美色

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word 美色. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word 美色, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say 美色 in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word 美色 you have here. The definition of the word 美色 will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of美色, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

Chinese

beautiful; beauty; America
colour; dice; look
colour; dice; look; appearance
 
trad. (美色)
simp. #(美色)

Pronunciation


Noun

美色

  1. good looks (usually of a woman); charms
    1. beautiful woman

Japanese

Kanji in this term

Grade: 3
しょく
Grade: 2
on'yomi

Etymology

From Middle Chinese compound 美色 (mˠiɪX ʃɨk̚, literally beauty + color). Compare modern Cantonese reading mei5 sik1.

The kan'on reading, so likely a later borrowing.

Pronunciation

Noun

()(しょく) (bishoku

  1. beautiful color
  2. beauty (of personal appearance)

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN