The Chinese symbol for beauty — 美 (měi)

Where the character comes from

美 is written 羊 (sheep) over 大 (big). The traditional gloss is that a large sheep is a fine one; an alternative reading takes the top not as a sheep but as a feathered headdress on a standing figure. Both are old and neither is settled.

How it is actually used

美丽 is beautiful, 美好 is fine and lovely (of times, memories, wishes), 完美 is perfect, 美食 is good food, 美德 is virtue — and 美国 is the United States, 中美关系 is China–US relations.

Both glyphs above are set in whatever Chinese font your device uses, which is a 楷书-derived regular script — the same shape a printer or a tattoo studio's "Chinese font" will produce. Brush styles (行书 running, 草书 cursive, 篆书 seal) look substantially different and are worth commissioning from a calligrapher rather than approximating from a font. You can watch this character written stroke by stroke in the Stroke Order Animator or practise it on printable 田字格 sheets.

This is the part a symbol list leaves out, and it is the fastest way to feel what a character actually carries. Readings and meanings come from the same dictionary that powers the translator; tap any word for its full dictionary entry.

美 is one answer, not the answer. Which of these is right depends on what you mean by "beauty" — and that is usually the question worth settling before anything is written down permanently.

What is the Chinese symbol for beauty?

美 (měi) means beautiful, and more broadly fine or good — it applies to food, scenery, deeds and people alike. It is also the character mainland readers may well parse first as the abbreviation for America. It is written 美 and pronounced měi.

What does 美 not mean?

It is not restricted to the beauty of a person or a face. 美女 is a beautiful woman; 美 alone spreads across everything from a landscape to a well-made argument.

Is 美 commonly mistranslated?

Yes. The claim you will meet most often is: "美 means a beautiful woman." 美女 does. 美 on its own is much broader, and it is used of food more often than of people in everyday speech. This page lists 2 such claims about 美 with what is true instead.

Is 美 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

美 is identical in simplified and traditional Chinese, nine strokes. Its symmetrical, wide-shouldered shape sits well on its own, which is one reason it is a common choice for signage and seals.

What else can I use for beauty in Chinese?

Depending on what you mean: 丽, 雅, 秀. This page explains when each one is the right choice, and 美 itself lives in words such as 美丽, 美好, 完美.