How do you describe charts in English?
Introduce the visual, orient the audience with axes and units, name lines, bars, or segments, and highlight one key figure. Movement language belongs to the trends lesson.
- The sequence is introduce — orient — name — highlight.
- On a line graph, call the shape a "line," not a "curve."
- The plural of "axis" is "axes."
B1 · Presentations · 10 minDescribe charts and graphs clearly in English.
Learn phrases for axes, lines, bars, and key data in presentations — free to try with no signup.
- CEFR levelB1 · Intermediate
- Time to completeAbout 10 minutes
- Chart sequenceIntroduce — orient — name — highlight
- Chart partsAxes, lines, bars, segments
01 / 07
How do you describe charts in English?
Describe charts in English with four clear steps: introduce, orient, name, and highlight. Begin with "Let's have a look at this chart." Next, give the orientation, for example, "The horizontal axis shows the months; the vertical axis shows sales in euros." Then explain what the line, bars, or segment represent. "The blue line represents online sales" is a neutral building block for that job. Finally, direct attention to an important observation: "I'd like to point out that this number doubled." This sequence stops you from reading individual figures before the room understands the visual. Every phrase-bank group has its own task. You can change the chart content without changing the speaking route. In a business presentation, the audience first gets its bearings and then lands on the figure that matters to your message.
02 / 07
Which phrases introduce a chart in English?
Introduce a chart in English with a short invitation or a factual subject line. "Let's have a look at this chart" is neutral and suits a team update. "As you can see here, online sales doubled" immediately connects the visible chart with an observation. The more formal "This graph shows our turnover over the last year" first states the subject and time span. Choose one opening instead of stacking all three. Make sure the visual is already displayed when you say "this chart" or "here"; otherwise the visible reference is missing. After the introduction, move to the axes, units, and plotted series. "Shows" states what the whole graph contains, while "represents" later explains one particular line. Keeping those functions separate makes the description shorter and avoids repetition.
03 / 07
Which English words name axes, lines, and bars?
The key English chart words are "horizontal axis," "vertical axis," "line," "bar," "segment," and "figures." Orient the audience first with "The horizontal axis shows the months; the vertical axis shows sales in euros." Then say "The blue line represents online sales." For a bar chart, use "Each bar stands for one quarter." When the scale is shortened, "The figures are in millions" supplies the unit. These sentences do not explain how a measure moves; they merely show where and in what unit the audience can find the data. Notice the irregular plural of "axis": "axes," pronounced /ˈæksiːz/. The singular is /ˈæksɪs/. These nouns let you orient the complete visual before highlighting a figure.
04 / 07
How do you highlight key data in a presentation?
Highlight key data with a clear attention phrase and one selected observation. The neutral "What's really interesting here is the jump in May" works in a team update. The more formal "I'd like to point out that this number doubled" suits a client room. When a coloured section matters, use "Note that the red segment is by far the largest." These phrases tell the audience that not every value has equal importance. Select the observation that supports your business message instead of reading the whole table afterwards. "Point out" and "note that" are communicative pointing moves here. The detailed language for upward and downward movement, speed, or peaks belongs to Describing Trends. This lesson stays with chart nouns, clear highlights, and the verbal pointer to the one relevant figure.
05 / 07
Which German transfer errors occur when describing a graph?
The most common German transfer error when describing a graph is "curve" for the plotted shape on a line graph. In English, a "curve" bends; the data series here is a "line." Correct "The curve rises sharply after March" to "The line rises sharply after March," and change "As you can see, the curve falls" to "As you can see, the line falls." German "Diagramm" also becomes "chart" or "graph" according to the visual, not automatically "diagram." A second transfer affects years. Instead of "Sales doubled in the year 2024," say the concise "Sales doubled in 2024." These corrections do not teach trend grammar; they secure the appropriate chart nouns and natural time expression. Check your notes for "line," "chart" or "graph," and the short year form.
06 / 07
Where does chart language end and trend language begin?
Chart language ends after introduction, orientation, naming, and highlighting; systematic movement description begins in Describing Trends. This lesson owns the nouns "axis," "line," "bar," and "segment," together with phrases such as "represents," "stands for," and "I'd like to point out…" It helps the audience find its way around the visual. Describing Trends then takes over the verbs and adverbs for movement and points to the relevant tense lessons. You can use both phrase banks consecutively in a real presentation, but keep them separate while learning. First say which line you mean, and only then describe its development with the next lesson. Comparatives and Superlatives at A2 adds comparisons such as the largest category without this lesson re-teaching the complete grammar.
07 / 07
How do you practise English phrases for describing charts?
Practise English phrases for describing charts with one business visual and marked speaking steps. First say "Let's have a look at this chart." Then point physically to the horizontal and vertical axes and name their contents. Explain one line and one bar with "represents" and "stands for." Finally, select one figure and introduce it with "I'd like to point out that…" Read the section aloud without listing every number on the visual. Next, practise the pronunciation change from "axis" /ˈæksɪs/ to "axes" /ˈæksiːz/. On a second run, change only the register: use neutral phrases in a team update and more formal choices with clients. Signposting Language is the prerequisite for moving to the visual, while Describing Trends adds movement language in the next step.