· 13 lists · 467 words

People and feelings

How to describe who someone is and how they are.

What holds these lists together

The lists for what there is to say about a person once name and job are out of the way: where they come from and what has happened to them, how they feel just now, and how they tend to behave. The questions come up in the same conversations — meeting someone, writing a reference, talking about a third person — and the fine distinctions in them are not something you pick up by listening. Some are traps on sight. Sensible means sensitive; «sensible» in English is raisonnable. Sympathique means likeable, not sympathetic. And un brave homme is a decent man, while un homme brave is a brave one.

The 13 lists

B2Origins and life eventsFamily tree, certificates, inheritance, farewell.48 words B2Feelings by degreeFrom mildly annoyed to lost for words — finer than happy and sad.27 words B2Describing people preciselyInstead of nice and difficult: adjectives that make a difference.33 words C1PetsFrom the vaccination booklet to the holiday care.35 words C1Feelings with namesFrom unease to reverence — every shade of feeling with a word of its own.50 words C1Parental leave and family at workThe applications, the deadlines and the conversation with the employer.35 words C1Small talkThe ten minutes in which nothing is discussed and everything is decided.35 words C2Developmental psychologyWhat comes in which order, and what about that is not settled.21 words C1From shrewd to gullibleFrom shrewd to gullible — with the tone each word brings with it.43 words C1Look, expression, postureForty-nine verbs for what happens without words.49 words C2Social roles and standingRank, closeness, obligation — the order nobody writes down.37 words C2Social psychologyWhat people do because other people are there.23 words C2Ageing as a field of researchWhat comes with age, and what merely keeps it company.31 words

Spread across the levels

The category runs across the levels — it is an area, not a difficulty. If you practise it, you can also choose a level at the top of the practice page and then get only the part that sits there.

Level	Words	Share
B1	9	2 %
B2	95	20 %
C1	251	54 %
C2	112	24 %

Practise this category

Multiple choice and gaps, across all 13 lists and all 467 words. Whatever you get wrong comes back tomorrow.