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美丽 (měi lì) — beautiful

Definition

More formal, written register than 漂亮 — common for scenery, nature, and abstract things. 漂亮 is the everyday word for people and objects.

adjective
beautiful

Examples

  • 美丽。
    Wǒ de jiā xiāng fēi cháng měi lì.
    My hometown is very beautiful.
  • 美丽。
    Zhè duǒ huā kāi dé hěn měi lì.
    This flower blooms very beautifully.
  • 美丽。
    Tā chàng de gē fēi cháng měi lì.
    The song she sang is very beautiful.

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
丽lìbeautiful

美 and 丽 both mean beautiful, reinforcing the sense.

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 →

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 →
Appears in
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