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French vocab: L’apparence et les conditions physiques (Physical appearance and conditions)

By Frederic Bibard Published:

2 min read

Do you know the human body in French? Learn French anatomy vocabulary and how to describe physical appearances in French here.

What do you call the nose, the hair, the eyes, and other body parts in French? And what are some ways to describe them? Let’s review the basic list in this super easy vocabulary article!

  • la bouchemouth
  • les cheveuxhair
  • les cils (m. pl.)eyelashes
  • le corpsbody
  • le couneck
  • la denttooth
  • la jouecheek
  • la lèvrelip
  • le neznose
  • l’œil, les yeux (m.)eye, eyes
  • une oreilleear
  • la paupièreeyelid
  • la pommettecheekbone
  • le sourcileyebrow
  • la têtehead
  • le visageface
  • la poitrinechest
  • un estomacstomach
  • le brasarm
  • une épauleshoulder
  • le coudeelbow
  • le poignetwrist
  • la mainhand
  • le doigtfinger
  • un onglefingernail
  • le poucethumb
  • le dosback
  • la jambeleg
  • le genouknee
  • la chevilleankle
  • le piedfoot
  • un orteiltoe

Note: Cheveux (hair)  and yeux (eyes) are usually preceded by a definite article (le/la/ l’/les).

E.g. : Il a les cheveux courts et la moustache épaisse. He has short hair and a thick mustache.

How to describe hair, eyes and nose:

Here are some special phrases to describe the hair, the eyes, and the nose.

J’ai… I have . . .

  • les cheveux (hair) courts (short)/longs (long)/raides (straight)/bouclés (curly)
  • les cheveux blonds (blond) /roux (red) /noirs (black) /châtains (brown) / bruns (brown)
  • les yeux (eyes) bleus (blue)/marron (brown) /verts (green) /gris (grey) /noisette (hazel)
  • le nez aquilin/crochu/en trompette an aquiline, hooked, or upturned nose
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