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佳人 (jiā rén) — beautiful woman (literary); a lady of great beauty (in classical poetry or formal prose)

Definition

佳人 is a literary, poetic word for a 'beautiful woman' — used in classical poetry and formal writing, not in everyday speech. For everyday use of 'pretty,' prefer 漂亮.

noun
beautiful woman (literary)a lady of great beauty (in classical poetry or formal prose)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 佳人，。
    Zhè wèi jiā rén róng mào chū zhòng, cái yì chāo qún.
    This beautiful woman has outstanding features and extraordinary talents.
  • 佳人。
    Gǔ dài shī cí zhōng cháng yǐ jiā rén lái bǐ yù měi hǎo de shì wù.
    In ancient poetry and lyrics, the term 'beautiful woman' is often used as a metaphor for beautiful things.
  • 佳人。
    Tā xīn zhōng yì zhí sī niàn zhe nà wèi jiā rén.
    He has been longing for that beautiful woman in his heart.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

佳jiābeautiful
人rénperson

佳 gives beauty and 人 gives person, naming a beautiful woman.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rénman; person
Sound part声符shēngfú
圭
圭guī佳jiā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

佳 combines 人 (person) with 圭, which is used for the sound guī.

Open 佳 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →
Appears in
Literature & PoetryPeople (General)

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