Beautiful in Chinese / Japanese...

měi lí

birei

미려

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. 美麗 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.

měi lì de xīn líng

美麗的心靈 means beautiful heart, beautiful mind, or beautiful spirit in Chinese.

měi

bi

미

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 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; pleasant.

měi lì de líng hún

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.

bi tamashi

美魂 is a very short or abbreviated way to say, "Beautiful Soul" in Japanese.

There is a longer 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" from Japanese.

měi dé

bitoku

미덕

美德 written in Chinese or Korean Hanja can also mean "grace of character" or "noble virtue."

There is a slight variation in the modern Japanese Kanji form of the second character. If you want the modern Japanese version, please click on the special Kanji shown to the right instead of the button above. Note that the traditional Chinese form is still readable and understood by Japanese people (it's the ancient Japanese form anyway).

hé měi

wa mi

These two characters create a word that means, "harmonious" or, "in perfect harmony." The deeper meaning or more natural translation would be something like, "beautiful life."

The first character means peace and harmony.

The second character means beautiful. But in this case, when combined with the first character, beautiful refers to being satisfied with what you have in your life. This can be having good relations, good feelings, comfort, and having enough (with no feeling of wanting).

Note: In Japanese, this is often used as the name "Wami." This title is probably more appropriate if your audience is Chinese.

utsukushii kokoro

美しい心 means, "beautiful heart" or "beautiful mind," in Japanese.

The word for "heart" also means "mind" and sometimes "soul" in ancient Asia.

Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

měi lì de gū niang

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

See Also:   Beauty

měi lì de nǚ rén

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:   Beauty

měi jǐng

bi kei

미경

This can be translated as beautiful view, beautiful scenery, or beautiful sight.

Note: Not a commonly used word in modern Japanese.

měi lì de gōng zhǔ

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

jiàn měi

takemi

건미

We don't really have a word like this in English but these two characters create a word that means "strong and beautiful." It could also be translated as "healthy and beautiful."

Note: 健美 is a word in Chinese and Korean but it's also the family name Takemi in Japanese. The characters hold the same meaning in Japanese but It's kind of like having the English name Stillwell, when few people would perceive the meanings of still and well.

utsukushii tamashii

美しい魂 is a common way to write "Beautiful Soul" in Japanese.

Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

utsukushi seishin

美しい精神 is a common way to write "Beautiful Spirit" in Japanese.

Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

měi lì xīn líng

美麗心靈 means, "Beautiful Mind" in Chinese.

美麗心靈 is also the Chinese title of the 2001 movie of the same name.

míng jìng

mei kyou

명경

While this means mirror in Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja, it's commonly used as a metaphor for something beautiful and bright or something that provides clarity and insight.

yuàn

hime / haru

원

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

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

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

měi shén

mikami

In Chinese, this 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.

nihonbare

日本晴 is a Japanese Kanji title that means beautiful weather, clear and cloudless sky, or clear weather.

It's a little odd but if you literally-translated this phrase, it says, "Japanese weather," as if that was an indication of perfect weather (maybe a little arrogant on behalf of Japan - I've experienced a monsoon there, which was unpleasant).

jinsei wa subarashii

This means "life is good," "life is great," or "life is beautiful" in Japanese.

The first two characters mean "life" (as in your or a human lifespan).

The third character kind of means "is."

The last five characters are a long adjective that means wonderful, splendid, and/or magnificent. In the context of life it reads more like good or beautiful.

Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Hiragana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.

měi hǎo de shēng huó

In Chinese, this means "Beautiful Life," or "The Good Life."

shēng huó měi hǎo

生活美好 means "life is good" in Chinese.

The first two characters mean "life" or "living."

The last two characters mean "good" or "beautiful."