天生丽质 (tiān shēng lì zhì) — (idiom) born beautiful, naturally gorgeous

Definition

A set phrase (chengyu) for a woman who is born beautiful, with '天生' (by nature) stressing that the looks are natural rather than made up.

idiom
born beautifulnaturally gorgeous

Examples

  • 天生丽质，。
    Tā cóng xiǎo jiù tiān shēng lì zhì, wú lùn chuān shén me dōu hǎo kàn.
    She has been naturally beautiful since childhood; she looks good no matter what she wears.
  • 天生丽质，。
    Zhè wèi yǎn yuán tiān shēng lì zhì, bú yòng huà zhuāng yě hěn mí rén.
    This actress is born beautiful; she is charming even without makeup.
  • 天生丽质，。
    Dà jiā dōu kuā tā tiān shēng lì zhì, qì zhì yōu yǎ.
    Everyone praises her for being naturally beautiful and having an elegant demeanor.

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.

天生born from heaven
天tiānheaven生shēngborn
偏正Modifier + head
丽质beautiful qualities
丽lìbeautiful质zhìquality
偏正Modifier + head

天生, born from heaven, and 丽质, beautiful qualities, combine for natural beauty.

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
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →

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

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Open 生 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 麗; 丽 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 麗 originally showed a deer with antlers. The simplified 丽 is a later shorthand.

Open 丽 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 質; 质 is its simplified writing.

  • 斦斦yín
  • 貝貝bèi

The traditional form 質 is made up of 貝 and 斦; this describes 質, not the simplified 质.

Open 质 →
Appears in
AppearanceIdioms & Set Phrases

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