	Catalan forms	Example
alt type	alt, alta, alts, altes	un noi alt / dues noies altes
prim type	prim, prima, prims, primes	un home prim / una dona prima
gros type	gros, grossa, grossos, grosses	un gat gros / unes mans grosses
ros type	ros, rossa, rossos, rosses	el cabell ros / les nenes rosses
one ending in the singular	jove, jove, joves, joves	un home jove / una dona jove
one form for both genders	gran, gran, grans, grans	una persona gran / uns homes grans

Most descriptive adjectives follow the noun: ulls blaus, cabell llarg, cara rodona. After ser or estar, the adjective agrees with the subject—the person or people being described: Ella és alta; ells són alts; elles estan cansades.

A few high-frequency appearance words are worth learning as contrasting pairs:

Catalan	English	Useful contrast
alt / alta	tall	baix / baixa — short (in height)
prim / prima	thin, slim	gros / grossa — large, fat, thick, depending on context
jove	young	gran — old, older; also large
guapo / guapa	good-looking	lleig / lletja — ugly
calb / calba	bald	cabellut / cabelluda — having abundant hair
cabell llarg	long hair	cabell curt — short hair
cabell llis	straight hair	cabell arrissat — curly hair
cabell ros	blond hair	cabell castany — brown hair

Notice that English “short” splits into baix/baixa for a person’s height and curt/curta for length: una dona baixa but el cabell curt.

Examples in Context

Catalan	English	Note
Té el cabell ros i els ulls blaus.	He/She has blond hair and blue eyes.	Tenir with two body features.
És alt i prim.	He is tall and thin.	The masculine endings describe a male referent.
La seva germana és baixa i rossa.	His/Her sister is short and blond.	Both adjectives agree with germana.
Tinc els cabells llargs i arrissats.	I have long, curly hair.	Both adjectives agree with plural cabells.
En Nil té el cabell curt i negre.	Nil has short black hair.	The adjectives agree with singular cabell.
La dona dels ulls verds és la meva metgessa.	The woman with green eyes is my doctor.	dels ulls verds helps identify someone.
Porta ulleres i un barret blau.	He/She wears glasses and a blue hat.	Portar describes worn items.
Ara porta barba, però abans no en portava.	He has a beard now, but he did not used to.	Appearance can change; portar is still natural.
La Clara porta els cabells recollits.	Clara wears her hair tied back.	A hairstyle rather than a fixed trait.
Avui estàs molt elegant.	You look very elegant today.	Estar highlights today’s appearance.
Després del viatge, estan cansats i pàl·lids.	After the trip, they look tired and pale.	A current state; plural agreement.
Està molt morena del sol.	She is very tanned from the sun.	A visible result of sun exposure.
Com és el teu professor? És jove, alt i porta ulleres.	What does your teacher look like? He is young, tall, and wears glasses.	A complete answer combines ser and portar.

The question Com és? asks what someone is like and can invite a physical or personality description. If you need to remove ambiguity, ask Quin aspecte té? (“What does he/she look like?”) or mention the feature directly: De quin color té els ulls? (“What color are his/her eyes?”).

Common Mistakes

Using ser for everything that English expresses with “be”

• Wrong: Avui és molt pàl·lida.
• Right: Avui està molt pàl·lida.
• Why: Here avui frames paleness as her current appearance. Estar presents a state rather than a general characteristic.

Using estar for an ordinary identifying characteristic

• Wrong: El meu germà està alt i prim.
• Right: El meu germà és alt i prim.
• Why: Height and build are being given as characteristics, so use ser. A person does not need to have the trait forever for ser to be correct.

Making the adjective agree with the person instead of the body part

• Wrong: La Maria té el cabell llarga.
• Right: La Maria té el cabell llarg.
• Why: Llarg describes cabell, a masculine singular noun. Maria’s gender does not control this adjective.

Forgetting plural agreement with ulls or cabells

• Wrong: Té els ulls blau i els cabells curt.
• Right: Té els ulls blaus i els cabells curts.
• Why: Both nouns are plural, so their adjectives must be plural too.

