美人
Chinese
beautiful pretty; lovely | person | ||
---|---|---|---|
trad. (美人) | 美 | 人 | |
simp. #(美人) | 美 | 人 |
Pronunciation
Noun
美人
- beautiful woman; beauty; lovely lady
- (archaic) royal consort
- 楚莊王賜群臣酒,日暮酒酣,燈燭滅,乃有人引美人之衣者,美人援絕其冠纓,告王曰:「今者燭滅,有引妾衣者,妾援得其冠纓持之,趣火來上,視絕纓者。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: c. 77 B.C.E., 劉向 (Liu Xiang), 《說苑》 (Garden of Stories), chapter 6
- Chǔ Zhuāngwáng cì qúnchén jiǔ, rìmù jiǔhān, dēngzhú miè, nǎi yǒurén yǐn měirén zhī yī zhě, měirén yuán jué qí guānyīng, gào wáng yuē: “Jīn zhě zhú miè, yǒu yǐn qiè yī zhě, qiè yuán dé qí guānyīng chí zhī, qù huǒ lái shàng, shì juéyīng zhě.” [Pinyin]
- King Zhuang of Chu threw a banquet for a bunch of his ministers. As nightfall approached, many of them became tipsy. At one point, the candles blew out, and someone took advantage of the darkness to grab at the queen’s garments. The queen caught hold of the cord which held the person's headpiece in place, yanked it off, then said to the king, "After the candles blew out, someone grabbed at my clothes. I yanked off the cord which holds his headpiece in place. Bring over a candle so that I can see who is missing a cord for their headpiece."
楚庄王赐群臣酒,日暮酒酣,灯烛灭,乃有人引美人之衣者,美人援绝其冠缨,告王曰:“今者烛灭,有引妾衣者,妾援得其冠缨持之,趣火来上,视绝缨者。” [Classical Chinese, simp.]
Synonyms
- (beautiful woman):
edit
|
|
Dialectal synonyms of 美女 (“beautiful woman”) [map]
Variety | Location | Words edit |
---|---|---|
Classical Chinese | 美女, 美人, 佳人, 佳麗, 麗人, 紅顏 | |
Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | 美女, 美人, 佳人 | |
Mandarin | Beijing | 美人兒 |
Taiwan | 美女 | |
Singapore | 美女 | |
Cantonese | Guangzhou | 靚女 |
Hong Kong | 靚女 | |
Taishan | 靚女 | |
Kaiping (Chikan) | 靚女 | |
Dongguan | 靚女 | |
Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu) | 靚女 | |
Singapore (Guangfu) | 靚女 | |
Hakka | Meixian | 標緻妹仔, 靚妹仔, 靚女 |
Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua) | 靚女 | |
Min Nan | Xiamen | 媠查某 |
Xiamen (Tong'an) | 媠查某 | |
Quanzhou | 媠查某 | |
Anxi | 媠查某 | |
Zhangzhou | 媠查某 | |
Zhao'an | 媠查某 | |
Singapore (Hokkien) | 媠查某, 俏母 | |
Manila (Hokkien) | 媠查某 | |
Shantou | 雅諸娘 | |
Jieyang | 雅諸娘, 雅儂 | |
Leizhou | 顯娘 | |
Wenchang | 靚母 | |
Singapore (Hainanese) | 靚母 |
Coordinate terms
- 帥哥/帅哥 (shuàigē)
Derived terms
|
|
Descendants
Sino-Xenic (美人):
- → Japanese: 美人 (bijin)
- → Korean: 미인(美人) (miin)
- → Vietnamese: mĩ nhân (美人)
Japanese
Etymology 1
Kanji in this term | |
---|---|
美 | 人 |
び Grade: 3 | じん Grade: 1 |
kan’on |
From Middle Chinese 美人 (MC mˠiɪX ȵiɪn, literally “beautiful (especially feminine) + person”). Compare modern Min Nan reading bí-jîn.
The kan'on reading, so likely a later borrowing.
Pronunciation
- (Tokyo) びじん [bíꜜjìǹ] (Atamadaka – [1])[1]
- (Tokyo) びじん [bìjíń] (Heiban – [0])[1]
- IPA(key): [bʲiʑĩɴ]
Noun
美人 • (bijin)
- a beautiful woman, a beauty, a belle
- モナ・リザといえばやはり美人ですね。
- Mona Riza to ieba yahari bijin desu ne.
- That Mona Lisa, she really is a beauty, isn't she.
- モナ・リザといえばやはり美人ですね。
- a handsome man
- (rare) an ideal ruler or sage, worthy of one's love and respect
- (historical) in ancient China, the fifth of fourteen ranks for imperial ladies-in-waiting
- (figurative) a euphemism for a rainbow
Usage notes
The beautiful woman sense is the most common in everyday use.
Synonyms
- (beautiful woman): 美女 (bijo)、佳人 (kajin)
- (handsome man): 美男子 (bidanshi), 美男 (binan)
Derived terms
Derived terms
- 美人コンテスト (bijin kontesuto): a beauty pageant, a beauty contest
- 美人画 (bijinga): a genre of pictures, depicting feminine beauty; a picture of this genre
- 美人傘 (bijingasa): a large and deep umbrella that was fashionable in the late Meiji period
- 美人蕉 (bijinshō): the Chinese-derived alternate for 姫芭蕉 (hime bashō, literally “princess plantain”), a variety of plantain of family Musaceae
- 美人草 (bijinsō): alternate name for 雛罌粟 (hina-geshi, literally “chick poppy”): Papaver rhoeas, a field poppy or corn poppy
Idioms
Idioms
- 美人というも皮一重 (bijin to iu mo kawa hitoe): “even a beautiful person only has one skin” → beauty is only skin deep
- 美人に年なし (bijin ni toshi nashi): “a beautiful person doesn't have an age” → a beautiful person often looks young no matter their age
- 美人の終わりは猿になる (bijin no owari wa saru ni naru): “the end of [being] a beautiful person is turning into a monkey” → a beautiful woman becomes less beautiful as she ages
- 美人は言わねど隠れなし (bijin wa iwanedo kakure nashi): “even if you don't say that someone is beautiful, there's no hiding it” → if someone is beautiful, it's obvious
- 美人薄命 (bijin hakumei): “a beautiful person has a thin [i.e. short] life” → beauty often doesn't last
Etymology 2
Kanji in this term | |
---|---|
美 | 人 |
かおよ Grade: 3 | ひと > びと Grade: 1 |
jukujikun | kun’yomi |
Alternative spelling |
---|
顔佳人 |
Compound of 顔 (kao, “face”) + 良 (yo, “good”, the stem of adjective 良い yoi, “good”) + 人 (hito, “person”).[2][1] The hito changes to bito as an instance of rendaku (連濁).
The 美 kanji spelling for the kaoyo portion of the reading is an example of jukujikun.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ka̠o̞jo̞bʲito̞]
Noun
美人 • (kaoyobito) ←かほよびと (kafoyobito)?
- (archaic, possibly obsolete) a beautiful woman, a beauty, a belle
References
- 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- 1988, 国語大辞典(新装版) (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
Korean
Hanja in this term | |
---|---|
美 | 人 |
Noun
美人 • (miin) (hangeul 미인)
- Hanja form? of 미인 (“a beautiful woman, a beauty, a belle”).
Vietnamese
Hán tự in this term | |
---|---|
美 | 人 |
Noun
美人
- chữ Hán form of mĩ nhân (“a beautiful woman”).