How to Write 美 (měi) — Meaning “beautiful”

Imagine a big (大) sheep (羊) with thick, fluffy wool. The sheep is so large and beautiful that you can easily recall the shape and meaning of 美.

Start with the top part 羊: write the dot on the left, then three horizontal strokes (the middle one slightly shorter), then a vertical stroke. Then write 大 below. A common mistake is making the top part too narrow or forgetting the dot on the top left.

The main difference is the bottom part: 美 has 大 (big) below, while 羌 has 儿 (legs) below and means a Chinese ethnic group. 羍 has the same components as 美 but is a rare character meaning "young sheep" – just remember that 美 is the only common one for "beautiful".

美 is very common and appears in words like 美丽 (beautiful), 美食 (gourmet food), and the country name 美国 (United States). Culturally, beauty is highly valued in China, and 美 is often used in compliments and in idioms such as 美不胜收, meaning "so beautiful that one cannot take it all in."

Common words containing 美 include: 美丽 (měi lì) — beautiful; 美食 (měi shí) — gourmet food; 美国 (měi guó) — United States.