美
měi
#151 most
frequent character
beautiful, pretty
adjective
Character breakdown
Source: Make Me a Hanzi.
美 shows a person 大 wearing a feather headdress 𦍌, so it first meant 'beautiful'. The headdress later became an empty part. From 'beautiful' the meaning grew to 'kind and good' and to 'moral goodness, good things'.
Drawn as: person seen from front; feather headdress
美 as a component in other characters
sound1 character
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Example Sentences
这件衣服真美。
zhè jiàn yīfú zhēnměi 。
This piece of clothing is really beautiful.
她的笑容很美。
tāde xiàoróng hěnměi 。
Her smile is very pretty.
这座城市非常美。
zhè zuò chéngshì fēicháng měi 。
This city is extremely beautiful.
Same Characters, Different Readings
Words with similar meanings
漂亮piàoliàng
pretty
This word is often used to describe someone or something as charming or attractive, similar to '美' but is more commonly used in everyday language.
美丽měilì
beautiful
This term is a more formal synonym for '美', often used in literary contexts to describe beauty in a grand or profound way.
Homophones
Words Starting With 美
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