What Does She Look Like vs. What is She Like?

Distinguishing Between Descriptions 

One of the topics ESL learners really enjoy is describing people. It is a universal need and want to be able to talk about the people close to us.

You’ll want to start out with the easier of the two questions in order to build upon it. Begin with physical description and let practice and arrive comfortably at natural usage before moving on to the more complex issue of describing personality.

What Does She Look Like?

To native speakers it feels quite obvious what this question is asking, but for ESL students it may be easily confused with the more idiomatic question of  What is she like?

What does he or she look like is a question that is a perfect jumping off point for some combined grammar practice.  Describe the concept of appearance and describing people and objects. You can begin with basic appearance subjects such as: hair color,eye color, height and weight, and then move into the more general subjects that describe overall appearance with opposites. Here are some examples of what you’ll want to include:

- Blond hair
- Blue eyes

- Mustache/beard/goatee

- Wears glasses

- Bald/balding

- Long/short hair

- Straight—curly

- Shapes: circular, round, square, rectangular, oval, big, small

Also some opposites to include:

- Tall—short

- Handsome/beautiful/attractive/lovely—ugly/unattractive

- Pretty/cute—plain

- Young/old

- Heavy-set (a better option than fat)—thin/slim/slender

Do question and answer about family members or people. You could also play guessing games like 20 questions or I spy. There are lots of interactive ways to practice describing objects and people.

What Is She like?

This question sounds similar to the one above but has a totally different meaning: we are no longer focusing on physical appearance, but character. This is referring to someone’s personality, for example of personality traits. Some examples may resemble states of being (sad, happy, tired), point out that while describing someone as happy is not incorrect, it means that the person is generally happy all the time, not just at that moment. Here are some good adjectives to start with and add to. As always provide clear definitions with concrete examples:

- Confident

- Smart/intelligent/clever

- Silly/funny

- Nice/lovely/cute

- Sweet

- Generous

- Honest

- Friendly

- Shy/quiet

- Outgoing

- Polite/rude