INTRODUCTORY TEXT
When we speak of somebody's appearance, we mean his (her) figure, hands, feet, hair, face...
In describing the figure we often mention the build. A man or a woman may be: solidly (heavily) built (of solid (heavy) build), delicately built (of delicate build), well-made, (e. g. The door opened and a large, heavily-built man entered).
The figure may be: slender or stooping; thin (lean) or stout (fat, plump), (e. g. A very slender figure moving with wonderful grace. He was very lean and his face very brown.) Plump is mostly used when speaking about a very young person or about a woman, (e. g. She was a plump, rosy child. It is less derogatory to call a person stout than fat, as fat implies the idea of something unpleasant, (e. g. At that moment there walked into the room, supporting himself by a thick stick, a stout old gentleman. C. Dickens. At the top of the table, seated in an arm-chair rather higher than the rest, was a particularly fat gentleman with a very round, red face. C. Dickens). Thick in the meaning of «толстый» is used for objects and parts of the body, but not when speaking of the figure as a whole.
A person may be: tall, short or middle-sized (of medium, average height), (e. g. This was a tall man of about thirty.Her brother was short, broad-shouldered and strong. The man was a trifle above the middle size. Fleur was of medium height.)
When speaking of the appearance one should not forget the bearing — осанка which may be erect (upright) — прямая or stooping — сутулая,(e. g. She carried her slender, shapely figure erectly. I recognized his tall stooping figure from afar.
The arm — the part between the shoulder and the wrist — may be: short, long, rounded, thin, slender, shapely,(e. g. A woman with shapely arms.)
The hand — which is at the very end of the arm — may be: small, large, plump, delicate, bony, thin, shapely,(e. g. His hands were small and plump.)
We have five fingers on each hand. This is what we call them: the forefinger (index finger), the middle finger, the ring finger (безымянный палец), the little finger and the thumb. At the ends of the fingers are the nails. The fingers may be: fat, thick, thin, tapering, (e. g. I remember her hands with the long tapering fingers.)
The leg — the part of the body from the hip to the ankle — may be: short, long, fine (shapely), slender. Some people are bow-legged—кривоногий, (e. g. He was short for his age and rather bow-legged.)
The feet — which are at the very end of the legs — may be: small, large, flat, narrow, pretty. We have five toes on each foot. (e. g. Her feet were small and pretty and her toe-nails were pink.
The manner of walking is called the walk (gait). One's steps may be: light, heavy, firm, (e. g. She moved with a swaying gait.I heard her light steps on the terrace. Old people often shuffle their feet, have a shuffling gait, (e. g. An elderly clerk entered shuffling his feet.)
The upper and the lower limbs are attached to the trunk. The head and the neck are poised on the shoulders, (e. g. Her shoulders, neck and arms were still rounded and beautiful. J. Galsworthy.)
The head is covered with hair. The hair may be: short, long, thin, thick, straight, curly, wavy, crisp, (e. g. I knew that my straight hair would never look nice.)
As to the colour the hair may be: black, dark, red, chestnut, brown, auburn, fair (blond), golden, grey (silver), white, (e. g. He was a heavy, paunchy man of 45, auburn-haired. Fleur had short dark chestnut hair.)
According to the fashion women's hair may be: bobbed, shingled, urchin cut, plaited, waved, put up (done in a knot). One can wear one's hair long, short; some people have a fringe, (e. g. Her hair was bobbed and dark. She had faded red hair done into a careless knot at the back of her neck. T. Dreiser)
Women have their hair done in various (hair) styles at the hairdresser's. Men go there to have a shave and have their hair cut (have a haircut) and have their beards and moustaches trimmed, (e. g. The girl had silky hair cut short. The men lathered themselves and the barbers shaved them at the rate of a minute to a man. A haircut took a trifle longer. J. London)
Some men lose their hair and go bald, (e. g. He is a stout little man, with a funny, bald head.)
The face may be: square, oval, round, long. It may be thin (lean), plump, (e. g. His face was round and plump. His face was lean and angled.)
The complexion, that is, the colour of the skin, especially that of the face, may be: dark, fair, olive, ruddy, ( e. g. My father had a dark complexion.Miss Miller was more ordinary: ruddy in complexion though of a careworn countenance. C. Bronte)
A person may have regular, small, large (massive) or delicate, clean-cut or finely-cut features. (e. g. A clean-shaven man with finely-cut features.)
