1.
handsome; graceful; beautiful and well-proportioned
Describes an appearance that is both beautiful and well-balanced. Often used for people with refined, elegant features, or for things with a clean, polished beauty.
端麗な顔立ちの女性だ。
She is a woman with graceful features.
容姿端麗な俳優が話題になった。
A handsome actor became the talk of the town.
この日本酒は端麗な味わいで飲みやすい。
This sake has a clean, refined flavor and is easy to drink.
端麗 describes beauty that is well-proportioned, refined, and elegant. A literary and formal word.
COMMON EXPRESSIONS:
- 容姿端麗: beautiful appearance, good-looking (a set four-character phrase, very common)
- 端麗な顔立ち: graceful, well-proportioned features
SAKE TERMINOLOGY:
- 端麗辛口: clean and dry (describes sake with a crisp, refined flavor)
- 淡麗: sometimes written with this kanji in sake contexts, emphasizing lightness
REGISTER:
Literary and formal. Rarely used in casual conversation. Most commonly encountered in the compound 容姿端麗, which appears in written descriptions, formal contexts, and job/dating profile language.
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 美しい: beautiful (general, common word)
- 麗しい: beautiful, lovely (literary)
- 端正: neat and orderly in appearance (similar formality, slightly different nuance emphasizing orderliness)