Describing Characters in French: Brave, Kind and Other Adjectives
Learn elementary French adjectives and phrases to describe story characters: brave, kind, mean, funny and shy, with correct masculine and feminine forms.
By LiamCulture & nuance · Yapr Learn
To describe a character in French, you need two things: the right adjective and the right form of that adjective. French adjectives usually change spelling depending on whether the character is masculine or feminine, and most go after the noun. This lesson gives you five high-frequency character adjectives and simple sentence patterns such as Il est brave and Elle est gentille, so you can describe a hero, a villain or a friend without touching the plot.
By the end, you can…
- describe a character with five common French adjectives.
- choose the masculine or feminine form of an adjective correctly.
- build simple sentences with Il est, Elle est and C'est.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
Il est brave.
He is brave.
eel ay brahv
Use for a male character or a boy. The adjective brave is spelled the same in the masculine and feminine form, but the pronunciation is the same too: un homme brave, une femme brave.
Elle est gentille.
She is kind.
el ay zhahn-TEE-yuh
Use for a female character or a girl. The masculine form is gentil (zhahn-TEE).
Il est méchant.
He is mean.
eel ay may-SHAHN
A common adjective for a villain. The feminine form is méchante (may-SHAHNT).
Elle est drôle.
She is funny.
el ay drohl
Drôle is spelled the same for masculine and feminine. It describes a person who makes you laugh.
Il est timide.
He is shy.
eel ay tee-MEED
Timide is the same in both genders. It describes a quiet, reserved character.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
The basic pattern is subject pronoun + être + adjective: Il est brave (He is brave), Elle est gentille (She is kind). When the adjective is used with a noun, most French adjectives of character go after the noun: un garçon brave (a brave boy), une fille gentille (a kind girl). If you name or introduce the character, use C'est + un/une + noun + adjective: C'est un garçon brave, C'est une fille gentille. Note that gentil becomes gentille in the feminine, and méchant becomes méchante.
When to use it
Use Il est or Elle est when the person has already been mentioned or is clear from context: Le héros arrive. Il est brave. (The hero arrives. He is brave.) Use C'est + un/une + noun + adjective when you introduce or label the character: C'est une reine méchante. (She is a mean queen.) For a neutral comment about a situation or an unidentified character, French often uses C'est + adjective: C'est drôle ! (That is funny!) Keep adjectives singular unless you describe more than one character.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
Qui est le héros de ton histoire ?
Who is the hero of your story?kee ay luh ay-roh duh tohn ees-TWAHRC'est un jeune homme brave et gentil.
He is a brave and kind young man.say tuhn zhuhn ohm brahv ay zhahn-TEEEt la reine, elle est comment ?
And the queen, what is she like?ay la ren el ay koh-MAHNElle est méchante, mais son frère est drôle.
She is mean, but her brother is funny.el ay may-SHAHNT may sohn frehr ay drohlA little context goes a long way
In everyday French, gentil and sympa are warmer and more common than the English-style compliment nice. Sympa is informal and invariable: Il est sympa, Elle est sympa. In more formal writing or storytelling, you may see brave used for a person who is courageous, while in older texts brave can also mean good or decent; context makes the meaning clear.
One thing to watch for
Saying Elle est gentil, using the masculine adjective for a female character.
Try this instead: Most French adjectives agree with the person described. Use the feminine form: Elle est gentille. Likewise, Il est méchant becomes Elle est méchante. Adjectives such as brave, drôle and timide do not change, so Elle est brave is already correct.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you say 'She is kind' in French?
Show a sample answer
Elle est gentille.
Elle is feminine, so the adjective gentil takes its feminine form gentille. Elle est gentil would be grammatically incorrect for a female character.
2Which sentence correctly describes a mean queen: C'est une reine méchant or C'est une reine méchante?
Show a sample answer
C'est une reine méchante.
Reine is feminine, so méchant adds -e to become méchante. The first version keeps the masculine form and does not agree with the noun.
3Translate: 'He is shy, but he is funny.'
Show a sample answer
Il est timide, mais il est drôle.
Timide and drôle have the same form for masculine and feminine, so no ending change is needed. Mais means but and links the two descriptions.
Describe a character with Il est or Elle est plus an adjective, and remember that gentil and méchant change to gentille and méchante for female characters, while brave, drôle and timide stay the same.
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