The upper part of the face — the forehead—may be: large, broad or narrow, high or low, (e. g. His forehead was very high and large.)
The eyebrows may be: thin, thick, bushy, pencilled, arched, dark or fair (light), (e. g. An old man with clear blue eyes overhung by bushy eye-brows stood at the entrance to the house.)
The eyes are protected by the eyelids (lids). When we are tired or sleepy, they feel heavy and droop, (e. g. He lifted his heavy eyelids.)
The eyelids are fringed with eyelashes (lashes), which may be: thin, thick, long, short, straight, curving, curly, (e. g. Galsworthy describes Fleur as having very white blacklashed lids.)
The eyes may be of different colours: dark, black, hazel, brown, violet, blue, grey, green.
They may be: close-set, wide-set, deep-set, sunken or bulging. (e. g. His dark-grey eyes were small and deep-set. He had a small face with large, bulging eyes.)
The cheeks may be: rosy, pink, red, ruddy, pale, plump, (e. g. His cheeks were pale and touched with freckles.)
Old or sick people may have hollow cheeks. Children's cheeks are often chubby—пухлый.
The cheekbones may be: high, prominent, wide-apart, (e. g. His broad forehead and prominent cheekbones seemed ugly.)
The nose may be: straight, flat, hooked, aquiline; a person may be snub-nosed, (e. g. He was a snub-nosed, flat-cheeked, common-faced boy.)
The parts of the mouth are: the lips — upper and lower, and the teeth.
The mouth may be: big (large), small, wide, narrow. The shape of the lips makes it well-cut, firm, thin.
The cheeks may be: rouged or painted, the lips painted, and the hair dyed, (e. g. There was a peculiar orange rouge on her cheekbones and her lips were delicately painted with the same colour. H. Ashton)
The teeth may be: even, uneven, large, small, tiny, pearly. All the upper and lower teeth together are called a set of teeth, (e. g. The girl showed a set of tiny square teeth when she smiled. )
The chin may be: round or protruding, small or large, (e. g. He had a hooked nose and a large chin. The soft line of her round chin was very pretty.)
Stout people often have a double chin — двойной, подбородок.
When a woman's face and figure delight us, we say: she's beautiful (handsome); she's good-looking — красивая, прекрасная.
We call her a real beauty — настоящая красавица, and we talk about her beauty (good looks) — красота, (e. g. Her face came round in the light, and Soames saw it, still beautiful, perhaps more beautiful. J. Galsworthy. Beatrice was tall, broad-shouldered, very handsome.)
The words handsome, good-looking (but not beautiful) are also used of a man, (e. g. Yes, he was certainly wonderfully handsome.)
The words attractive — привлекательный and pretty — хорошенький help us to describe a person pleasant to look at, (e. g. The clerk returns, showing in a very attractive lady. B. Shaw)
If there is nothing particular in one's appearance, we call it common — заурядный, простой.
To characterize somebody's appearance in a negative way we use the words: plain (Am. homely) — некрасивый or even ugly—уродливый.
When we ask for a description of a person we do not know we say:
What does he (she) look like?, or: What is he (she) like? Как он (она выглядит)?
If we are interested in the person's character, we say:
What is he (she) like? — Какой он (она)?
If we ask after a person whom we know but have not seen for a long time, or since an illness, we say: How does he (she) look? — Как он (она) выглядит? (e. g. How does he look after his holiday? He looks quite all right again.)
A person may lose weight — похудеть or put on (gain) weight — пополнеть, поправиться, прибавить в весе, (e. g. How does she look now? Has she lost weight? No, on the contrary, she has put on a lot and is now quite stout.)
If a person resembles somebody, we say: He looks like his father (mother) or: He takes after his father (mother) — он похож на своего отца (мать) or: Не is the very image of his father (mother) —он вылитый отец (мать).
We say that a person looks his age when he looks neither older nor younger than he is in reality — ему можно дать его годы, but if he looks younger or older we say, he looks young (old) for his age — он выглядит моложе (старше) своих лет. (e. g. I wouldn't give her forty — she looks young for her age.)
When a person looks younger than he is, we say that he is well-preserved—хорошо сохранился.
When a person takes great care of his appearance we sometimes find it said that he (she) is well-groomed—выхоленный.
We may also speak of a groomed (well-groomed) face, hands, etc. (e. g. She had soft, well-groomed hands with manicured nails.
In conclusion here are some proverbs and sayings which may prove useful when speaking of somebody's appearance: