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JLPT N19画 · 9 strokesradical 羊grade 3freq #462

beauty, beautiful

On'yomi (音読み)

Kun'yomi (訓読み)

  • うつく.しい

Mnemonic

The sheep (羊) wearing a stunning dress (美) walks gracefully, embodying the essence of beauty that captures everyone’s admiration.

About this kanji

The kanji 美 means beauty or beautiful, and it can be used both as a noun and an adjective. In its adjective form, 美しい (うつくしい) describes something that is beautiful, while as a noun, 美 can relate to various concepts of beauty in art and nature. You will often see it in compounds like 美術 (びじゅつ), which means art, and 美術館 (びじゅつかん), meaning art museum. Another compound is 賛美 (さんび), meaning praise, emphasizing the appreciation of beauty. Note that 美 can convey a sense of aesthetic value, making it a frequent expression in art and culture.

Example sentences

  • 美しい風景が広がっている。

    A beautiful landscape spreads out.

Meanings across languages

English
beauty, beautiful
Tiếng Việt
đẹp, vẻ đẹp
日本語
美, 美しい
한국어
아름다움, 아름답다
中文
美丽, 优美
id
keindahan
th
ความงาม
es
belleza
fr
beauté
de
Schönheit
pt
beleza

Common compounds

  • 美術びじゅつart, fine arts
  • 美しいうつくしいbeautiful, pretty, lovely
  • 美術館びじゅつかんart museum, art gallery
  • 賛美さんびpraise, glorification, extolment
  • 美化びかbeautification, cleaning up, tidiying
  • 美学びがくesthetics, aesthetics
  • 美女びじょbeautiful woman
  • 美人びじんbeautiful woman, (a) beauty, belle

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