Improve your Vocabulary: Adjectives & idioms for how people look

I look like hell?

You should see yourself.

You have one eye. Steve.

Okay, you go get dressed and I'll see you in a bit.

Okay?

Steve. Hey, you're looking good, though.

Hey, everyone. I'm Alex.

Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on commenting on people's appearance.

So, in this video, I'm going to give you some expressions, most of which are idiomatic,

and some adjectives that you can use to make positive and negative comments about people's

appearance.

Now, before we start, I want to say: For the negative expressions, the negative adjectives

- use these with, you know, some discretion.

Usually you only want to use these with people you know very well or if you want to joke

around with your friends.

So, you don't want to tell someone at work that they look like hell, if you don't know

them very well.

But if it's your best friend and you just want to joke with them a little bit, it's

applicable then. Okay?

All right, so let's begin with some positive expressions.

So, you could say all of these things that are positive, and you start them with saying:

"You look like..."

You could say: "You look like a million bucks", like, just money.

You look like money; like a million dollars.

So, "bucks" just means "dollars".

So, if someone looks very fancy or just great, you can say: "You look like a million bucks."

Same with...

This is self-explanatory: "You look like a movie star."

Okay?

So: "Yeah, you look like Russell Crowe or Keanu Reeves", if you think, you know, those

guys are attractive and stuff.

"You look like a supermodel."

So, this is probably, you know, much more common if you're talking to a girl; a female.

Please don't say this to strangers, guys.

Be... Just be smart about it. Okay? All right.

And final one, you could use this for men, but usually this is for girls as well: "You

look like you just walked off the runway" or "you stepped off the runway".

So, "the runway" is in fashion shows.

It's literally the path that the models walk.

So, let me walk like a model for you.

Yeah.

So, I look like I just walked off the runway.

So, I look like a fashion model, basically.

Okay?

So, if your friend comes to work and they're wearing, like, a really nice dress or their

hair is really cool, you're like: "Wow.

You look like a supermodel" or "You look like you just walked off the runway."

All right.

Now some negative expressions.

So, again, please use these expressions with people you know well if you want to joke with

them, or maybe someone says: "Tell me honestly: How do I look?" Okay?

You can say: "You look like a mess."

Okay?

So, you can say "a mess", like you're not tidy, not clean, your hair is everywhere.

"You look like a total disaster", you can also say.

So: "You look like hell."

Not like heaven, but like hell.

Okay?

So, Steve thinks I look like hell today, but come on, Steve.

Nah, there's no way.

Sharp.

I'm sharp today.

Next: "You look like a bum."

I had to do that in the Rocky voice a little bit.

So, if you look like a bum, you look like...

It's not very polite.

You mean that the person looks like someone who is homeless, someone who lives on the

street, and maybe someone who hasn't taken a shower in a long time.

Okay?

And: "You look like a walking disaster", like a walking disaster.

Okay?

You can also say: "a mess" or: "a total disaster", "a walking disaster".

And these two are really cool.

I love this one; I use it with Steve all the time because he looks like hell: "You look

like you just rolled out of bed."

Okay?

So, you look like you just woke up, and you got out of bed, and you're still in your pajamas,

you haven't washed your face, your eyes are baggy, and your hair is everywhere.

And: "Whoa, you look like you just rolled out of bed.

Can you just go to the bathroom and clean yourself up, please?

For all of us."

And next: "You look like you got hit by a truck."

So, imagine getting hit by a truck - your body probably doesn't look very clean or attractive

if you get hit by a truck, so you can see the imagery here.

Okay?

So, again, just imagine: Hair everywhere, clothes everywhere, not clean, not sharp,

but very, very messy and sloppy as well.

Okay, so we have some positive expressions, some negative expressions.

Now let's just look at some basic adjectives to talk about appearance.

I stepped on my mic cord.

Hold on.

So, for adjectives, you can simply say: "Hey.

You look...", some positive things.

"You look nice."

This one - very general, you can use it with, you know, in all situations.

You just want to be a kind human being: "You look nice.", "You look good.", "Wow.

You look great.", "You look amazing."

So, someone who comes into work and they look much nicer than usual, maybe, and you can

say: "You look amazing."

You can also say...

I don't have the word here, but other words, other synonyms for "amazing", like: "You look

incredible."

Okay?

Next: "sharp".

So, you've heard me use the word "sharp" twice in this video.

"Sharp" means clean and neat.

So, I think I look very sharp today.

When I think of "sharp", I think of a man in a suit.

It could be a woman as well, but typically we use it for men, but you can use it for women, too.

So, someone who looks neat, clean, tidy: sharp.

Okay?

Next, you can say: "You look gorgeous."

This is a synonym for "beautiful", which I think I have here.

Or, if you want to get a little more idiomatic, you can say: "You look drop dead gorgeous."

Now, what does "drop dead gorgeous" mean?

You are so beautiful, when I look at you, I can't live.

It's too beautiful.

You're too gorgeous.

I want to drop dead. Okay.

Yeah, so "drop dead gorgeous" - you are too beautiful for life, basically.

Next we have: "stunning".

So, "stunning".

Think of someone who walks in the room, and you go: "Whoa."

Okay?

They surprise you.

They shock you with their beauty, or their elegance, or something else.

So: "You look stunning" - incredible.

Okay?

"You look radiant."

So, someone who looks radiant...

Think of the sun.

Okay?

The sun is bright.

The sun... You think of happiness when you think of the sun.

So, someone who's radiant is smiling, they have bright colours, they look like...

You could say: "You look like spring", right?

Like, the season of spring.

So: "You look radiant.

You look very happy and beautiful."

Okay?

Next: "You look elegant."

So, I think this word, you know, it translates into many other languages; pretty sure into

Spanish, also into French.

And think of someone like Coco Chanel if you're thinking of the word "elegant".

And, okay, three more here.

You have: "cute".

Aw, so cute.

I think you guys know "cute", like I guess Pikachu, the Pok�mon is kind of cute, in

a way. But, you know, be careful who you use this on.

If it's, like, someone who's...

Goes to the gym and they're big, and you don't...

You don't want to say: -"Oh, you look so cute."

-"What?

Hmm."

I don't know.

I don't mind being called cute; it's okay.

"You look adorable".

"Adorable" is a similar word to "cute", like you just think: "Aw, adorable.

So cute."

Okay?

So, maybe this is someone who's wearing, like, a little flower in their hair and just a little

colourful flower dress or something, and you just want to take them and put them on your

shelf because they're like a little doll or something like that.

Okay?

And for men, you can say: "You look handsome."

So, this is just attractive or: "You look good."

Right?

Handsome.

And we reviewed the word "beautiful", and then we have the word "chic".

"You look chic."

So, "chic" is a mixture of elegance and fashion, so you look fashionable, like cool, but very

elegant as well.

So, stylish, cool, elegant; a mix of elegance and beauty.

Okay?

"You look chic".

Now, I'm going to give you three more, and these are more used in British English.

So, the first one is: "smart".

Now, "smart" actually and "dapper", but first we'll look at "smart".

Think of "smart" as a synonym for the word "sharp".

So, if someone looks smart, they look clean and tidy.

They don't look messy; they look like they got up, they took a shower, they combed their

hair perfectly, they look like they have perfect angles all over their body.

"You look very smart; very sharp."

You can also say: "dapper".

Now, "smart" you can use to talk about women and men; "dapper" typically is used for men.

And when I think of the word "dapper", I think of someone who is wearing a suit, I think

of James Bond, typically Sean Connery.

Terrible accent.

Okay, sorry.

Or, like, Daniel Craig, you know, he looks very dapper in the James Bond movies.

And if I say: "You look fit", now, this could mean, like, you look healthy; it can also

mean a person looks attractive, sexy.

Or, in other parts of the world, you can say: "You look hot" as well.

So, if someone is fit, they are physically attractive to you.

And, again, be careful who you say this to.

Please don't go out on the street, telling women or men that they look fit, unless you're

just commenting on, like, their physical health or something.

Right?

Now, let's move on to some negatives.

You know, there...

There is...

These are very, very common, standard adjectives that you use, so: "You look awful.", "You

look terrible.", "You look horrible."

or, this is the worst one for many people: "You look tired."

So, if anyone ever tells you you're tired...

I think this one crosses cultural, international boundaries.

If someone tells you: "You look tired", it's not a compliment; it's not something you want

to hear.

Right?

Okay.

Okay, so a lot of expressions, a lot of adjectives in this video, which means you should probably

review it.

And to review with me, before you watch this video again, I'm going to review each one

of them one more time.

I'm just going to say them, and I want you to use your ears, listen to me, and pronounce

the expressions and pronounce the words.

Ready?

Yes, Teacher Alex.

Ah, okay.

So, repeat after me: You look like a million bucks.

He looks like a movie star.

She looks like a supermodel.

You look like you just walked off the runway.

Let's move to the negatives: You look like a mess.

You look like hell.

You look like a bum.

He looks like a walking disaster.

She looks like she just rolled out of bed.

You look like you got hit by a truck.

Truck.

Not...

Not cool.

Okay, and quickly; we'll do these ones a little faster.

Ready?

Repeat after me: You look nice.

You look good.

You look great.

He looks amazing.

You look sharp.

You look drop dead gorgeous.

She looks stunning.

You look radiant.

She looks elegant.

Aw, she looks so cute.

Did you do the: "Aw"?

Good.

All right.

He looks adorable.

Like, a baby, you want to pinch their cheeks; just adorable.

Okay?

He looks handsome.

You look beautiful.

I stepped on my mic cord again.

You look very chic.

I'm going to try a British accent with this: You look smart.

You look dapper.

You look fit.

I'll have to ask, like, Gill or Jade how I did, there, to see if my accent was not bad.

Okay.

All right, I'm going back to my standard speaking: You look awful.

You look terrible.

He looks horrible.

You look tired.

Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

All right, good.

All right, everybody.

Let me fix this thing. Okay.

Alex versus the mic cord - that should be the subtitle for this video.

So, if you want to test your understanding of this material, as always, you can check

out the quiz on www.engvid.com.

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I'm going to check on Steve.

Steve, you ready?

Yeah. Yeah, something's different.

Nothing is different.

Yeah, you look very sharp. Yeah.

He looks like hell.