There’s no doubt that Chinese is a beautiful language. From its elegant and unique strokes in writing to its wise ancient proverbs and sayings, the beauty of Mandarin Chinese goes beyond just the language itself. If you’ve seen a work of Chinese calligraphy or Chinese ink painting, you’d know exactly what I’m talking about. So what better way to get started in learning Chinese than by learning 4 ways to say beautiful in Chinese?
If you’re still not quite convinced, just have a listen to one of my favorite Chinese songs, Grain in Ear (芒种). Doesn’t it sound really melodic and lovely? It’s one of the most beautiful examples of Chinese songs that move one’s heart. Wouldn’t it be great if you could understand the lyrics, too? If you’re ready, let’s start learning Chinese. I’m sure you’ll be impressing Chinese people left and right with your skills!
Beautiful In Chinese: 漂亮 (piào liàng)
Picture this: You step into a bar and see a gorgeous Chinese lady across the room. She carries herself with such elegance that words can’t express just how beautiful she is. Even so, you want to try and make a move. So, you approach her. But there’s just one problem – she doesn’t speak a lick of English!
I’m sure you’ve heard of this word before, but in this scenario, you can use 漂亮 (piào liàng), which means “beautiful” in Chinese. You can use this word to compliment anything about her, be it her eyes, her smile, her outfit, anything! Here are some examples of how you can use this word in a phrase:
你的眼睛很漂亮 (nǐ de yǎn jīng hěn piāo liàng) means “Your eyes are beautiful” in Chinese.
你的笑容很漂亮 (nǐ de xiào róng hěn piāo liàng) means “Your smile is beautiful” in Chinese.
你的衣服很漂亮 (nǐ de yī fú hěn piāo liàng) means “Your outfit is beautiful” in Chinese.
Now, for starters, there are two basic ways you can use 漂亮 (piào liàng) to compliment a girl. You can either say “你的[noun]很漂亮” (nǐ de [noun] hěn piāo liàng), which literally translates to “Your [noun] is/are beautiful,” or “你有很漂亮的[noun]” (nǐ yǒu hěn piāo liàng de [noun]), which means “You have beautiful [noun].” So, if you’re looking to add some variation to your compliments, don’t be afraid to use both sentence structures!
你有很漂亮的眼睛 (nǐ yǒu hěn piāo liàng de yǎn jīng) means “You have beautiful eyes” in Chinese.
你有很漂亮的笑容 (nǐ yǒu hěn piāo liàng de xiào róng) means “You have a beautiful smile” in Chinese.
你有很漂亮的衣服 (nǐ yǒu hěn piāo liàng de yī fú) means “You have a beautiful outfit” in Chinese.
Pretty In Chinese: 美丽 (měi lì)
Of course, 漂亮 (piào liàng) isn’t the only word that means “beautiful” in Chinese. After all, there are always words for different meanings in Chinese, just like how there are sometimes different meanings for words, too! So if you’re looking to create even more variation to your compliments, you swap out 漂亮 (piào liàng) for 美丽 (měi lì), which also means “beautiful” or “pretty” in Chinese.
你的眼睛很美丽 (nǐ de yǎn jīng hěn měi lì) means “Your eyes are pretty” in Chinese.
你的笑容很美丽 (nǐ de xiào róng hěn měi lì) means “Your smile is pretty” in Chinese.
你的衣服很美丽 (nǐ de yī fú hěn měi lì) means “Your outfit is pretty” in Chinese.
And while we’re at it, let me introduce you to a phrase you may or may not have heard of before:
美丽的小女孩 (měi lì de xiǎo nǚ hái) means “pretty girl” in Chinese.
If you’ve heard of it, then you’ve probably heard of Xiao Wei (小薇), a hit Mandopop song that gained popularity due to its endearing lyrics back in 2002. It’s a love song addressed from the singer to a girl named Xiao Wei, the 美丽的小女孩 (měi lì de xiǎo nǚ hái) in this narrative, so it’s really sweet. Here’s how the song goes:
有一个美丽的小女孩 (yǒu yī gè měi lì de xiǎo nǚ hái) There’s this pretty girl 她的名字叫作小薇 (tā de míng zì jiào zuò xiǎo wēi) Her name is Xiao Wei 她有双温柔的眼睛 (tā yǒu shuāng wēn róu de yǎn jīng) She has a pair of gentle eyes 她悄悄 偷走我的心 (tā qiǎo qiǎo tōu zǒu wǒ de xīn) And she quietly stole my heart.
Beautiful Woman In Chinese: 美女 (měi nǚ)
I bet you’ve won over that gorgeous Chinese lady who caught your eye by now, but that doesn’t mean you should stop there! Impress her even more with the word 美女 (měi nǚ), which means “beautiful woman” or “beautiful lady” in Chinese. So if you tell her that you think she’s a 美女 (měi nǚ), I’m sure she’ll fall even harder for you!
美女 (měi nǚ) means “beautiful woman” or “beautiful lady” in Chinese.
很漂亮的美女 (hěn piāo liàng de měi nǚ) means “very beautiful woman” in Chinese.
Now, here is a tip to learn Chinese vocabulary: If you want to go beyond using “very beautiful”, you can use these Chinese words to refer to a really beautiful woman as well. I’m sure you’ll steal her heart if you haven’t already!
仙女 (xiān nǚ) means “fairy” in Chinese (can be used to refer to a beautiful woman).
女神 (nǚ shén) means “goddess” in Chinese (can be used to refer to a beautiful woman).
Wonderful In Chinese: 美妙 (měi miào)
You’re really hitting it off with the gorgeous Chinese lady. The two of you talk for hours and hours, and neither of you notices how time is whizzing right by. Alas, all good things must come to an end, and it’s time to say goodbye. That’s why you can use the word 美妙 (měi miào) to tell her you’ve had a wonderful day today!
“今天真是美妙” (jīn tiān zhēn shì měi miào) means “It’s a wonderful day today” in Chinese.
And if you didn’t already know, there’s a Chinese kids’ song called Bath Song (洗澡歌) that’s been trending on TikTok recently! You’d be surprised to know that the exact phrase 今天真是美妙 (jīn tiān zhēn shì měi miào) appears in the song. Here’s how the song goes:
毛巾与冒小鸭鸭 水温刚刚好 (máo jīn yǔ mào xiǎo yā yā shuǐ wēn gāng gāng hǎo) Towel, cap, and rubber duck, the water temperature’s just right 泼泼水来搓泡泡 今天真是美妙 (pō pō shuǐ lái cuō pào pào jīn tiān zhēn shì měi miào) Splash some water and make some bubbles, it’s a wonderful day today 大声唱歌扭扭腰 我爱洗洗澡 (dà shēng chàng gē niǔ niǔ yāo wǒ ài xǐ xǐ zǎo) Sing out loud and shake your hips, I love taking a bath.
Learn The Chinese Language With Ling
There we have it, “beautiful” in Chinese. I’m sure you’re more than convinced about the beauty of this language through the various examples we’ve explored. And if you’re looking to take your Chinese language learning to the next level, look no further than the Ling app.
With the Ling app, you can discover even more Chinese phrases, vocabulary, characters, pronunciation, and much more! Feel free to supplement your language learning as well by engaging in conversation with Chinese friends if you have any, or perhaps even fellow Chinese language learners.
