ChiramiIn kanji, beautiful is a big sheep (美)
The kanji for beautiful, 美 (bi), is 羊, a sheep, standing on 大, big. A big sheep. It’s the kanji in 美しい (utsukushii), beautiful, in 美人 (bijin), a beautiful woman, and even in 美味しい (oishii), delicious. Why a sheep? There are two answers, an old one and a newer one.
What the kanji say
羊 (hitsuji, you) is a sheep. It began as a drawing of a sheep’s head, and the two short strokes on top are its horns. The Shuowen Jiezi, a Chinese dictionary from around 100 CE, says the shape shows the head, horns, legs and tail.
大 (dai, ookii) means big. It began as a picture of a grown man standing face-on, with his arms out to the sides.
美 (bi, utsukushii) puts the two together. The sheep sits on top without its long tail stroke, and 大 stands underneath.
Where it really comes from
The video tells the older of the two explanations.
The traditional one: a fine, big sheep. The Shuowen Jiezi defines 美 as 甘, sweet or delicious, and says it’s made of 羊 and 大. Read this way, 美 is a big, well-fed sheep: something good to eat, and so something fine. That’s the idea behind the video’s “in ancient China, a big sheep was a fine thing”.
The modern one: a person in a headdress. Modern dictionaries read the oldest forms differently. In them, 大 is a person, and the 羊 on top is a headdress of feathers or a ram’s horns. On this reading, 美 began as a picture of someone dressed in their finery.
Whichever is right, the modern parts really are 羊 and 大, so “a big sheep” is still a good way to remember the kanji. And 美 keeps a taste of the Shuowen’s “delicious” in Japanese: 美味しい (oishii) is spelled with 美 and 味, taste.
How to use it
富士山は本当に美しいですね。
Fujisan wa hontou ni utsukushii desu ne.
Mount Fuji is really beautiful, isn't it?
このラーメン、美味しい！
Kono raamen, oishii!
This ramen is delicious!
週末、美術館に行きました。
Shuumatsu, bijutsukan ni ikimashita.
I went to an art museum at the weekend.
美容院を予約しました。
Biyouin o yoyaku shimashita.
I've booked a hair appointment.
- 美しい sounds a little formal. In conversation people usually say きれい (kirei), pretty or lovely, and save 美しい for writing and for things that really move them, like a view of Mount Fuji.
- 美人 (bijin) is a beautiful woman. For a handsome man, people say イケメン (ikemen) or, more formally, 美男子 (bidanshi).
- 美味しい is usually written in hiragana, おいしい, though the kanji spelling is common too.
- You’ll spot 羊 in other kanji, such as 洋 (you), ocean, as in 洋服 (youfuku), Western clothes, and 善 (zen), good.
Words with the same kanji
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 美しい | utsukushii | beautiful |
| 美人 | bijin | beautiful woman |
| 美術館 | bijutsukan | art museum |
| 美容院 | biyouin | hair salon, beauty salon |
| 美味しい | oishii | delicious |
| 羊毛 | youmou | wool |
Remember it
A sheep (羊) standing on 大, as big and fine as a sheep can be. Or, if you prefer the scholars’ version, a person in a horned headdress with arms spread wide.
The kanji in this lesson
Tap Draw it to watch the stroke order. Numbers show where each stroke starts.
美beauty, beautiful
- On
- ビ bi · ミ mi
- Kun
- うつく(しい) utsuku(shii)
- Strokes
- 9
- Level
- JLPT N3
Common word 美術 びじゅつ bijutsu, art; fine arts
羊sheep
- On
- ヨウ you
- Kun
- ひつじ hitsuji
- Strokes
- 6
- Level
- JLPT N1
Common word 羊毛 ようもう youmou, wool
大large, big
- On
- ダイ dai · タイ tai
- Kun
- おお(きい) oo(kii)
- Strokes
- 3
- Level
- JLPT N5
Common word 大きい おおきい ookii, big; large