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):
Dialectal synonyms of 美女 (“beautiful woman”) [map]
| Variety | Location | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Classical Chinese | 美女, 美人, 佳人, 佳麗, 麗人, 紅顏, 嬋娟 | |
| 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 | |
| Southern Min | 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 | |
| Zhongshan Min | Shaxi (Longdu) | 靚妹 |
Derived terms
- 橙紅美人蕉／橙红美人蕉
- 睡美人 (Shuìměirén)
- 美人兒／美人儿 (měirénr)
- 美人命薄
- 美人尖 (měirénjiān)
- 美人局
- 美人拳
- 美人樹／美人树
- 美人沱 (Měiréntuó)
- 美人燈兒／美人灯儿 (měiréndēngr)
- 美人癆／美人痨 (měirénláo)
- 美人胎子
- 美人胚子
- 美人蕉 (měirénjiāo)
- 美人計／美人计 (měirénjì)
- 美人遲暮／美人迟暮
- 美人香草
- 美人髻 (měirénjì)
- 美人魚／美人鱼 (měirényú)
- 英雄難過美人關／英雄难过美人关 (yīngxióng nán guò měirén guān)
- 蘇美人／苏美人
- 虞美人 (yúměirén)
- 蛇蠍美人／蛇蝎美人 (shéxiē měirén)
- 香草美人
Japanese
Etymology 1
| Kanji in this term | |
|---|---|
| 美 | 人 |
| び Grade: 3 |
じん Grade: 1 |
| kan’on | |
From Middle Chinese 美人 (MC mijX nyin, literally “beautiful (especially feminine) + person”). Compare modern Min Nan reading bí-jîn.
The kan'on reading, so likely a later borrowing.
Pronunciation
Noun
美人 • (bijin)
Usage notes
The beautiful woman sense is the most common in everyday use.
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
References
- Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
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