AI Image Generation Prompt English Glossary

English prompts are the standard for AI image generation. But many people find themselves thinking “I don’t know what words to use” or “I’m just copy-pasting without understanding the meaning.”

This article covers approximately 200 English terms commonly used in AI image generation, organized by category, with Japanese explanations of meanings and usage tips. Use it as a dictionary when writing prompts.

For the basics of how to write prompts, also refer to Prompt Basics.

Quality / Style

Terms for specifying the overall quality and art style of the image.

masterpiece — Masterpiece. Used with the intent of prompting the highest quality output. Effect depends on model training data (※ not confirmed effective in z-image-turbo. See: Best Practices)
best quality — Best quality. A standard quality keyword alongside masterpiece (※ not confirmed effective in z-image-turbo. See: Best Practices)
high quality — High quality. A slightly more modest quality specification than best quality
high resolution — High resolution. Prompts for detailed, fine output
ultra detailed — Ultra detailed. Instructs the image to be drawn with fine detail
detailed — Detailed. Can also be attached to specific parts, like detailed eyes
sharp focus — Sharp focus. Instructs crisp, unblurred depiction
photorealistic — Photorealistic. Basic term for specifying a realistic art style
realistic — Realistic. Used in a slightly broader sense than photorealistic
cinematic — Cinematic. Creates the atmosphere and color palette of a movie scene
professional photography — Professional photography. Instructs a studio-shoot-like finish
raw photo — RAW photo style. Produces a natural, unprocessed texture
8k uhd — 8K ultra high definition. Emphasizes high resolution
4k — 4K quality. Like 8k uhd, instructs for high resolution
film grain — Film grain. Adds film camera-like noise
analog photo — Analog photo style. Reproduces the texture of a film camera
illustration — Illustration. Use when you want an illustrative art style
anime — Anime style. Specifies Japanese anime-like art style
oil painting — Oil painting style. Instructs for a painterly touch
watercolor — Watercolor style. Creates a soft, bleeding touch
digital art — Digital art. Specifies a CG-like finish

Camera / Shooting

Terms related to camera angle, distance, and lens effects.

portrait — Portrait. A composition centered on the bust and above
close-up — Close-up. A composition zoomed in on the face or specific part
extreme close-up — Extreme close-up. An even tighter composition, like just the eyes
full body — Full body. A composition showing from head to toes
upper body — Upper body. Shows from the waist up
lower body — Lower body. Shows from the waist down
cowboy shot — Cowboy shot. Shows from about mid-thigh up
medium shot — Medium shot. Shows from about the waist up
from above — View from above. Bird’s-eye angle
from below — View from below. Low angle / worm’s-eye view
from side — View from the side. Profile-style angle
from behind — View from behind. Angle showing the back
dutch angle — Dutch angle. Tilted camera composition. Conveys instability or motion
wide angle — Wide angle. Captures a wide area, emphasizing perspective
fisheye — Fisheye lens. Extreme wide angle producing rounded distortion
85mm lens — 85mm lens. Focal length ideal for portraits; produces natural bokeh
50mm lens — 50mm lens. Standard lens. Natural perspective close to the human eye
bokeh — Bokeh. Effect where the background blurs, making the subject stand out
depth of field — Depth of field. Controls the range in which focus is sharp
shallow depth of field — Shallow depth of field. Produces heavy background blur
motion blur — Motion blur. Expresses the blur of a moving subject
lens flare — Lens flare. The reflection effect of light that occurs in backlit shots

Lighting

Terms related to how light is applied. Lighting greatly influences the atmosphere of an image. Also see Lighting Prompt Collection.

natural lighting — Natural light. Lighting from sunlight or window light
studio lighting — Studio lighting. Artificial lighting used in professional studios
soft light — Soft light. Soft lighting with thin shadows. Good for portraits
hard light — Hard light. Strong lighting that creates sharp shadows
rim lighting — Rim lighting. Lighting that outlines the subject’s silhouette with light
backlighting — Backlighting. Light from behind the subject. Creates silhouette-like effects
golden hour — Golden hour. The warm-colored light around sunrise and sunset
blue hour — Blue hour. The bluish light immediately after sunset
dramatic lighting — Dramatic lighting. Impressive lighting with strong contrast
volumetric lighting — Volumetric lighting. An effect where light rays are visible (like sunbeams through trees)
ambient light — Ambient light. Overall light without a specific direction
side lighting — Side lighting. Light from the side. Emphasizes three-dimensionality
overhead lighting — Overhead lighting. Lighting from directly above. Creates shadows on the face
neon lighting — Neon lighting. Colorful light like neon signs
candlelight — Candlelight. The warm, flickering light of a candle

Subject Description

Terms for specifying a person’s appearance, hairstyle, body type, and outfit.

