Beautiful in Chinese: 美, 漂亮, 美丽 and When to Use Each

沉浸 TeamSeptember 16, 20265 min read

Beautiful in Chinese is 美 (měi), and in everyday speech it's usually 漂亮 (piàoliang) or 美丽 (měilì). All three mean "beautiful", but they aren't interchangeable: 漂亮 is the word you say out loud about a person or a dress, 美丽 is the word you write about a sunset, and 美 is the root character that lives inside both. To tell someone "you're beautiful", say 你真漂亮 (nǐ zhēn piàoliang).

That covers the direct answer. The rest of this guide sorts out which "beautiful" fits which situation, adds "pretty", "handsome", "cute" and "gorgeous", and shows how to write 美, as part of our essential Chinese phrases guide.

美 (měi): the root character for beautiful

美 is the Chinese character for beautiful, and it's the piece you'll see everywhere. It's built from 羊 (sheep) on top of 大 (big): a big sheep was a beautiful thing to a farming people three thousand years ago. Nine strokes, same in simplified and traditional.

On its own, 美 is a bit literary. You'll hear it in short phrases (好美！, hǎo měi, "so beautiful!") and see it in compound words:

美女 (měinǚ): beautiful woman, and also the everyday way to address any young woman in a shop or restaurant ("miss").
美食 (měishí): delicious food, literally "beautiful food".
美国 (Měiguó): America, "the beautiful country" (chosen for the sound of "-me-" in "America", not as a compliment).
美好 (měihǎo): wonderful, lovely, for days and memories.

漂亮 (piàoliang): beautiful and pretty in everyday speech

漂亮 is the word for "beautiful" and "pretty" that you'll say most. It works for people, clothes, cars, photos, and a nicely done job:

你今天真漂亮 (nǐ jīntiān zhēn piàoliang): "You look beautiful today."
这件衣服很漂亮 (zhè jiàn yīfu hěn piàoliang): "This dress is pretty."
打得漂亮！ (dǎ de piàoliang): "Nicely played!" (a "beautiful" move in sport or games).

Two notes on usage. First, the second syllable is a neutral tone: piào-liang, light and quick. Second, 漂亮 is mostly for women, children, and things. Saying it about a man is possible but reads as "pretty-boy"; the word for men is below.

美丽 (měilì): beautiful in writing and for scenery

美丽 is a step more formal and poetic. It's the "beautiful" of song lyrics, essays, and travel brochures, and it fits scenery and abstract things better than 漂亮 does:

美丽的风景 (měilì de fēngjǐng): beautiful scenery.
美丽的城市 (měilì de chéngshì): a beautiful city.
美丽的故事 (měilì de gùshi): a beautiful story.

You can call a woman 美丽, and it sounds like a compliment in a wedding speech. Say 漂亮 at the coffee shop and 美丽 in the card.

Pretty, cute, gorgeous, and handsome

English has a whole shelf of near-synonyms, and Chinese does too:

好看 (hǎokàn): good-looking, nice to look at. The most relaxed option, and the one native speakers use most casually: 这张照片很好看 ("this photo looks great"). Works for people and things of any gender.
可爱 (kě'ài): cute, lovable. Babies, puppies, and your friend's new haircut.
帅 (shuài): handsome. The male counterpart of 漂亮. 他很帅 ("he's handsome"), and 帅哥 (shuàigē, "handsome guy") is how you'd address a young man in a shop, the twin of 美女.
迷人 (mírén): charming, enchanting. Literally "confuses people".
优美 (yōuměi): graceful, elegant. Music, dance, handwriting, prose.
精致 (jīngzhì): exquisite, finely made. Jewelry, desserts, small details.
漂亮 + 极了 (piàoliang jíle): gorgeous, "beautiful to the extreme". The everyday way to turn it up.

How to say "you are beautiful" in Chinese

你真漂亮 (nǐ zhēn piàoliang): you're beautiful. Warm and direct.
你好美 (nǐ hǎo měi): you're so beautiful. Softer, a little dreamy; common in Taiwan.
你今天很好看 (nǐ jīntiān hěn hǎokàn): you look great today. The safest compliment for a coworker or acquaintance.
你笑起来很美 (nǐ xiào qǐlai hěn měi): you're beautiful when you smile.

A cultural note: compliments in Chinese are often deflected rather than accepted. The classic response to 你真漂亮 is 哪里哪里 (nǎli nǎli, "where? where?", meaning "oh, not at all"), though younger people increasingly just say 谢谢. Both are fine. Our guide to thank you in Chinese has more on that exchange.

How to write beautiful in Chinese

The character people look for is 美 (měi): 羊 over 大, nine strokes, drawn top to bottom. For a name or a piece of calligraphy, 美 alone is the usual choice, and it's the 美 in the girls' names 美玲, 美华 and 美丽. If you'd like to practice, our free character practice sheet generator prints stroke-order grids for 美, 漂 and 亮. And before anyone tattoos 美 anywhere, read our honest guide to Chinese tattoo words.

Every word linked above opens a dictionary page with native audio, so you can hear the neutral tone in piàoliang before you use it. Create a free Chenjin account to save these words as flashcards and see them in real stories, where 好看 shows up far more often than textbooks suggest.

FAQ

How do you say beautiful in Mandarin?

漂亮 (piàoliang) in everyday speech, 美丽 (měilì) in writing and for scenery, and 美 (měi) as the root character. "You're beautiful" is 你真漂亮 (nǐ zhēn piàoliang).

What is the Chinese character for beautiful?

美 (měi). It combines 羊 (sheep) and 大 (big). It appears in 美丽 (beautiful), 美女 (beautiful woman), 美食 (delicious food) and 美国 (America).

What is the difference between 漂亮 and 美丽?

漂亮 is the spoken, everyday "beautiful" or "pretty", used for people and things. 美丽 is more formal and poetic, used in writing and for scenery, cities, and stories. Both are correct; the difference is register.

How do you say pretty in Chinese?

漂亮 (piàoliang) covers both "pretty" and "beautiful". For a more casual "nice-looking", say 好看 (hǎokàn). For "cute", say 可爱 (kě'ài).

How do you say handsome in Chinese?

帅 (shuài). 他很帅 means "he's handsome", and 帅哥 (shuàigē) is the friendly way to address a young man, the same way 美女 is used for a young woman.