媄 (měi) - Beautiful, elegant — an archaic or literary term

媄Tone 3

měi ｜ 12 strokes ｜ radical:

伦妙

媄 · měi

Beautiful, elegant — an archaic or literary term for beauty, often used in classical texts to describe feminine beauty or elegance.

Beautiful, elegant — an archaic or literary term

Usage highlights

Beautiful appearanceGraceful demeanorVirtuous beautyBeautiful and virtuousElegant beautyBeautiful jade

Synonyms

  • 美— beautiful (more common modern term)
  • 丽— beautiful, pretty
  • 艳— gorgeous, colorful
  • 妍— beautiful, handsome

Antonyms

  • 丑— ugly
  • 陋— plain, crude

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • She possesses classical beauty (媄貌).
  • The painting depicts feminine elegance (媄态).
  • Ancient texts praise her virtuous beauty (贤媄).
  • This jade has a beautiful luster (玉色媄好).

Collocations

  • Beautiful appearance(媄貌)
  • Graceful demeanor(媄态)
  • Virtuous beauty(贤媄)
  • Beautiful and virtuous(媄德)
  • Elegant beauty(婉媄)
  • Beautiful jade(媄玉)

Idioms

  • Virtuous and beautiful(贤媄兼备)
  • Graceful and elegant(婉媄动人)
  • Beautiful both inside and out(德媄双全)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • 媄 is an ancient character for beauty, primarily used in classical Chinese literature.
  • It often carries connotations of refined, elegant feminine beauty rather than just physical attractiveness.
  • The character is rarely used in modern vernacular Chinese but appears in historical texts and names.
  • It shares the same radical as 美 (beautiful) and can be considered a variant or specialized form.

FAQ