漂亮 (piào liang) — beautiful, pretty | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Everyday word for 'pretty, good-looking' (people, clothes, things). 美丽 is more formal and written, often for scenery or abstract things.

adjective

beautifulpretty

Single-morpheme word

构词法gòucífǎ

联绵liánmiánBound pair

Two characters that only ever appear together, spelling one ancient two-syllable word.

漂 and 亮 carry no meaning of their own here; together they mean pretty.

Sound-only characters

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

氵票漂

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

票

Same sound today

漂 pairs 氵 (water) with 票, which gives its sound.

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rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

京

京jīng亮liàng

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

亮 combines 人 (person) with 京, and the 京 part shows a tower body.

Appears in