Learning how to describe physical appearance in Ukrainian can be both fun and useful, especially if you are planning to travel to Ukraine, make new friends, or simply want to enhance your Ukrainian language skills. In this article, we will explore various vocabulary and phrases that will help you describe people’s physical traits such as height, build, hair, and facial features. By the end of this guide, you should feel more confident in using these descriptive terms in your conversations.
Basic Adjectives for Describing Appearance
Before diving into specific categories, it’s essential to start with some basic adjectives that can be used to describe general physical appearance. These adjectives can be combined with nouns to form more complex descriptions.
– **Красивий/красива** (krasyvyy/krasyva) – Handsome/Beautiful
– **Симпатичний/симпатична** (sympatychnyy/sympatychna) – Cute/Pretty
– **Гарний/гарна** (harnyy/harna) – Good-looking
– **Непривабливий/неприваблива** (nepryvablyvyy/nepryvablyva) – Unattractive
Height and Build
When describing a person’s height and build, the following vocabulary will be helpful:
– **Високий/висока** (vysokyy/vysoka) – Tall
– **Низький/низька** (nyzʹkyy/nyzʹka) – Short
– **Середнього зросту** (serednʹoho zrostu) – Of average height
– **Стрункий/струнка** (strunkyy/strunka) – Slim
– **Повний/повна** (povnyy/povna) – Full-figured
– **Худий/худа** (khudyy/khuda) – Thin
– **Мускулистий/мускулиста** (muskulystyy/muskulysta) – Muscular
For example:
– Він дуже **високий** і **стрункий**. (Vin duzhe vysokyy i strunkyy.) – He is very tall and slim.
– Вона **низька**, але **мускулиста**. (Vona nyzʹka, ale muskulysta.) – She is short but muscular.
Hair
Describing hair involves discussing its color, length, and texture. Here are some useful terms:
– **Колір волосся** (kolir volossya) – Hair color
– **Світле** (svitle) – Blonde
– **Темне** (temne) – Dark
– **Руде** (rude) – Red
– **Сиве** (syve) – Gray
– **Довжина волосся** (dovzhyna volossya) – Hair length
– **Довге** (dovhe) – Long
– **Коротке** (korotke) – Short
– **Середнє** (serednye) – Medium
– **Текстура волосся** (tekstura volossya) – Hair texture
– **Пряме** (pryame) – Straight
– **Хвилясте** (khvylyaste) – Wavy
– **Кучеряве** (kucheryave) – Curly
For example:
– У неї **довге** і **світле волосся**. (U neyi dovhe i svitle volossya.) – She has long blonde hair.
– Він має **коротке** і **кучеряве волосся**. (Vin maye korotke i kucheryave volossya.) – He has short curly hair.
Facial Features
Facial features are an important part of describing someone’s appearance. Here are some key terms:
– **Очі** (ochi) – Eyes
– **Карі** (kari) – Brown
– **Блакитні** (blakytni) – Blue
– **Зелені** (zeleni) – Green
– **Сірі** (siri) – Gray
– **Форма обличчя** (forma oblychchya) – Face shape
– **Кругле** (kruhle) – Round
– **Овальне** (ovalʹne) – Oval
– **Квадратне** (kvadratne) – Square
– **Інші риси обличчя** (inshi rysy oblychchya) – Other facial features
– **Ніс** (nis) – Nose
– **Прямий ніс** (pryamyy nis) – Straight nose
– **Курносий ніс** (kurnosyy nis) – Snub nose
– **Губи** (huby) – Lips
– **Тонкі губи** (tonki huby) – Thin lips
– **Повні губи** (povni huby) – Full lips
– **Брови** (brovy) – Eyebrows
– **Тонкі брови** (tonki brovy) – Thin eyebrows
– **Густі брови** (husti brovy) – Thick eyebrows
For example:
– У нього **блакитні очі** і **прямий ніс**. (U noho blakytni ochi i pryamyy nis.) – He has blue eyes and a straight nose.
– У неї **кругле обличчя** і **густі брови**. (U neyi kruhle oblychchya i husti brovy.) – She has a round face and thick eyebrows.
Additional Descriptive Vocabulary
– **Шкіра** (shkira) – Skin
– **Бліда шкіра** (blida shkira) – Pale skin
– **Смаглява шкіра** (smaglyava shkira) – Tan skin
– **Темна шкіра** (temna shkira) – Dark skin
– **Веснянки** (vesnyanky) – Freckles
– **Родимки** (rodymky) – Moles
– **Шрами** (shramy) – Scars
– **Татуювання** (tatuyuvannya) – Tattoos
For example:
– У неї **бліда шкіра** і багато **веснянок**. (U neyi blida shkira i bahato vesnyanok.) – She has pale skin and many freckles.
– Він має **темну шкіру** і кілька **татуювань**. (Vin maye temnu shkiru i kilʹka tatuyuvanʹ.) – He has dark skin and several tattoos.
Sentence Structures for Describing Appearance
To make full sentences, it’s essential to understand basic sentence structures. Here are some useful sentence patterns:
1. **[Subject] + має/має + [adjective] + [noun]**
– Вона має **довге** **руде волосся**. (Vona maye dovhe rude volossya.) – She has long red hair.
2. **[Subject] + [verb] + [adjective]**
– Він **високий** і **стрункий**. (Vin vysokyy i strunkyy.) – He is tall and slim.
3. **У [subject] + [noun] + [adjective]**
– У нього **очі** **карі**. (U noho ochi kari.) – He has brown eyes.
Practice Exercises
To reinforce what you have learned, here are some practice exercises. Try to describe the following people:
1. A tall man with short black hair, blue eyes, and a muscular build.
2. A woman with medium-length wavy blonde hair, green eyes, and a round face.
3. A person with curly red hair, freckles, and tan skin.
Example answers:
1. Він високий чоловік з коротким чорним волоссям, блакитними очима і мускулистою фігурою. (Vin vysokyy cholovik z korotkym chornym volossyam, blakytnymy ochyma i muskulystoyu fihuroyu.)
2. Вона жінка з середнім довжиною хвилястим світлим волоссям, зеленими очима і круглим обличчям. (Vona zhinka z serednim dovzhynoyu khvylyastym svitlym volossyam, zelenymy ochyma i kruhlym oblychchyam.)
3. У нього кучеряве руде волосся, веснянки і смаглява шкіра. (U noho kucheryave rude volossya, vesnyanky i smaglyava shkira.)
Conclusion
Describing physical appearance in Ukrainian is a valuable skill that enhances your ability to communicate and connect with others. By learning the vocabulary and sentence structures outlined in this article, you will be well-equipped to describe people in detail. Practice these terms and phrases regularly, and soon you’ll find that you can effortlessly describe anyone’s appearance in Ukrainian. Happy learning!
