English
Describing People Respectfully
Updated Oct 28, 2026
Describe appearance and personality without confusing them.
What you’ll learn
Describe appearance and personality without confusing them.
ពិពណ៌នារូបរាង និងអត្តចរិតដោយគោរព។
Meaning and use
Appearance describes how someone looks; personality describes typical behaviour. Tall is about height, while kind and patient are about behaviour. Describe only relevant features and avoid assuming personality from appearance. Use has for hair and wears for clothing or glasses.
Appearance បង្ហាញរូបរាង ហើយ personality បង្ហាញអត្តចរិត។ ប្រើ has សម្រាប់សក់ និង wears សម្រាប់វ៉ែនតា ឬសម្លៀកបំពាក់។ កុំសន្និដ្ឋានអត្តចរិតតាមរូបរាង។
Key words and phrases
| Word or phrase | Meaning and use |
|---|---|
| tall (adjective) | ខ្ពស់ — a tall person |
| short (adjective) | ទាប / ខ្លី — short hair |
| friendly (adjective) | រួសរាយ — a friendly neighbour |
| kind (adjective) | ចិត្តល្អ — a kind teacher |
| patient (adjective) | អត់ធ្មត់ — patient with learners |
| quiet (adjective) | ស្ងាត់ — a quiet colleague |
| curly hair (noun phrase) | សក់រួញ — has curly hair |
| glasses (plural noun) | វ៉ែនតា — wears glasses |
Examples
-
Maly has short hair.
ម៉ាលីមានសក់ខ្លី។
-
Dara wears glasses.
ដារ៉ាពាក់វ៉ែនតា។
-
Our teacher is patient with new learners.
គ្រូយើងអត់ធ្មត់ជាមួយអ្នករៀនថ្មី។
-
She is quiet but friendly.
នាងស្ងាត់តែរួសរាយ។
Everyday conversation
Dara: Which person is the new teacher?
Maly: The person with curly hair and glasses.
Dara: What is she like?
Maly: She is friendly and patient.
Common mistakes
| Instead of | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| He is glasses. | He wears glasses. | Use wears to describe having glasses on. |
| She has a long hairs. | She has long hair. | Hair is normally uncountable when describing all the hair on the head. |
Practice
Try these questions before opening the answers. Write or say each answer.
សាកល្បងឆ្លើយសំណួរទាំងនេះជាមុនសិន មុននឹងបើកមើលចម្លើយ។ អ្នកអាចសរសេរ ឬនិយាយចម្លើយរបស់អ្នក។
- Which describes personality: tall or kind?
- Complete: He ___ glasses. (wears/is)
- Answer What is your teacher like? with a personality description.
Answers and explanations
Show answers / បង្ហាញចម្លើយ
-
kind
Kind describes behaviour; tall describes height.
-
wears
Use wear for clothing and accessories.
-
She is kind and patient.
Model answer: the question commonly asks for character or general qualities.
Quick recap
- Distinguish appearance from personality.
- Say has hair and wears glasses.
- Choose respectful, relevant descriptions.