It’s time to gossip in Spanish! If you want to learn to describe someone’s personality this episode of Speaking Spanish for Beginners Podcast will provide you with an easy-to-follow explanation.
We’ll look at some basic grammar structures and adjectives in Spanish that will help you easily describe personality traits.
And if that wasn’t enough, we’ve even included a listening exercise with the transcript for you to practice your listening skills.
Ready to learn how to describe a person en español? ¡Vamos!
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Basic Structure to Describe People
To start with, let’s look at the basic grammar structure and vocabulary you’ll need to describe people’s personalities in Spanish.
Good news is that the basic structure is similar in English and Spanish. It is: subject + verb ‘ser‘ (to be) + Spanish adjective.
Example: Juan es simpático (Juan is nice, likeable).
Subject gender and number are important to be able to describe people correctly.
Most Spanish adjectives used to describe people or objects change depending on whether you’re referring to masculine of feminine noun.
For example, if we’re talking about Juan, we’d use the masculine form of the adjective, ‘simpático’, but if we’re talking about María, we’d use the feminine form, ‘simpática‘.
So remember to choose the right form when you’re speaking or writing in Spanish.
What if you’re describing a group of people?
Then you need to use the Spanish adjective in the plural form by adding an -s at the end.
Example: Juan y María son simpáticos.
Personality Adjectives in Spanish
Here is a list of Spanish adjectives to describe people.
You will find positive traits followed by their antonym. That’s a good way to help you remember new Spanish vocabulary and learn new words.
simpático / simpática : nice, likeable
antipático / antipática: unfriendly, unpleasant
generoso / generosa: generous
tacaño / tacaña: cheap
alegre: cheerful
gruñon / gruñona: grumpy
trabajador / trabajadora: hardworking
perezoso / perezosa: lazy
extrovertido / extrovertida: extrovert
introvertido / introvertida: Introvert
inteligente: smart
bobo / boba: silly
cortés: polite
descortés: rude
It’s not an extensive list, but it’s a start. These adjectives will help you describe your friends and family and have your first Spanish conversations.
Dialogue Transcript
Ready to learn more? Now it’s time to practice Spanish personality adjectives with our podcast.
In the Spanish listening activity, two friends, Jessica and Marco, describe people in Spanish using some of the Spanish words in the adjective list. Ready? ¡Vamos!
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Marco: Jessica, ¿cómo estás? | Marco: Jessica, how are you? |
| Jessica: Bien, ¿y tú? | Jessica: Good, and you? |
| Marco: Muy bien, gracias. ¿Cómo está tu hermana? | Marco: Very good, thanks. How is your sister? |
| Jessica: Ella está bien. | Jessica: She’s fine. |
| Marco: ¿Cómo es ella? No la conozco bien. | Marco: What is she like? I don’t know her well. |
| Jessica: Ella es simpática, extrovertida y alegre. | Jessica: She is nice, outgoing, and cheerful. |
| Marco: Esa es mi impresión. | Marco: That’s my impression. |
| Jessica: ¿Y tu hermano? ¿Cómo es él? | Jessica: And your brother? What is he like? |
| Marco: Mi hermano es un bobo. Es perezoso, antipático y descortés. Creo que es la edad, tiene 15 años. | Marco: My brother is a fool. He is lazy, unfriendly, and rude. I think it’s his age, he’s 15 years old. |
Spanish Personality Adjectives Practice
Need some extra practice? Try this fun activity: match each personality adjective with the emoji that best represents the trait.
Have fun using the words you learned for describing your friends and family in Spanish.
And if you’re still struggling to get started en español, get our FREE Spanish Kickstart Course, your first five lessons for beginners. Unsubscribe anytime.
Happy learning!
Marco Fierro — Your Latino Spanish Tutor
¡Hola! I’m an enthusiastic Spanish teacher passionate about making my language accessible to YOU.
When I’m not teaching, I love traveling and rocking out on my electric guitar.
Let’s have fun learning ESPAÑOL together. ¡Vamos!
