French Personality Adjectives: Qualities and Flaws
Thirteen little portraits to decode: who is chanceux, who is timide, who broie du noir? Students match each person with the right adjective, then find the opposite of fourteen more, from triste to indifférent.
A complete tour of personality in French, with an answer key that goes beyond one single answer: triste is the opposite of joyeux, but content and heureux work too. Premium worksheet with PDF and editable DOCX.
✨ What students practise
Exercise one reads like a game of portraits: il a beaucoup de chance, elle a peur de parler en public, il impose sa loi… Students pick the right adjective from a list of thirteen, including the idiomatic ones: broyer du noir, ne pas avoir les pieds sur terre, changer vite d’humeur.
Exercise two flips the mirror: find the opposite of fourteen adjectives, and discover that French often accepts several answers. The correction lists them all, a goldmine for teaching nuance: joyeux, content, heureux… and autonome for indépendant.
Read the portrait: who is lucky, who is shy, who sees everything in black?
Pick the right adjective from the list: envieux, ambitieux, lunatique…
Find the opposite of 14 adjectives: triste, fragile, silencieux…
Compare with the answer key and its alternative answers.
📚 What the worksheet contains
Three building blocks, from the portraits to the nuance:
Short descriptions to match with the right personality adjective, including idiomatic expressions.
From triste to indifférent, students build the positive and negative sides of personality.
Every answer with its alternatives, to teach that language is rarely black and white.
🎨 The personalities at a glance
Twelve of the adjectives covered, with their English equivalents:
💎 Download the worksheet (Premium)
One page of portraits and opposites, plus the answer key with alternatives. The DOCX lets you adapt the list to your group.
Preview: 13 portraits, 14 opposites and the answer key
🎯 Recommended level
❓ Frequently asked questions
📚 What level is this worksheet for?
Mainly A2-B1: the basic adjectives are A2, and the idiomatic portraits stretch towards B1.
🎭 What is the task exactly?
Exercise one: match 13 portraits with the right personality adjective. Exercise two: find the opposite of 14 adjectives. Full answer key included.
✅ Is there an answer key?
Yes, and it lists alternative answers too: triste is the opposite of joyeux, but content and heureux work as well. A nice way to teach nuance.
💎 Is the worksheet free?
No. The PDF and the editable DOCX are reserved for Premium members.
💬 How can I extend the activity orally?
Students describe a classmate or a famous person with two qualities and one flaw, and the others guess who it is. A fun and personal speaking task.
