美 is often used to describe the beauty of a woman.

However, when applied to a man, it can mean handsome. It's also the first character in the word for “beauty salon” which you will see all over China and Japan.

This can be used as the given name for a girl (spell it or say it as “Mei” or “May”).

For a bit of trivia: The title for the “USA” in Chinese is “Mei Guo” which literally means “Beautiful Country.” This name was bestowed at a time before Chairman Mao came to power and decided that China didn't like the USA anymore (even though we fought together against the Japanese in WWII). But these days, Chinese people love Americans (but have a distaste for American politics and policy). But I digress...

美 is also how “Beautiful” is written in Japanese Kanji and Korean Hanja. 美 can also mean: very satisfactory; good; to be pleased with oneself; abbreviation for the USA; fine; handsome; admirable; madhura; sweet; and/or pleasant.

See Also:  Beautiful Woman | Beautiful Girl

Any woman with affection for Asian art will love a gift of this Chinese proverb calligraphy on a wall scroll.

She will melt in your arms as you tell her the meaning of these characters.

Contained in this phrase is a reference to the most beautiful woman in Chinese history. Her name was Xi Shi, and she was known to have good looks that need not have fine robes or makeup. Her charms were so powerful that she brought down an entire kingdom (in a successful effort to bring honor and pride back to her people).

情人眼里出西施 is a great way to express that the woman in your life is your one love.

媛 means, a beauty; beautiful (woman); princess; a young lady of noble birth; girl; small & lovely.

媛 is used a bit more commonly in Chinese than in Japanese.

Note: This can be the female given name "Hime" in Japanese.

In Chinese, 美神 means Goddess of Beauty.

The first character means beauty or beautiful.
The second character means spirit (can also mean god, goddess, or soul).
Some will use this as a short way to say, “Beautiful Spirit.”

This has a similar meaning in Japanese but is used more often as a female given name in Japan. As a Japanese given name, it can be pronounced Mikami, Mikan, or Binasu.

永恆的美 is how to write “Eternal Beauty” in Chinese.

美麗的靈魂 means “Beautiful Soul” in Chinese.

The first two characters mean beautiful, beauty, or gorgeous.
The middle character connects the ideas (a possessive article).
The last two characters mean soul or spirit.

美魂 is a very short or abbreviated way to say “Beautiful Soul” in Japanese.

There is a more extended version that might be a little more natural and also closer to the intended meaning. This short title is often translated awkwardly as “Beauty Soul” in Japanese.

美麗的姑娘 is the best way to express “beautiful girl” in Chinese.

See Also:  Beautiful Woman | Beauty

美麗的女人 is the best and most polite way to express “beautiful woman” in Chinese.

Note: Some people may like the simple 2-character 美女 way to express this, but there are some bad connotations with that, so better to stay with this longer and more respectful title.

See Also:  Beautiful Girl | Beauty

In Chinese, 美容 is the title for the art of beauty, as applying makeup or cosmetics to enhance beauty.

Note: In Japanese and Korean, this takes the meaning of beautiful face or beauty of figure or form. Be sure you know who your audience is and have matched the desired meaning.

真善美 means truth, goodness, and beauty in Chinese and Japanese.

These can also be read as “the true, the good, and the beautiful.”

In Japanese, this can be the female given name Mazemi or the personal name Shinzenbi.

美麗的公主 is how to write beautiful princess in Chinese.

The first two characters mean feminine beauty or rather a way to say beautiful that only applies to women. The middle character is just a connecting character. The last two characters mean princess.

See Also:  Queen

美麗 is a two-character word used often in Chinese, old Korean, and ancient Japanese to express beauty.

I've had a few requests for a “two-character beautiful,” and this is by far the best word. This is not a common word for an Asian person to want on a wall scroll. However, you will see it commonly used as an adjective in phrases, stories, and titles throughout magazines and signage in China.

美麗 can also be translated as gorgeous or lovely.

Note: 美麗 is not commonly used in modern Japan.

沈魚落雁 is an old proverb that literally means “fish sink, goose alights.”

...But this takes some explaining. This is a proverb from Zhuangzi (莊子), who lived in the late 4th century BC.

This figuratively refers to female beauty that is so captivating that even the birds and beasts take notice.

Perhaps a better and more accurate way to describe this is to say that it speaks of the charms of a uniquely beautiful woman who is so beautiful that fish stay on the bottom of the water and flying wild geese fall from the sky in shame.

This proverb is so famous that it is also known and used in Japan (same characters, different pronunciation).

Note: This can also be written 沉魚落雁 instead of 沈魚落雁 (just the first character varies slightly).

勝 is a single character that means to win or be victorious.

This can also be translated: To overcome; success; to beat; to defeat; to surpass; superior to; to get the better of; better than; surpassing; superb.

In another context, this can mean beautiful (scenery); scenic spot; or scenic beauty.

In Taiwanese Mandarin, this can be pronounced with the first tone (sheng1) and mean: Able to bear; equal to (a task).

In Japan, this can also be the name Masaru.

In Korea, this has the same meaning but can also be the surname Sŭng.

鏡花水月 is an old Asian proverb that means “flowers in a mirror and the moon reflected in the lake” or “flowers reflected on a mirror and the moon reflected on the water's surface.”

Literally, 鏡花水月 reads “Mirror Flower, Water Moon.”

Figuratively this can be used to represent a lot of different ideas. It can be used to express an unrealistic rosy view or viewing things through rose-tinted spectacles. So you can use it to relay an idea about something that is visible but has no substance, something that can be seen but not touched, or something beautiful but unattainable such as dreams or a mirage.

This expression is used to describe things like the subtle and profound beauty of poems that cannot be described in words.

鏡 = Mirror (or lens)
花 = Flower(s)
水 = Water
月 = Moon

Can also be written 水月鏡花 (just a slight change in word/character order).