Give Better Descriptions In English: Use -ish, -like, -esque

Have you ever hesitated before describing something in English because it

wasn't exactly blue or exactly modern or

exactly seven o'clock.

Today I am going to share three powerful little endings that will help you

express yourself with more confidence and precision in English,

particularly in those moments when things aren't exactly one

way or another. We're going to explore the suffixes ish,

like and esque. We use these word endings to describe people,

things, places,

and times with more flexibility and natural expression. For example,

imagine being able to say exactly what you mean when you walk into

a room and the walls aren't exactly blue, but they're kind of blue.

Or when someone's enthusiasm reminds you of a child's joy

or a building's style makes you think of renaissance architecture.

By the end of this lesson,

you'll know exactly how to use the suffixes ish like and

esque and confidence in your everyday English conversations.

So before we jump in, here's exactly what we're going to cover. First,

we're going to look at why these suffixes matter and how they can help you

express yourself more precisely.

Then we'll explore each suffix one by one with plenty of real world examples,

and finally,

I'll share some practical tips so you can immediately start using these suffixes

in your English conversations. So why do these matter? Well,

let me start by asking you something.

Have you ever heard someone describe a sweater as greenish

gray or talk about a person's childlike laughter or

mention a Renaissance esque painting?

These suffixes ish, like an esque,

are versatile tools that English speakers use all the time,

but there's something important I want you to know.

While these suffixes are really useful,

using them incorrectly can sometimes lead to confusion or even cause

offense, and that's exactly why we're going to break this down step by step.

I want you to feel completely confident about understanding exactly what each

suffix means and how it functions.

I also want to make sure that you're using them naturally,

both in casual and professional situations. Lastly,

I want you to know the cultural nuances so that you can avoid mistakes.

So let's start with the suffix like because it's probably the most

straightforward of the three that we're going to look at today.

This suffix helps you make clear comparisons,

and what I love about it is that it works well in both formal and informal

situations. Think about this example.

Her childlike wonder is contagious. When.

You hear that, what do you imagine?

You're probably thinking of someone showing pure innocent enthusiasm,

the kind that we often see in children,

and that's exactly what the suffix like helps us express a clear

comparison to something familiar. Here's another example.

The predator moved with cat-like precision. Can you picture that?

It immediately gives you an image of something moving gracefully and

precisely just like a cat would. Now, as I said,

what makes like particularly useful is how well it works in different

situations. In professional settings,

you might say something like The project requires machine like

precision or the results showed clock like regularity.

These descriptions work perfectly in academic or workplace contexts

because they're clear and professional. Now,

in more casual everyday conversations, you might hear someone say,

her laugh is so childlike, it's adorable,

or he has dreamlike memories of that vacation when

using this suffix. Here's a helpful tip.

Always choose words that highlight the specific quality that you

want to emphasize. For example, if you want to describe something professional,

you might say businesslike or for something regular and predictable

clock like works perfectly and for something magical or surreal,

you could use dreamlike.

Now because we're looking at specific qualities or characteristics that are

represented, there's a note of caution here.

Some like comparisons could come across as unkind.

For example,

calling someone sloth like might be considered offensive because it makes them

sound lazy. Instead,

focus on making respectful comparisons that highlight the specific qualities

that you want to describe. Moving on,

let's talk about our second Suffolk esque.

This one is particularly interesting because it helps us describe things

that remind us of a particular style or manner.

While it traditionally belongs to more formal or even literary

contexts,

it's become increasingly common in everyday conversations,

especially when describing art, culture, fashion and design.

For example,

imagine you're looking at a building with lots of ornate details and

dramatic features. You might say it has a Baroque esque design,

or if someone has that sophisticated charm that reminds you of George

Clooney, you might describe it as Clooney esque charm.

There are actually some common English words that.

Already have esque built into them. For example,

perhaps you've heard someone described as statue esque meaning graceful,

tall and dignified, or picturesque meaning visually attractive,

like a well taken photo or arabesque referring to intricate

or elaborate patterns. Now,

when it comes to using the Suffix esque in a variety of settings,

let's take a look at some more professional or formal examples.

You might say,

the paintings colors are Van Gogh esque suggesting those

bold,

vibrant colors we associate with Van Gogh or the novel has

a Kafkaesque atmosphere suggesting those surreal

complex themes.

Kafka was known for these descriptions work perfectly in professional

discussions about style and design,

but esque is just as useful in everyday conversations. For example,

her outfit was totally Lady Gaga esque suggesting bold,

unique fashion choices,

or that joke was very Seinfeld esque suggesting the

observational humor style. When you're using this suffix,

there's something important to remember with esque.

You want to choose references or names that your listeners will

recognize. For example,

Shakespeare esque for something poetic or dramatic Disney-esque

for something magical or whimsical or Hemingway esque

for a direct simple style and now it's time for our third suffix

ish. This is probably the most flexible casual of all three,

and it's perfect for those times when something isn't exactly one thing

or another. What I love about Ish is how it helps us express those

in-between qualities that we notice but sometimes find hard to describe

precisely. Let me show you what I mean with some examples.

You might walk into a room and observe that the paint on the walls is a little

bluish ish. It's not quite blue, but it's close.

Or you might tell someone, let's meet at seven ish,

meaning sometime around seven o'clock you might walk outside

and observe that the weather is warmish,

those first moderately warm spring days when the winter's

ending. Before we go any further,

I wanna stop for a moment to talk about spelling. Of course,

it doesn't matter so much in speaking,

but you're likely to use these in emails and text messages as well,

so unlike the suffix like and esque,

which typically use hyphens with proper names, for example,

Shakespeare like or Disney-esque ish

usually doesn't need a hyphen unless it's attached to a proper name

or a number. For example,

we don't use a hyphen with blue-ish warmish or soon-ish,

but we do use a hyphen with October-ish,

a proper noun or seven-ish, a number indicating time.

Now,

let's talk about when you'll most often hear the suffix ish

used first. You'll often hear it with times. For example,

someone might tell you to come for dinner at six ish or let's meet at

noonish. Both of these mean around that time,

perhaps a few minutes later. We also often use it with colors,

a greenish sweater or a reddish shirt,

it means almost that color but not quite. If we're using it with weather,

you're likely to hear warmish or coldish suggesting moderately

warm or moderately cold, and then we use it also with general qualities.

She's Tallish or Swedish,

which means somewhat of that particular quality. Now,

what about feelings? Well,

you might occasionally hear expressions like tired ish or hungry ish in

very informal conversations.

These are more creative uses that are not standard.

It's usually better to say kind of tired or a little hungry. Instead.

It's also important to note that the suffix ish works best with

neutral or positive descriptions, especially when talking about time.

For example,

I'll be ready in 30 ish minutes or when talking about the temperature,

it's warmish outside. If I'm referencing a general quality,

I might say the room has a modernish feel,

but where we want to avoid the use of ish is when

describing someone's physical characteristics or age. For example,

instead of saying she's 40 ish, which could be seen as disrespectful,

it's better to say she's in her early forties,

or instead of saying he's tallish, which could be a bit dismissive,

it may be best to say that he's fairly tall.

These changes help to ensure that your descriptions remain polite and

professional. With all of this in mind, let me ask you a question.

Do you ever struggle with expressing yourself in English,

especially when the words that you need don't feel exactly right?

This is one of the many reasons I created the Confident Women Community,

an online community where you'll find a safe and supportive place to

practice English vocabulary and skills. Just like in this lesson,

inside the Confident Women Community,

you'll find real world practice opportunities in live group conversations where

you can try out tools like these suffixes ish, like an esque.

You'll also find a supportive network of.

Women who understand your English journey and are working toward the same goal,

speaking English with confidence and authenticity. Moreover,

you'll find monthly lessons and challenges designed to help you master

essential English communication skills.

If you'd love to learn more about the Confident Women Community,

you can simply use the link that I'll share in the notes below the video,

and now it's time to put everything you've learned into practice.

I've got a challenge for you.

I want you to take a moment and look around the room that you're in right now.

What catches your eye?

Maybe it's the color of your walls or a favorite coffee mug,

maybe the style of your furniture or some of the decor.

Perhaps it's even the way the light creates shadows or patterns on your

wall.

Try describing what you see using ish like or esque.

For example,

my coffee mug is bluish green or the shadows

on my wall are making a wave-like pattern.

My lamp has a vintage esque design.

I'd love to hear some of the examples that you come up with, and as always,

you can share with me in the comments below.

If you found today's lesson helpful to you,

I would love to know and you can tell me in one very simple way.

Give this lesson a thumbs up here on YouTube and while you're at it,

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Thank you so much for joining me and I look forward to seeing you next time.