Meaning of 漂亮
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- pretty; beautiful
How to use 漂亮
漂亮 describes people, clothes, places, and things that look nice. It can also praise something done well, like a skillful move or a well-written essay. Example: 你的衣服很漂亮。(Nǐ de yīfu hěn piàoliang.) Your clothes are very pretty.
漂 has the water radical 氵, like something shining on water, and 亮 (liàng) means bright. Something that looks bright and shining is 漂亮 (piàoliang), pretty.
Common mistake: Learners often say liàng with a full fourth tone in 漂亮, but in everyday speech it is usually neutral tone: piàoliang. Also, 漂 here is fourth tone piào, not first tone piāo as in 漂 (piāo) to float.
漂亮 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
漂 piāo · to float · 14 strokes
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亮 liàng · bright · 9 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 漂亮.
| 月亮 | yuèliang | the moon |
| 明亮 | míngliàng | bright; shining |
| 响亮 | xiǎngliàng | loud and clear; resounding |
| 亮点 | liàngdiǎn | highlight; bright spot |
| 亮相 | liàngxiàng | to strike a pose (Chinese opera); (fig.) to make a public appearance; to come out in publi |
| 洪亮 | hóngliàng | loud and clear; resonant |
| 亮丽 | liànglì | bright and beautiful |
| 天亮 | tiānliàng | to grow light (at daybreak) |
| 闪亮 | shǎnliàng | brilliant; shiny |
| 照亮 | zhàoliàng | to illuminate; to light up |
| 漂浮 | piāofú | to float; to hover |
| 光亮 | guāngliàng | bright |
Questions about 漂亮
What does 漂亮 mean?
漂亮 (piàoliang) means "pretty; beautiful" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 漂亮?
漂亮 is made of 2 characters: 漂 (14 strokes), 亮 (9 strokes). That is 23 strokes in total.
Is 漂亮 an HSK word?
Yes. 漂亮 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Can 漂亮 be used to describe men?
It is mostly used for women, children, and things. For men, 帅 (shuài) handsome is more common, and calling a man 漂亮 can sound odd unless you mean his looks are delicate.
What is the difference between 漂亮 and 美丽?
漂亮 (piàoliang) is casual and very common in speech. 美丽 (měilì) sounds more formal or literary and is often used for scenery or in writing.