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美妙 (měi miào) — wonderful; beautiful; splendid

Definition

Wonderful, delightful — used for experiences like music, moments, or feelings, not for physical appearance. Stronger and more literary than 美丽; closer in feel to 奇妙 for 'amazing' things.

adjective
wonderfulbeautifulsplendid

Examples

  • 美妙。
    Tā de gē shēng zhēn shì měi miào jí le.
    Her singing is really wonderful.
  • 美妙。
    Zhè shì yí gè měi miào de zǎo chén.
    This is a beautiful morning.
  • 美妙。
    Wǒ men dù guò le yí duàn měi miào de shí guāng.
    We had a wonderful time together.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

美měibeautiful
妙miàowonderful

'美' beautiful and '妙' wonderful combine into splendid beauty.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

美 shows 大, a person, wearing 羊, a headdress of feathers or ram's horn.

Open 美 →

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
女女nǚwoman
Sound part声符shēngfú
少
少shǎo妙miào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

妙 combines 女, a woman, with 少, which gives the sound.

Open 妙 →
Appears in
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