How do you say "beautiful" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "beautiful" is 美しい (utsukushii). It is a adjective pronounced "oo-tsoo-koo-shee-ee".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Pronunciation

美しい is written in kanji and hiragana. Romanised as utsukushii, it sounds roughly like "oo-tsoo-koo-shee-ee" to an English ear.

Example sentence

あの花はとても美しいです。

Ano hana wa totemo utsukushii desu.

That flower is very beautiful.

Usage notes

Utsukushii (美しい) is an i-adjective meaning beautiful in a graceful or refined sense. It is slightly more formal than kirei na and tends to describe natural beauty, art, or profound loveliness.

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Questions about 美しい

How do you pronounce 美しい?

美しい is romanised as utsukushii. Say it roughly like "oo-tsoo-koo-shee-ee" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 美しい formal or casual?

美しい is an i-adjective. The form shown is the plain form, which works in casual speech. To make it polite, add desu at the end of the sentence. The word itself does not change.

How is 美しい written in Japanese?

美しい is written using kanji and hiragana. Kanji characters carry the core meaning; any hiragana or katakana that follow show grammatical endings.

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation.