美人

Chinese

		beautiful pretty; lovely	person
trad. (美人)		美	人
simp. ^#(美人)		美	人

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): měirén

(Zhuyin): ㄇㄟˇ ㄖㄣˊ
Cantonese (Jyutping): mei⁵ jan⁴
Hakka (Sixian, PFS): mî-ngìn
Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): bí-lîn / bí-jîn
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶me-gnin; ⁶me-zen

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)
  - Hanyu Pinyin: měirén
  - Zhuyin: ㄇㄟˇ ㄖㄣˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: měirén
  - Wade–Giles: mei³-jên²
  - Yale: měi-rén
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: meeiren
  - Palladius: мэйжэнь (mɛjžɛnʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /meɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐən³⁵/
  - Homophones:
    [Show/Hide]
    ^edit
    ^edit
    每人
    美人
- (Standard Chinese, erhua-ed) (美人兒／美人儿)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: měirénr
  - Zhuyin: ㄇㄟˇ ㄖㄣˊㄦ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: měirénr
  - Wade–Giles: mei³-jên²-ʼrh
  - Yale: měi-rénr
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: meeirel
  - Palladius: мэйжэньр (mɛjžɛnʹr)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /meɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐəɻ³⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: mei⁵ jan⁴
  - Yale: méih yàhn
  - Cantonese Pinyin: mei⁵ jan⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: méi⁵ yen⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /mei̯¹³ jɐn²¹/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: mî-ngìn
  - Hakka Romanization System: mi^ˊ ngin^ˇ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: mi¹ ngin²
  - Sinological IPA: /mi²⁴ ŋin¹¹/
Southern Min
- (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 (Zhangzhou): /bi⁵³⁻⁴⁴ d͡zin¹³/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /bi⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ zin²³/
Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁶me-gnin; ⁶me-zen
  - MiniDict: me^去 nyin; me^去 zen
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³me-nyin; ³me-zen
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /me²² n̠ʲin⁴⁴/, /me²² zən⁴⁴/

Middle Chinese: mijX nyin

Rime
Character	美	人
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	明 (4)	日 (38)
Final (韻)	脂 (17)	眞 (43)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	III	III
Fanqie	無鄙切	如鄰切
Baxter	mijX	nyin
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/mˠiɪ^X/	/ȵiɪn/
Pan Wuyun	/mᵚi^X/	/ȵin/
Shao Rongfen	/miɪ^X/	/ȵʑjen/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/mji^X/	/ȵin/
Li Rong	/mji^X/	/ȵiĕn/
Wang Li	/mi^X/	/ȵʑĭĕn/
Bernard Karlgren	/mi^X/	/ȵʑi̯ĕn/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	mǐ	rén
Expected Cantonese Reflex	mei⁵	jan⁴

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*[m]rəjʔ ni[ŋ]/

(Zhengzhang): /*mriʔ njin/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	美	人
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	měi	rén
Middle Chinese	‹ mij^X ›	‹ nyin ›
Old Chinese	/*[m]rəjʔ/	/*ni[ŋ]/
English	beautiful	(other) person
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	美	人
Reading #	1/1	1/1
No.	8951	10800
Phonetic component	美	人
Rime group	脂	眞
Rime subdivision	2	1
Corresponding MC rime	美	仁
Old Chinese	/*mriʔ/	/*njin/
Notes	甲文象大人首插翎羽表美觀，取陳獨秀說

