I am going to share several vocabulary words that describe physical appearance.
After you watch this video, use several of these words to describe your physical appearance.
When you describe people, you might describe their hair.
You might refer to the color.
Someone can be blond.
If the hair is darker, it might be brunette or brown.
If the hair is really dark, you might call it black, but we usually just call it dark.
The length of the hair might be long or short.
The style might by curly, wavy, or straight.
Some people have bangs, which is hair that is in front of the forehead.
Men might have sideburns.
They might also be bald, or they might have a receding hairline.
When you describe people, you might also describe their eyes.
You might refer to the color.
Brown eyes are the most common throughout the world.
But a number of people, especially people from Europe have eyes that are blue, green,
or gray.
Another way to refer to someone's eyes is by the lenses that they use.
Almost half of Americans wear glasses.
But some use glasses only when they read.
Of course, many people wear contacts--that is contact lenses.
Let's talk about physical build.
Is there a difference between skinny and slim?
Is there a difference between chubby and overweight?
Absolutely.
You need to be careful when you describe someone's build.
Different words prompt different emotions.
When you combine the emotions of a word with the meaning of a word, you have the connotation
of a word.
What are some of the words that describe a thin person?
Skinny can have a negative connotation.
Slender, slim, and lean generally have a positive connotation.
Words that describe heavy people are much more likely to offend because more Americans
want to be thin than heavy.
Some words that might describe heavy people are fat, chubby, chunky, plump, and hefty.
Someone whose weight is twenty percent above the normal weight is considered obese.
All of these words can be offensive.
There are not many Americans who like being called fat, chubby, chunky, plump, or hefty.
The words heavy, big, and overweight might be less offensive, but they still do not have
a positive connotation.
The word big can refer to someone who is heavy but can also refer to someone who is tall
or muscular.
If I am overweight, that just means that my weight is above the normal weight for someone
with my height.
I am six feet three inches tall.
If I reach 200 pounds, I would be overweight.
If I reach 240 pounds, I would be not only overweight but also obese.
It seems less offensive to call a baby chubby, chunky, or even big than it would be to use
these words to describe someone older.
But if you comment on a baby's appearance, it would be safer to use a clearly positive
term such as beautiful.
Finally, let's consider words for attractiveness.
There are several words that you can use to describe someone who is attractive.
They have different connotations and communicate different levels of beauty.
The word cute means attractive, but it often refers to small things or small people.
Many small animals are cute.
Many babies and children are cute.
When you use the word cute to describe adults, it can be either positive or negative.
The word good-looking and attractive are both positive, but good-looking is slightly more
informal.
The word handsome refers more often to men.
The words lovely, pretty, and beautiful refer more often to women.
The word stunning sometimes has a meaning of just surprise.
But when you are talking about appearance, the word stunning usually has a meaning of
both surprise and beauty.
This word is especially positive because the combination of beauty and surprise creates
a powerful effect.
Because stunning can mean just surprise, you should not expect it to be positive all the
time.
Somebody's anger can be stunning.
Somebody's ignorance can be stunning.
But when somebody's beauty is stunning, it is a positive experience.
The word gorgeous is stronger than all the other words on the beauty scale and usually
refers to women.
Someone who is especially beautiful is gorgeous.
Now, it's your turn.
Use several of these vocabulary words to describe your physical appearance.
You don't need to talk about everything.
Maybe you will choose to describe your physical build, your attractiveness, and your hair
and eyes.
Maybe you will choose to describe just your hair or your eyes.
That's fine.
But take some time right now to describe your physical appearance by adding a comment to
the webpage for this video.