🔺 English Shapes

⏱ 7 min read

In this section you'll learn common English shape words, how to describe the shape of everyday objects, and how to use shape words naturally in English. Each English word includes translations in Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Portuguese.

🟢 Common Shapes

⚪ Circle

🇪🇸 Spanish: Círculo
🇫🇷 French: Cercle
🇩🇪 German: Kreis
🇮🇹 Italian: Cerchio
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Círculo

⬛ Square

🇪🇸 Spanish: Cuadrado
🇫🇷 French: Carré
🇩🇪 German: Quadrat
🇮🇹 Italian: Quadrato
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Quadrado

🔺 Triangle

🇪🇸 Spanish: Triángulo
🇫🇷 French: Triangle
🇩🇪 German: Dreieck
🇮🇹 Italian: Triangolo
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Triângulo

▭ Rectangle

🇪🇸 Spanish: Rectángulo
🇫🇷 French: Rectangle
🇩🇪 German: Rechteck
🇮🇹 Italian: Rettangolo
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Retângulo

🥚 Oval

🇪🇸 Spanish: Óvalo
🇫🇷 French: Ovale
🇩🇪 German: Oval
🇮🇹 Italian: Ovale
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Oval

⭐ Star

🇪🇸 Spanish: Estrella
🇫🇷 French: Étoile
🇩🇪 German: Stern
🇮🇹 Italian: Stella
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Estrela

🟡 Describing Shapes

⭕ Round

🇪🇸 Spanish: Redondo / Redonda
🇫🇷 French: Rond / Ronde
🇩🇪 German: Rund
🇮🇹 Italian: Rotondo / Rotonda
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Redondo / Redonda

⬛ Square

🇪🇸 Spanish: Cuadrado / Cuadrada
🇫🇷 French: Carré / Carrée
🇩🇪 German: Quadratisch
🇮🇹 Italian: Quadrato / Quadrata
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Quadrado / Quadrada

▭ Rectangular

🇪🇸 Spanish: Rectangular
🇫🇷 French: Rectangulaire
🇩🇪 German: Rechteckig
🇮🇹 Italian: Rettangolare
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Retangular

🥚 Oval

🇪🇸 Spanish: Ovalado / Ovalada
🇫🇷 French: Ovale
🇩🇪 German: Oval
🇮🇹 Italian: Ovale
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Oval

🔺 Triangular

🇪🇸 Spanish: Triangular
🇫🇷 French: Triangulaire
🇩🇪 German: Dreieckig
🇮🇹 Italian: Triangolare
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Triangular

〰️ Curved

🇪🇸 Spanish: Curvo / Curva
🇫🇷 French: Courbé / Courbée
🇩🇪 German: Gebogen
🇮🇹 Italian: Curvo / Curva
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Curvo / Curva

🧠 Using Shape Words Correctly

English often uses a noun to name a shape and an adjective to describe an object.

It's a circle.
🇪🇸 Es un círculo.
🇫🇷 C'est un cercle.
🇩🇪 Es ist ein Kreis.
🇮🇹 È un cerchio.
🇵🇹 É um círculo.

The table is round.
🇪🇸 La mesa es redonda.
🇫🇷 La table est ronde.
🇩🇪 Der Tisch ist rund.
🇮🇹 Il tavolo è rotondo.
🇵🇹 A mesa é redonda.

English adjectives never change for gender or number.

The round mirror
The round table
The round tables

In English, shape adjectives usually come before the noun.

A rectangular window
Two rectangular windows

🏡 Shapes Around You

🍽️ The plate is round.

🇪🇸 Spanish: El plato es redondo.
🇫🇷 French: L'assiette est ronde.
🇩🇪 German: Der Teller ist rund.
🇮🇹 Italian: Il piatto è rotondo.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: O prato é redondo.

🪟 The kitchen window is square.

🇪🇸 Spanish: La ventana de la cocina es cuadrada.
🇫🇷 French: La fenêtre de la cuisine est carrée.
🇩🇪 German: Das Küchenfenster ist quadratisch.
🇮🇹 Italian: La finestra della cucina è quadrata.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: A janela da cozinha é quadrada.

📺 The television screen is rectangular.

🇪🇸 Spanish: La pantalla del televisor es rectangular.
🇫🇷 French: L'écran de télévision est rectangulaire.
🇩🇪 German: Der Fernsehbildschirm ist rechteckig.
🇮🇹 Italian: Lo schermo della televisione è rettangolare.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: A tela da televisão é retangular.

🪞 We have an oval mirror in the hallway.

🇪🇸 Spanish: Tenemos un espejo ovalado en el pasillo.
🇫🇷 French: Nous avons un miroir ovale dans le couloir.
🇩🇪 German: Wir haben einen ovalen Spiegel im Flur.
🇮🇹 Italian: Abbiamo uno specchio ovale nel corridoio.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Temos um espelho oval no corredor.

