golden hair, black eyes and high nose

Status
Not open for further replies.

keannu

VIP Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Korean
Home Country
South Korea
Current Location
South Korea
I think golden hair and high nose are quite awkward, so should be corrected, but does "black eyes" always mean "bruised eyes" not "black colored eyes" sometimes?

ex)M : Kate, have you seen a new student from England?
K : No, How does she look like?
M :She has golden hair, black eyes and high nose.(incorrect)
=> She has blond hair, dark eyes and big nose.(correct)
 

keannu

VIP Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Korean
Home Country
South Korea
Current Location
South Korea
I think golden hair and high nose are quite awkward, so should be corrected, but does "black eyes" always mean "bruised eyes" not "black colored eyes" sometimes? Eyes may be dark brown but they are not black. => Does it have to be only dark brown? Koreans sometimes say black eyes just rougly as eyes can look black from a distance.
I'm just curious if black eyes always have the nuance of "bruised eyes".

ex)M : Kate, have you seen a the new student from England?
K : No, How what does she look like?
M :She has golden hair, black eyes and a high nose.(incorrect) Not incorrect. The description may not be favorable to the lady but such a description is quite possible.
=> Is golden hair possible? but it sounds rare.
=> She has blond hair, dark eyes and a big nose.(correct) No, this is not a matter of correct or incorrect. You are concerned with "black eyes" and then accuse the lady of having a big nose - not the best choice of words. Consider changing "big" to prominent
=> You mean high and big nose are both not common but possible? I've prominent nose a lot, so it seems to fit best.
 

waflob

Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2011
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Germany
"Golden hair" is ok - Barb_D's forum icon shows this type well :cool:
Equally vaild are "blond", or "light" - if you wanted to get all lyrical, you could even try "flaxen".

Now for the nose part. "High" describes more the shape (is this the same as a Roman nose?), not the size. Not necessarily a negative, but "big" will never be used as a positive. Brings up images of someone having a potato stuck to the middle of their face.
 

keannu

VIP Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Korean
Home Country
South Korea
Current Location
South Korea
"Golden hair" is ok - Barb_D's forum icon shows this type well :cool:
Equally vaild are "blond", or "light" - if you wanted to get all lyrical, you could even try "flaxen".

Now for the nose part. "High" describes more the shape (is this the same as a Roman nose?), not the size. Not necessarily a negative, but "big" will never be used as a positive. Brings up images of someone having a potato stuck to the middle of their face.
Thanks a lot, but does it have to be "dark eyes" only instead of "black eyes"?
Black eyes can be either bruised eyes or black-colored eyes. When I went to Greece, I saw a Greek woman with purely black-colored eyes.
What's difference between big nose, high nose and prominent nose?
 
Last edited:
J

J&K Tutoring

Guest
Without some more context we can't be sure, but I think there could be another meaning for 'high nose'. Maybe the speaker means to say she's stuckup- has her 'nose in the air'- thinks she's better than everyone else.
 

waflob

Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2011
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Germany
I think that in the context used, it is clear that she hasn't been in a fight and that it describes the general case. However, "dark" is probably more usual.

If you really want to use "black", you could says "she has dark, almost black, eyes".
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
If you say her eyes were black, it sounds less like bruising.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top