Meaning

Primary

Beautiful Woman

Word Type

noun

Explanation

A beautiful person is a beautiful woman. Wait, why isn't this a beautiful person? In fact, this word used to have a broader meaning, but for some reason it's generally only used for women in modern Japanese.

Reading

びじん
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

This is a jukugo word, which usually means on'yomi readings from the kanji. Since has two on'yomi readings, here's a mnemonic to help you remember which one to use:

Where you're from, every beautiful woman wears bee jeans (びじん). That's right, jeans made out of bees. Beauty knows no pain after all!

Context

Common Word Combinations

  • 美人コンテスト

    beauty contest

    美人ママ

    a beautiful mother

    美人モデル

    a beautiful model

Context Sentences

あの女の人は、とてもエレガントな美人ですね。

That woman is a very elegant beauty.

電話番号をきく時、「あなた美人ですね」ってどうしても言えなかったんだよ。

When I asked for her phone number, I just couldn't say, "You're a beautiful woman."

あいつ、「だれの助言もいらない」って言ってたのに、美人の助言はウェルカムなんだとよ。

He said, "I don't need anyone's advice," but then he said he would welcome advice from beautiful women.

Kanji Composition