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西施 (Xī Shī) — Xī Shī, a famous beauty from ancient China; (by extension) a woman of extraordinary beauty; a paragon of beauty

Definition

Proper name: one of the Four Beauties of ancient China, used as the standard reference for feminine beauty. The idiom 美若西施 ('as beautiful as Xī Shī') is the common way to invoke the comparison.

noun
Xī Shī, a famous beauty from ancient China(by extension) a woman of extraordinary beautya paragon of beauty

Examples

  • ，西施。
    Zài gǔ dài chuán shuō zhōng, Xī Shī shì měi dì huà shēn.
    In ancient legends, Xī Shī is the embodiment of beauty.
  • 西施，。
    Tā cháng dé měi ruò Xī Shī, ràng rén yí jiàn nán wàng.
    She is as beautiful as Xī Shī, unforgettable at first sight.
  • “颦”西施。
    Chéng yǔ "dōng shī xiào pín" jiǎng de shì dōng shī mó fǎng Xī Shī zhòu méi de gù shi.
    The idiom 'Dōngshī xiàopín' tells the story of Dōngshī imitating Xī Shī's frown.

Origin

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 西 →

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
㫃㫃㫃
Sound part声符shēngfú
也
也yě施shī
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

施 pairs 㫃, the part connected to its meaning, with 也, the part giving its sound.

Open 施 →
Appears in
Chinese Culture & CustomsMythology & Folklore

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