Translating both meanings of English “short” with one word

• Wrong: És curta i té el cabell baix.
• Right: És baixa i té el cabell curt.
• Why: Use baix/baixa for height and curt/curta for physical length.

Copying English continuous wording

• Wrong: Està portant ulleres. when simply identifying a glasses wearer
• Right: Porta ulleres.
• Why: Catalan normally uses the simple present for what someone is wearing. Està portant is possible only when the action itself is genuinely in progress or emphasized, not as the default description.

Usage Notes

Neutral descriptions and tact

Words such as alt, baix, hair color, and eye color are usually neutral. Terms about weight or attractiveness depend heavily on tone and context. Gros/grossa can mean “large,” “thick,” or “fat,” and may sound blunt when applied directly to a person. If body size is not relevant, leave it out. In practical situations, clothing and visible accessories often identify someone more politely: la dona de la jaqueta verda (“the woman in the green jacket”).

Gran needs context. For a person, una dona gran usually means “an older woman,” while with many objects it means “large.” For literal physical size, gros/grossa is often clearer, but its exact English translation changes with the noun.

Articles and body parts

Catalan tends to use the definite article with body parts where English often uses a possessive: Té els ulls verds rather than a word-for-word equivalent of “has his eyes green.” A possessive is possible when ownership must be contrasted, but it is usually unnecessary in a basic description.

Pronouns and gender-neutral context

A sentence such as Té els ulls blaus does not reveal the subject’s gender; it can refer to “he,” “she,” or another person already clear from context. When an adjective referring directly to a person has a gendered ending, Catalan makes a grammatical distinction: És alt and És alta. In inclusive or unspecified references, rephrasing with a noun such as persona is often useful: És una persona alta. The adjective is feminine because persona is grammatically feminine, regardless of whom it refers to.

Beyond the Basics

You do not need to master every nuance at A2, but later you will encounter descriptions in which verb choice changes the speaker’s interpretation rather than simply reporting a fact.

With evaluative adjectives, ser can describe a usual quality while estar gives a current impression: És guapo means “He is good-looking,” whereas Està molt guapo avui means “He looks very good today.” The second sentence does not claim that the person is normally unattractive; it focuses on the present result, perhaps because of clothes, a haircut, or mood.

Participles—verb forms often corresponding to English “-ed”—also appear in descriptions after portar or tenir: porta els cabells tenyits (“has dyed hair”), porta la camisa descordada (“wears the shirt unbuttoned”), té els braços creuats (“has his/her arms crossed”). These forms behave like adjectives and agree with the noun: cabells tenyits, camisa descordada, braços creuats.

Catalan can identify people compactly with de + noun phrase: el noi de la samarreta blanca (“the boy in the white T-shirt”), la dona dels cabells arrissats (“the woman with curly hair”). English switches between “in,” “with,” and other expressions, but Catalan frequently uses de. This pattern is especially useful when several people are present and you need to point out one of them without making a broad judgment about their appearance.

Finally, be cautious with literal translations of English look. Depending on meaning, Catalan may use semblar (“to seem”), fer cara de (“to look as though / have the look of”), or simply estar: Sembla més jove (“She seems younger”), Fa cara de cansat (“He looks tired”), Està cansat (“He is tired”). These belong to a wider system of states and perceptions, but recognizing them will make real conversations easier to follow.

Practice Tips

1. Build descriptions in four columns. Choose one item for ser (és alta), one body feature for tenir (té els ulls verds), one worn item for portar (porta ulleres), and one current state for estar (avui està pàl·lida). Then combine them into a short, natural profile.
2. Change the noun, not just the person. Transform el cabell curt into els cabells curts, and un noi ros into dues noies rosses. Saying all four forms aloud helps make agreement automatic.
3. Describe without judging. Use a photograph or a character from a film and focus first on observable details: hair, eyes, clothing, glasses, and hairstyle. Then add one contrast between a general characteristic and today’s state.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Basic Adjectives — review adjective position and gender and number agreement before combining several traits in one description.