美 — beautiful

Grade 3び, うつく

Radical ⽺ · radical 123 The building block this kanji is filed under

美 (readings: び, うつく; Japanese kanji) means “beautiful”. It is a Grade 3 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 3 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 美人 (beautiful person).

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What does 美 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	美
Meaning	beautiful
Readings	び, うつく
Grade	Grade 3 (Medium)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	美人 (beautiful person)

How to read 美

美 is read び or うつく depending on the word.

Words with 美

美術館びじゅつかんbảo tàng nghệ thuật
美人mỹ nhân
美麗đẹp đẽ
褒美phần thưởng

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Updated: 2026-08-09