自然美 (zì rán měi) — natural beauty (of nature); natural beauty (of a person's appearance, unadorned)

Definition

Refers to natural, unadorned beauty — either of a landscape or of a person's appearance without makeup or artifice, contrasting with cultivated or decorated beauty.

noun
natural beauty (of nature)natural beauty (of a person's appearance, unadorned)

Examples

  • 自然美。
    Zhè lǐ de fēng jǐng yǒu yì zhǒng dú tè de zì rán měi.
    The scenery here has a unique natural beauty.
  • ，自然美。
    Tā bù xǐ huan huà zhuāng, dàn tā de zì rán měi hěn dòng rén.
    She doesn't like makeup, but her natural beauty is very attractive.
  • 自然美。
    Zhè fú huà zhǎn xiàn le xiāng cūn de zì rán měi.
    This painting shows the natural beauty of the countryside.

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.

自然nature
自zìself然ránso
主谓Subject + predicate
美měibeauty

自然 refers to nature, and 美 to beauty, giving beauty of nature.

Characters in this word

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

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

自 originally drew a nose. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write 自, so the picture and the meaning are unrelated.

Open 自 →

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
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
肰
肰rán然rán
Same sound today

然 is made from 肰, which gives the sound, and 火, which shows fire, matching the old sense 'to burn'.

Open 然 →

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 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.