Face / Expression

Also refer to Expression Prompt Collection for details on expressions.

beautiful face — Beautiful face. Used to improve face quality
detailed eyes — Detailed eyes. Enhances the detail of the eyes
looking at viewer — Looking at the viewer. Creates a camera-facing expression
looking away — Looking away. Creates a natural atmosphere
smile — Smile. From a natural slight smile to a big grin
grin — Grin. Shows teeth. Creates a wide open-mouthed laughing expression
serious — Serious expression. Creates a cool atmosphere
parted lips — Parted lips. Creates a sensual expression
closed eyes — Closed eyes. A meditative, calm expression
freckles — Freckles. Can be specified as a facial feature

Hair Style / Color

long hair — Long hair
short hair — Short hair
medium hair — Medium hair
black hair — Black hair
brown hair — Brown hair
blonde hair — Blonde hair
red hair — Red hair
ponytail — Ponytail
twintails — Twin tails
braid — Braid
bangs — Bangs. Can also be modified, like blunt bangs
hair bun — Hair bun
wavy hair — Wavy hair
straight hair — Straight hair
wet hair — Wet hair

Body Type

slim — Slim. A slender body type
athletic — Athletic. A toned, muscular body type
curvy — Curvy. A body type with defined curves
petite — Petite. A small-framed body type
tall — Tall
muscular — Muscular. A body type with defined muscles
slender — Slender. Close in meaning to slim. Specifies a willowy body type
thick thighs — Thick thighs. A specific body part specification

Outfit

dress — Dress / one-piece
bikini — Bikini. A classic swimwear style
school uniform — School uniform
casual wear — Casual outfit
formal wear — Formal outfit
sundress — Sundress. A light, summery one-piece
t-shirt — T-shirt
jeans — Jeans
skirt — Skirt
shorts — Shorts
jacket — Jacket
hoodie — Hoodie
lingerie — Lingerie
off-shoulder — Off-shoulder. An outfit with bare shoulders
high heels — High heels

Background / Scene

Terms for specifying the background and location of the image.

indoors — Indoors
outdoors — Outdoors
beach — Beach / sandy shore
ocean — Ocean / sea
city — City / urban scene
street — Street / road
cafe — Cafe
restaurant — Restaurant
bedroom — Bedroom
living room — Living room
bathroom — Bathroom
park — Park
garden — Garden
forest — Forest
mountain — Mountain
rooftop — Rooftop
balcony — Balcony
sunset — Sunset. Functions both as background and as lighting
night — Night. Creates a darker atmosphere
rain — Rain. Adds wet texture and rain droplets
snow — Snow. Creates a winter atmosphere
cherry blossoms — Cherry blossoms. A Japanese spring background
simple background — Simple background. Use when you want attention on the subject
white background — White background. A clean background like a product photo

Composition / Pose

Terms related to the structure of the frame and human poses. Also refer to Pose Prompt Collection for details on poses.

composition — Composition. The arrangement of elements within the frame
rule of thirds — Rule of thirds. A composition placing the subject at intersections of a 3×3 grid
symmetrical — Symmetrical composition
asymmetrical — Asymmetrical composition
dynamic pose — Dynamic pose. A pose with movement
action pose — Action pose. A pose with intense movement like running or jumping
standing — Standing
sitting — Sitting
lying down — Lying down
leaning — Leaning against something
walking — Walking
running — Running
hand on hip — Hand on hip pose
arms crossed — Arms crossed
looking back — Looking back pose. Facing away with only the face turned back
contrapposto — Contrapposto. An S-shaped standing posture with weight on one foot

Standard Negative Prompt Terms

Terms for specifying elements you want excluded from the output. See Negative Prompt Guide for details.

※ Negative prompts do not function in distilled models operating at CFG=1.0, such as z-image-turbo. The following terms are for models with effective CFG (SD1.5, SDXL, etc.).

worst quality — Worst quality. A standard term for suppressing low-quality output
low quality — Low quality. Often paired with worst quality
normal quality — Normal quality. Used to exclude below-average quality output
blurry — Blurry. Prevents out-of-focus images
out of focus — Out of focus
deformed — Deformed. Suppresses body distortion
distorted — Distorted. Prevents shape breakdown
extra limbs — Extra limbs. Prevents too many arms or legs
missing limbs — Missing limbs. Prevents missing arms or legs
extra fingers — Extra fingers. Addresses the AI’s difficulty with finger count
bad anatomy — Bad anatomy. Suppresses unnatural body proportions
bad hands — Bad hands. Suppresses poor hand depiction
bad proportions — Bad proportions
watermark — Watermark. Prevents unwanted text from appearing in images
text — Text. Prevents unintended text mixing in
signature — Signature. Prevents author name-like text from appearing
jpeg artifacts — JPEG compression noise. Prevents image quality degradation
cropped — Cropped. Prevents the subject from being cut off

Summary

The approximately 200 terms introduced in this glossary are basic vocabulary that frequently appears in AI image generation. You don’t need to memorize all of them at once. It’s recommended to start by combining a few quality and camera terms, then gradually expand your repertoire.

For more on how to build prompts, see Prompt Basics.

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