你看起来很漂亮
nǐ kàn qǐlái hěn piàoliang
In Chinese, "you look beautiful" is said as 你看起来很漂亮 (nǐ kàn qǐlái hěn piàoliang).
The phrase 你看起来很漂亮 is most commonly used to compliment a woman's appearance. Other ways to express similar sentiments include saying someone is really beautiful using 你真漂亮 or expressing that they are really good-looking with 真好看.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase 你看起来很漂亮 is composed of 你 (you), 看起来 (looks/appears), 很 (very) and 漂亮 (beautiful).
Which one should you use?
While 漂亮 (piàoliang) is a common way to say beautiful, using the shorter form 美 (měi) in a phrase like 你看起来很美 can sound more poetic, elegant or formal. If you wish to say "You are really beautiful" instead of "You look beautiful", you can use 你真漂亮.
How does it change in a sentence?
In the phrase 你看起来很漂亮, the word 很 (hěn) is often used as a grammatical filler before an adjective in a positive statement, even if the speaker does not strongly emphasize the word 'very'.
How do you pronounce it?
nǐ kàn qǐlái hěn piàoliang
Did you know?
- The character 美 (měi) is a pictograph that originally depicted a large vessel of wine and a sheep, symbolizing the 'beautiful' combination of food and drink at a sacrifice.
- In some traditional social contexts, a person receiving the compliment 你看起来很漂亮 may modestly reply by disagreeing or saying 哪里哪里 (nǎlǐ nǎlǐ), which literally means 'where, where'.
- In modern slang, the word 漂亮 (piàoliang) is often shouted as a one-word exclamation to mean 'Perfect!' or 'Well done!' after someone achieves a goal.
Examples in context
- 你看起来很漂亮。Nǐ kàn qǐlái hěn piàoliang.You look beautiful.
- 今天你看起来很漂亮。Jīntiān nǐ kàn qǐlái hěn piàoliang.You look beautiful today.
Example conversation
Junjie and Jiayi are meeting for a dinner date.
- 俊杰 Junjie佳怡，你看起来很漂亮！Jiāyí, nǐ kàn qǐlái hěn piàoliang!Jiayi, you look beautiful!
- 佳怡 Jiayi真的吗？谢谢你。Zhēnde ma? Xièxiè nǐ.Really? Thank you.
- 俊杰 Junjie是的，你的衣服很合适。Shì de, nǐ de yīfú hěn héshì.Yes, your clothes fit you very well.
- 佳怡 Jiayi你今天也很帅。Nǐ jīntiān yě hěn shuài.You look very handsome today too.
