Chinese

Noun

美人

1. a beautiful woman, a beauty, a belle
2. (archaic) a royal consort

Japanese

Etymology 1

From Middle Chinese compound 美人 ‎(mij^X nyin, 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): [bid͡ʑĩɴ]

Noun

美人 ‎(hiragana びじん, romaji bijin)

1. 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.

2. a handsome man
3. (rare) an ideal ruler or sage, worthy of one's love and respect
4. (historical) in ancient China, the fifth of fourteen ranks for imperial ladies-in-waiting
5. (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

Idioms

Etymology 2

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): [ka̠o̞jo̞bito̞]

Alternative forms

• 顔佳人

Noun

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

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

References

1. 1 2 3 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
2. ↑ 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan

Korean

Noun

美人 • ‎(miin) ‎(hangeul 미인)

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

Vietnamese

Noun

美人

1. Hán tự form of mỹ nhân, “a beautiful woman, a beauty, a belle”