This document provides vocabulary to describe people's personalities. Some of the key terms included are: respectful, polite, rude, impolite, shy, confident, arrogant, humble, funny, serious, moody, cheerful, friendly, nervous, adventurous, boring, hard-working, lazy, curious, nosy, bossy, and stubborn. Examples are given to further explain the meanings of each term.

1. PERSONALITY
VOCABULARY TO DESCRIBE PEOPLE

2. In Japan, people bow to each other to show that they are being R______________.
In other countries, it’s P____________ to shake hands when you meet someone.

3. Respectful / Polite
Courteous
“Your son is so polite! He always says ‘please’ and ‘thank you’!”

4. The woman in this photo is not very polite. She’s being __________

5. Rude / Impolite
“has bad manners”
“Unfortunately, my new boss is quite rude. She rarely says
‘good morning’ ‘please’ or ‘thank you’ to anyone! What terrible
manners!”

6. Since moving to France, Anna feels _____________ when she meets new people.
She lacks confidence in her French language skills and always fears saying something
wrong.

7. Shy / Reserved / Timid
“insecure”*
“As a child, she was very reserved and kept quiet; however,
as an adult, she has grown confident and talkative!”

8. Looking professional, knowing your product well, and
always being prepared will show your clients that you are
______________ in your job.

9. Confident / Self-Assured
“ He is very confident at work, but when he talks to women, he
becomes very timid like a mouse.”

10. Too much confidence can be a negative thing.
Tom and Jessica are both so ______________

11. Arrogant / Overly-Confident /
Egotistical (to have a “big ego”)
“Thomas used to be friendly, but after he became an actor
and got famous, he’s very arrogant. He is always showing off
his money and his power.”

12. “Although Bill Gates is one of the richest men in the world, he’s
still very h____________. He lives a simple life, drives an old
car, donates money to charity, and rarely wears designer clothes.

13. Humble / Modest
(to not show-off, even though you may be very
attractive, successful, rich, lucky, etc..)
“Even though Mike’s company has grown huge over the past
20 years, he’s still very humble. He always goes to work on
time, interviews everyone he hires and is very generous with
his staff.

14. John is very ____________ and always makes the
people around him laugh. He could have been a comedian.

15. Funny / Comical /
Humorous
“has a good sense of humor”
“ Mr. Bean is a very comical character who is always getting
into trouble.”

16. This person has difficulty being “funny”. This person is always
thinking and doesn’t like to joke around. They are __________

17. Serious / “humorless”
“a thinker”
“ My boss is a very serious woman. She hardly ever smiles,
and she doesn’t like to chat too much.”

18. Teenagers are often ______________ and dislike spending time with their family.
They rarely listen to their parents and may be very quiet or focus on electronics.

19. Moody / Grumpy
Unfriendly
“No one really enjoys talking to Dan because he’s very
moody and never has anything nice to say.

20. It’s much more enjoyable to
be around __________people
because they will make your
life easier and happier.

21. Cheerful / Friendly / Happy
Warm / Welcoming
“My husband’s colleagues are very friendly and welcoming.
They often invite us to eat dinner, and they helped us find
a new apartment. ”

22. Amanda is feeling ___________ about her presentation.
She’s afraid of forgetting information or being asked a
difficult question.

23. Nervous / Anxious /
Worried
“I feel anxious when I see children rollerblading and
skateboarding. I’m always scared they will fall down. ”

24. Skydiving is a popular sport with _________ people.

25. Adventurous / Fearless
Brave / Courageous
“My brother is very adventurous. He enjoys outdoor sports
like rock climbing, surfing and skydiving.”

26. Gary is such a __________ person. He never has
anything to talk about except for math.

27. Boring / Dull /
Uninteresting
“My brother is very dull. He only enjoys sleeping and
watching football. He really doesn’t like talking much.”

28. Kelly has been preparing
for her interview for over 2
months. She’s a
______________ and
dedicated to her job.

29. Hard-worker
“Determined”
“My husband is a hard-worker. He works for 10 hours a day,
six days a week!”

30. Cats can be very _________ animals. They sleep for most of
the day.

31. Lazy / Inactive
“I enjoy being lazy on Sundays. I sleep late, order delivery
and watch movies all day.”

32. Children are often very ____________. They ask
many questions, and they want to know a lot of information.

33. Curious / Inquisitive
“My neighbor is very curious about my job. She is thinking
about working for a pharmaceutical company too.”

34. “My colleague, Amy is a little too curious about my
personal life. In fact, I think she’s being n__________.

35. Nosey / Prying
“My boss is quite nosey and is always asking me who I’m
dating, when I’m going to get married, and my lifestyle
budget.”

36. I don’t enjoy working with b______ people who
micromanage and tell everyone what to do all the
time.

37. Bossy / Pushy
When I was growing up, my older sister was very bossy. She was like my 2nd mother”

38. My daughter is very ________________. She refuses to go to sleep at
night and always gets up.

39. Stubborn / Headstrong
“I work with one very headstrong colleague, and it always
takes a lot of time to persuade him to agree with the rest
of our team.”