❓ Useful Shape Questions

🔷 What shape is it?

🇪🇸 Spanish: ¿Qué forma tiene?
🇫🇷 French: Quelle est sa forme ?
🇩🇪 German: Welche Form hat es?
🇮🇹 Italian: Che forma ha?
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Que forma tem?

⭕ Is it round or square?

🇪🇸 Spanish: ¿Es redondo o cuadrado?
🇫🇷 French: Est-il rond ou carré ?
🇩🇪 German: Ist es rund oder quadratisch?
🇮🇹 Italian: È rotondo o quadrato?
🇵🇹 Portuguese: É redondo ou quadrado?

🪑 What shape is the table?

🇪🇸 Spanish: ¿Qué forma tiene la mesa?
🇫🇷 French: Quelle est la forme de la table ?
🇩🇪 German: Welche Form hat der Tisch?
🇮🇹 Italian: Che forma ha il tavolo?
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Que forma tem a mesa?

▭ Does it have a rectangular shape?

🇪🇸 Spanish: ¿Tiene una forma rectangular?
🇫🇷 French: A-t-il une forme rectangulaire ?
🇩🇪 German: Hat es eine rechteckige Form?
🇮🇹 Italian: Ha una forma rettangolare?
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Tem uma forma retangular?

💬 Everyday Conversations

Shopping for Furniture

A: Do you prefer a round or square table?
🇪🇸 ¿Prefiere una mesa redonda o cuadrada?
🇫🇷 Préférez-vous une table ronde ou carrée ?
🇩🇪 Bevorzugen Sie einen runden oder quadratischen Tisch?
🇮🇹 Preferisce un tavolo rotondo o quadrato?
🇵🇹 Você prefere uma mesa redonda ou quadrada?

B: I prefer a round table because it takes up less space.
🇪🇸 Prefiero una mesa redonda porque ocupa menos espacio.
🇫🇷 Je préfère une table ronde parce qu'elle prend moins de place.
🇩🇪 Ich bevorzuge einen runden Tisch, weil er weniger Platz braucht.
🇮🇹 Preferisco un tavolo rotondo perché occupa meno spazio.
🇵🇹 Prefiro uma mesa redonda porque ocupa menos espaço.

Describing an Object

A: What shape is the box?
🇪🇸 ¿Qué forma tiene la caja?
🇫🇷 Quelle est la forme de la boîte ?
🇩🇪 Welche Form hat die Kiste?
🇮🇹 Che forma ha la scatola?
🇵🇹 Que forma tem a caixa?

B: It's rectangular and quite large.
🇪🇸 Es rectangular y bastante grande.
🇫🇷 Elle est rectangulaire et assez grande.
🇩🇪 Sie ist rechteckig und ziemlich groß.
🇮🇹 È rettangolare e piuttosto grande.
🇵🇹 É retangular e bastante grande.

📝 Example Sentences

🍕 We cut the round pizza into eight slices.

🇪🇸 Spanish: Cortamos la pizza redonda en ocho porciones.
🇫🇷 French: Nous avons coupé la pizza ronde en huit parts.
🇩🇪 German: Wir haben die runde Pizza in acht Stücke geschnitten.
🇮🇹 Italian: Abbiamo tagliato la pizza rotonda in otto fette.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: Cortamos a pizza redonda em oito fatias.

🖼️ The rectangular picture is above the sofa.

🇪🇸 Spanish: El cuadro rectangular está encima del sofá.
🇫🇷 French: Le tableau rectangulaire est au-dessus du canapé.
🇩🇪 German: Das rechteckige Bild hängt über dem Sofa.
🇮🇹 Italian: Il quadro rettangolare è sopra il divano.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: O quadro retangular está acima do sofá.

⭐ The children drew stars in their notebooks.

🇪🇸 Spanish: Los niños dibujaron estrellas en sus cuadernos.
🇫🇷 French: Les enfants ont dessiné des étoiles dans leurs cahiers.
🇩🇪 German: Die Kinder zeichneten Sterne in ihre Hefte.
🇮🇹 Italian: I bambini hanno disegnato delle stelle nei loro quaderni.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: As crianças desenharam estrelas em seus cadernos.

🔺 The roof has a triangular shape.

🇪🇸 Spanish: El techo tiene una forma triangular.
🇫🇷 French: Le toit a une forme triangulaire.
🇩🇪 German: Das Dach hat eine dreieckige Form.
🇮🇹 Italian: Il tetto ha una forma triangolare.
🇵🇹 Portuguese: O telhado tem uma forma triangular.

🏆 Final Practice

Try saying each English phrase before pressing play.

What shape is it?
It's a circle.
The table is round.
The window is square.
The mirror is oval.
The screen is rectangular.