美人

Chinese

		beautiful pretty lovely	person (女人: woman)
simp. and trad. (美人)		美	人

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): měirén

(Zhuyin): ㄇㄟˇ ㄖㄣˊ
Cantonese (Jyutping): mei⁵ jan⁴
Hakka (Sixian, PFS): mî-ngìn
Min Nan (POJ): bí-lîn / bí-jîn
Wu (Wiktionary): 'me nyin (T2)

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)
  - Pinyin: měirén
  - Zhuyin: ㄇㄟˇ ㄖㄣˊ
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: meeiren
  - Tongyong Pinyin: měirén
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /meɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ ʐən³⁵/
  - Homophones:
    [Show/Hide]
    ^edit
    ^edit
    每人
    美人
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: mei⁵ jan⁴
  - Yale: méih yàhn
  - Cantonese Pinyin: mei⁵ jan⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: méi⁵ yen⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /mei̯¹³ jɐn²¹/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: mî-ngìn
  - Hakka Romanization System: mi´ nginˇ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: mi¹ ngin²
  - Sinological IPA: /mi²⁴ ɲin¹¹/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taipei)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bí-lîn
  - Tâi-lô: bí-lîn
  - Phofsit Daibuun: byliin
  - IPA (Xiamen, Taipei): /bi⁵³⁻⁴⁴ lin²⁴/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /bi⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ lin²⁴/
- (Hokkien: Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bí-jîn
  - Tâi-lô: bí-jîn
  - Phofsit Daibuun: byjiin
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /bi⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ ʑin²³/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /bi⁵³⁻⁴⁴ d͡ʑin¹³/
Wu
- (Shanghainese)
  - Wiktionary: 'me nyin (T2)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʔme̞³³ n̠ʲɪɲ⁴⁴/

Noun

美人

beauty: a physically beautiful person, (almost always) a beautiful woman
(archaic) royal consort

Synonyms

(beautiful woman): 美女 (měinǚ)

Derived terms

美人尖 (měirénjiān)
美人沱 (Měiréntuó)
美人蕉
美人計／美人计 (měirénjì)

美人髻 (měirénjì)
英雄難過美人關／英雄难过美人关 (yīngxióng nán guò měirén guān)
虞美人 (yúměirén)

Coordinate terms

帥哥／帅哥 (shuàigē)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (美人):

→ Japanese: 美 (び)人 (じん) (bijin)
→ Korean: 미인 (美人, miin)
→ Vietnamese: mĩ nhân (美人)

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
美	人
び Grade: 3	じん Grade: 1
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese 美人 (MC mˠiɪ^X ȵiɪn, literally “beautiful (especially feminine) + person”). Compare modern Min Nan reading bí-jîn.

The kan'on reading, so likely a later borrowing.

Pronunciation

On’yomi: Kan’on
- (Tokyo) びじん [bíꜜjìǹ] (Atamadaka – [1])[1]
- (Tokyo) びじん [bìjíń] (Heiban – [0])[1]
- IPA^(key): [bʲiʑĩɴ]

Noun

美人 (hiragana びじん, rōmaji bijin)

a beautiful woman, a beauty, a belle
モナ・リザといえばやはり美人 (びじん)ですね。
Mona Riza to ieba yahari bijin desu ne.
That Mona Lisa, she really is a beauty, isn't she.
a handsome man
(rare) an ideal ruler or sage, worthy of one's love and respect
(historical) in ancient China, the fifth of fourteen ranks for imperial ladies-in-waiting
(figuratively) a euphemism for a rainbow

Usage notes

The beautiful woman sense is the most common in everyday use.

Synonyms

(beautiful woman): 美女 (びじょ) (bijo)、佳人 (かじん) (kajin)
(handsome man): 美男子 (びだんし) (bidanshi), 美男 (びなん) (binan)

Derived terms

美人 (びじん)コンテスト (bijin kontesuto): a beauty pageant, a beauty contest
美人画 (びじんが) (bijinga): a genre of pictures, depicting feminine beauty; a picture of this genre
美人傘 (びじんがさ) (bijingasa): a large and deep umbrella that was fashionable in the late Meiji period
美人蕉 (びじんしょう) (bijinshō): the Chinese-derived alternate for 姫芭蕉 (hime bashō, literally “princess plantain”), a variety of plantain of family Musaceae
美人草 (びじんそう) (bijinsō): alternate name for 雛罌粟 (hina-geshi, literally “chick poppy”): Papaver rhoeas, a field poppy or corn poppy

Idioms

美人 (びじん)というも皮一重 (かわひとえ) (bijin to iu mo kawa hitoe): “even a beautiful person only has one skin” → beauty is only skin deep
美人 (びじん)に年 (とし)なし (bijin ni toshi nashi): “a beautiful person doesn't have an age” → a beautiful person often looks young no matter their age
美人 (びじん)の終 (お)わりは猿 (さる)になる (bijin no owari wa saru ni naru): “the end of [being] a beautiful person is turning into a monkey” → a beautiful woman becomes less beautiful as she ages
美人 (びじん)は言 (い)わねど隠 (かく)れなし (bijin wa iwanedo kakure nashi): “even if you don't say that someone is beautiful, there's no hiding it” → if someone is beautiful, it's obvious
美人薄命 (びじんはくめい) (bijin hakumei): “a beautiful person has a thin [i.e. short] life” → beauty often doesn't last

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
美	人
かおよ Grade: 3	ひと > びと Grade: 1
Irregular

Compound of 顔 (kao, “face”) +‎ 良 (yo, “good”, the stem of adjective 良い yoi, “good”) +‎ 人 (hito, “person”).[2][1] The hito changes to bito as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

The 美 kanji spelling for the kaoyo portion of the reading is an example of jukujikun.

Pronunciation

(Irregular reading)
- IPA^(key): [ka̠o̞jo̞bʲito̞]

Alternative forms

顔佳人

Noun

美人 (hiragana かおよびと, rōmaji kaoyobito, historical hiragana かほよびと)

(archaic, possibly obsolete) a beautiful woman, a beauty, a belle

References

2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan

Korean

Hanja in this term
美	人

Noun

美人 • (miin) (hangeul 미인)

Hanja form^? of 미인 (“a beautiful woman, a beauty, a belle”).

Vietnamese

Hán tự in this term
美	人

Noun

美人

Hán tự form of mĩ nhân (“a beautiful woman”).

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[DJR-1] 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[KDJ-2] 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan