描述(miáo shù) - to describe, description in Mandarin

描述 (miáo shù) is to describe, and like many two-character verbs it doubles as its own noun: 他描述了那个地方 he described the place, 他的描述 his description. It is a slightly formal, neutral word, at home in reports, statements to the police and academic writing.

Two near neighbours are worth separating. 形容 is describing what something is like by reaching for comparisons and adjectives, which is why 无法形容 is the idiomatic way to say indescribable. 描写 is literary depiction, what a novelist does to a character or a landscape. 描述 sits between them as the plain factual account.

The English trap is reaching for 描述 in conversation. Ask a friend what a film was like and you say 说说 or 讲讲, not 描述一下. Save 描述 for when the account itself matters as a record, and note that it usually wants 一下 after it in a request to soften the instruction.