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Here are some words and phrases, so that you can describe yourself or someone else in French.

Using the verb 'to have' in French

In French, avoir is a useful verb to use when describing yourself. It means 'to have'.

If you’re talking about yourself, you use j'ai – I have.

• J’ai un nez – I have a nose
• J’ai deux oreilles – I have two ears

If you’re talking about someone or something else, you use il a (he has) or elle a (she has).

• Il a un nez – He has a nose
• Elle a deux oreilles – She has two ears

You can learn more about how to use this verb in the article Avoir - to have.

Parts of the body in French

Here are some more parts of the body. How many can you remember?

Remember that nouns in French belong to either a masculine or feminine group. If it is masculine, the word for 'a' is un and if it is feminine, the word for 'a' is une.

Did you know?

If there’s more than one of something, you normally add s to the noun to make it plural:

• une jambe – one leg
• deux jambes – two legs

If the word ends in s, x or z, you don’t need to add s:

• un bras – one arm becomes deux bras – two arms
• un nez – one nose becomes deux nez – two noses

Watch out for the exception as the word for 'eye' in French looks and sounds completely different when there's more than one!

• un œil – one eye
• deux yeux – two eyes

Describing a monster in French

Imagine you’re describing a monster. You could say they have three eyes and four arms. For this, you need some numbers.

Now you can say:

• Il a trois yeux – He has three eyes
• Il a quatre bras – He has four arms
• Il a quatre mains – He has four hands
• Il a six jambes – He has six legs
• Il a six pieds – He has six feet

You could describe a monster and your friend could draw it!

Here are some monsters for you to describe.

Hair colour in French

If you would rather describe yourself, you’ll also want to talk about the colour of your hair.

Here are some adjectives or describing words to help you describe hair.

In French, hair (les cheveux) is plural, so the adjective which describes it needs to be plural too. So you must add an s on the end of the adjective, which goes after the noun.

• J’ai les cheveux blonds – I have blonde hair
• J’ai les cheveux bruns – I have brown hair
• J’ai les cheveux noirs – I have black hair
• J’ai les cheveux longs – I have long hair
• J’ai les cheveux courts – I have short hair

Eye colour in French

To talk about the colour of your eyes, you can use these colours.

Again, you need to add s to the adjectives as you have two eyes. Note the exception marron which never changes its spelling, even if describing a plural noun.

• J’ai les yeux bleus – I have blue eyes
• J’ai les yeux verts – I have green eyes
• J’ai les yeux marron – I have brown eyes

To describe someone else’s hair or eyes, you can say:

• Il a les cheveux blonds – He has blonde hair
• Elle a les cheveux bruns – She has brown hair
• Il a les yeux bleus – He has blue eyes
• Elle a les yeux verts – She has green eyes

Now you can describe yourself or a friend!

Key French sounds

Below are some important French sounds that you have heard in this topic. Try practising them yourself out loud.

1. un

The word un is very common as it means 'a' or 'one'. The two letters make a nasal sound, which means that air comes down your nose, as well as through your mouth. The letters um also make the same sound.

un pied – a foot

2. in, ain

in and ain are also nasal sounds. These letters sound like the English an in ran. Put your mouth in the position to say an, then allow the air to come down your nose.

cinq – five
une main – a hand

3. Liaison

When s or x appear before a vowel, they make an English z sound.

Usually, when you say the number 'two' in French, you don't hear the x on the end of the word – deux.

In the sentence il a deux oreilles (he has two ears), the x on the end of deux is not silent. In the middle of deux and oreilles, you hear a z so they sound like one word. This is called liaison and happens often in French.