“Beautiful” in Chinese: how to say it and how to write it
Beautiful
“Beautiful” or “pretty” in Chinese is 漂亮, piàoliang — roughly “pyow-lyahng”. It is the everyday word for a beautiful woman, a pretty dress, a lovely city. For a man, though, Chinese has a word of its own — more on that below.
How to say “you are beautiful” in Chinese
- 你很漂亮nǐhěnpiàoliangyou’re beautiful
- 你真漂亮nǐzhēnpiàoliangyou’re so beautiful!
There is no “are” here: “you beautiful” is built without 是, the verb “to be”. Instead 很 goes before the adjective. It barely means “very” here — it simply links “you” and “beautiful”. To say it with feeling, swap 很 for 真, “truly, really”: now it is admiration.
- 她长得很漂亮。tāzhǎngdehěnpiàoliangshe is good-looking
- 你女儿真漂亮！nǐnǚ’érzhēnpiàoliangyour daughter is so pretty!
长得 means “has grown to look”: 她长得很漂亮 is about her looks, not her outfit or her singing.
漂亮, 好看, 美: what’s the difference
- 漂亮piàoliangpretty, beautiful — a woman, a thing, a place
- 好看hǎokàngood-looking, nice to look at
- 美měibeautiful, lovely
- 美丽měilìbeautiful — literary
- 可爱kě’àicute
漂亮 is the most common word: for a girl, a dress, a city, even neat handwriting. 好看 is literally “good to look at” — simpler and more casual; it praises a person, clothes or a film. 美 sounds loftier, closer to “gorgeous”. 美丽 lives in books and songs — about nature, about legends; you will rarely hear it in conversation. 可爱 is not about beauty but about being cute: children, kittens, and a girl when you want to say it warmly.
- 这件衣服很好看。zhèjiànyīfuhěnhǎokànthis piece of clothing looks nice
- 这只小猫真可爱！zhèzhīxiǎomāozhēnkě’àiwhat a cute kitten!
How to say “handsome” in Chinese
To a man you say . 漂亮 about a man sounds odd — roughly like calling him “pretty”.
- 他长得很帅。tāzhǎngdehěnshuàihe is handsome
How to answer a compliment
- 谢谢xièxiethank you
- 哪里哪里nǎlǐnǎlǐoh, not at allmodest, old-fashioned
Today most people simply say thanks: 谢谢. 哪里哪里 — literally “where? where?” — is the old modest formula: accepting praise head-on used to be thought immodest. Everyone understands it, but from young people it sounds a little playful.
Common mistakes
The first is saying 你漂亮 without 很. Without it the phrase sounds like a comparison: “you are pretty (but she…)”. The second is the tone. piào is fourth, a sharp fall; liang is light, short and toneless. So it is “PYOW-lyahng”, not “pyow-LYAHNG” with the stress at the end. You can hear how the tones sound in “Chinese tones”.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “beautiful” in Chinese?
“Beautiful” in Chinese is 漂亮, in pinyin piàoliang.
How do you pronounce 漂亮?
漂亮 is read piàoliang. The marks over the vowels are the tones: each syllable has its own melody, so listen to the recording on this page and repeat it.
How do you write “beautiful” in Chinese characters?
漂亮 is 2 characters. What each one means and how the phrase is put together is explained on this page.
What does 漂亮 mean?
漂亮 (piàoliang) means “beautiful”.
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