Noun

美人

beautiful woman; beauty; lovely lady
(archaic) royal consort
- 楚莊王賜群臣酒，日暮酒酣，燈燭滅，乃有人引美人之衣者，美人援絕其冠纓，告王曰：「今者燭滅，有引妾衣者，妾援得其冠纓持之，趣火來上，視絕纓者。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  楚庄王赐群臣酒，日暮酒酣，灯烛灭，乃有人引美人之衣者，美人援绝其冠缨，告王曰：「今者烛灭，有引妾衣者，妾援得其冠缨持之，趣火来上，视绝缨者。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: c. 77 B.C.E., 劉向 (Liu Xiang), 《說苑》 (Garden of Stories), chapter 6
  Chǔ Zhuāngwáng cì qúnchén jiǔ, rìmù jiǔhān, dēngzhú miè, nǎi yǒurén yǐn měirén zhī yī zhě, měirén yuán jué qí guānyīng, gào wáng yuē: “Jīn zhě zhú miè, yǒu yǐn qiè yī zhě, qiè yuán dé qí guānyīng chí zhī, qù huǒ lái shàng, shì juéyīng zhě.” [Pinyin]
  King Zhuang of Chu threw a banquet for a bunch of his ministers. As nightfall approached, many of them became tipsy. At one point, the candles blew out, and someone took advantage of the darkness to grab at the queen’s garments. The queen caught hold of the cord which held the person's headpiece in place, yanked it off, then said to the king, "After the candles blew out, someone grabbed at my clothes. I yanked off the cord which holds his headpiece in place. Bring over a candle so that I can see who is missing a cord for their headpiece."

Synonyms

(beautiful woman):

edit

佳人 (jiārén)
佳麗／佳丽 (jiālì) (literary)
出水芙蓉 (chūshuǐfúróng) (figurative)
嫭 (hù) (literary)
嬌／娇 (jiāo)
紅顏／红颜 (hóngyán) (literary, figurative)
美女 (měinǚ)
行雨 (xíngyǔ) (literary, figurative)
靚女／靓女 (chiefly Cantonese)
麗人／丽人 (lìrén) (literary)

Dialectal synonyms of 美女 (“beautiful woman”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		美女, 美人, 佳人, 佳麗, 麗人, 紅顏, 嬋娟
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		美女, 美人, 佳人
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	美人兒
	Taiwan	美女
	Singapore	美女
Cantonese	Guangzhou	靚女
	Hong Kong	靚女
	Taishan	靚女
	Kaiping (Chikan)	靚女
	Dongguan	靚女
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	靚女
	Singapore (Guangfu)	靚女
Hakka	Meixian	標緻妹仔, 靚妹仔, 靚女
Hakka	Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua)	靚女
Southern Min	Xiamen	媠查某
	Xiamen (Tong'an)	媠查某
	Quanzhou	媠查某
	Anxi	媠查某
	Zhangzhou	媠查某
	Zhao'an	媠查某
	Singapore (Hokkien)	媠查某, 俏母
	Manila (Hokkien)	媠查某
	Shantou	雅諸娘
	Jieyang	雅諸娘, 雅儂
	Leizhou	顯娘
	Wenchang	靚母
	Singapore (Hainanese)	靚母
Zhongshan Min	Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi)	靚妹

Coordinate terms

帥哥／帅哥 (shuàigē)

Derived terms

橙紅美人蕉／橙红美人蕉
睡美人 (Shuìměirén)
美人兒／美人儿 (měirénr)
美人命薄
美人尖 (měirénjiān)
美人局
美人拳
美人樹／美人树
美人沱 (Měiréntuó)
美人燈兒／美人灯儿 (měiréndēngr)
美人癆／美人痨 (měirénláo)
美人胎子
美人胚子
美人蕉 (měirénjiāo)
美人計／美人计 (měirénjì)
美人遲暮／美人迟暮
美人香草
美人髻 (měirénjì)
美人魚／美人鱼 (měirényú)
英雄難過美人關／英雄难过美人关 (yīngxióng nán guò měirén guān)
蘇美人／苏美人
虞美人 (yúměirén)
蛇蠍美人／蛇蝎美人 (shéxiē měirén)
香草美人

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
kan'on

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

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

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) びじん [bíꜜjìǹ] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1]
(Tokyo) びじん [bìjíń] (Heiban – [0])^[1]
IPA^(key): [bʲiʑĩɴ]

Noun

美(び)人(じん) • (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
(figurative) 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
jukujikun	kun'yomi

Alternative spelling
顔佳人

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

IPA^(key): [ka̠o̞jo̞bʲito̞]

Noun

美(かおよ)人(びと) • (kaoyobito) ^{←かほよびと (kafoyobito)^?}

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

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

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

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
美	人

Noun

美人

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

[DJR-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[KDJ-2] Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[1]

[2]