綺麗

See also: 绮丽

Chinese

		beautiful; open-work silk	beautiful; Korea
trad. (綺麗)		綺	麗
simp. (绮丽)		绮	丽

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): qǐlì

  (Zhuyin): ㄑㄧˇ ㄌㄧˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ji² lai⁶
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): khí-lē

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)
    • Hanyu Pinyin: qǐlì
    • Zhuyin: ㄑㄧˇ ㄌㄧˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: cǐlì
    • Wade–Giles: chʻi³-li⁴
    • Yale: chǐ-lì
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chiilih
    • Palladius: цили (cili)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰi²¹⁴⁻²¹ li⁵¹/
    • Homophones:

      [Show/Hide]
      edit edit 綺麗／绮丽 起立

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: ji² lai⁶
    • Yale: yí laih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ji² lai⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: yi² lei⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jiː³⁵ lɐi̯²²/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: khí-lē
    • Tâi-lô: khí-lē
    • Phofsit Daibuun: qyle
    • IPA (Xiamen): /kʰi⁵³⁻⁴⁴ le²²/

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• Middle Chinese: khjeX lejH

Rime
Character	綺	麗
Reading #	1/1	2/2
Initial (聲)	溪 (29)	來 (37)
Final (韻)	支 (13)	齊 (39)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	III	IV
Fanqie	墟彼切	郎計切
Baxter	khjeX	lejH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kʰˠiᴇX/	/leiH/
Pan Wuyun	/kʰᵚiɛX/	/leiH/
Shao Rongfen	/kʰiɛX/	/lɛiH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kʰjiə̆X/	/lɛjH/
Li Rong	/kʰjeX/	/leiH/
Wang Li	/kʰǐeX/	/lieiH/
Bernhard Karlgren	/kʰie̯X/	/lieiH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	qǐ	lì
Expected Cantonese Reflex	hei2	lai6

Adjective

綺麗

1. gorgeous; beautiful; enchanting

Synonyms

edit

• 俊 (jùn)
• 俊俏 (jùnqiào) (attractive and smart)
• 俊秀 (jùnxiù)
• 俊美 (jùnměi) (of a young male)
• 俏麗／俏丽 (qiàolì) (usually of a female)
• 奇麗／奇丽 (qílì) (singularly beautiful)
• 好看 (hǎokàn)
• 妖嬌／妖娇 (“iau-kiau”) (Hokkien)
• 妍美 (yánměi) (literary)
• 姣美 (jiāoměi) (formal, of a face or posture)
• 嬌豔／娇艳 (jiāoyàn) (delicate and charming)
• 嬌逸／娇逸 (jiāoyì) (literary, of a young male)
• 悅目／悦目 (yuèmù)
• 是樣／是样 (shìyàng) (colloquial)
• 標緻／标致 (biāozhì) (usually of a woman)
• 清秀 (qīngxiù)
• 漂亮
• 秀媚 (xiùmèi)
• 秀美 (xiùměi)
• 秀麗／秀丽 (xiùlì)
• 繁華／繁华 (fánhuá) (literary)
• 美觀／美观 (měiguān)
• 美麗／美丽 (měilì)
• 耐看 (nàikàn)
• 花花 (huāhuā) (literary)
• 豔麗／艳丽 (yànlì)
• 邊式／边式 (biānshi) (regional, of dress, physique, etc.)
• 體面／体面 (tǐmiàn)
• 鮮亮／鲜亮 (xiānliàng) (dialectal)
• 鮮麗／鲜丽 (xiānlì)

 

Japanese

Kanji in this term
綺	麗
き Jinmeiyō	れい Grade: S
on'yomi	kan'on

Alternative spellings
奇麗 キレイ (informal)

Etymology

Ultimately from written Chinese 綺麗, 奇麗／绮丽, 奇丽. First attested in Japanese in the 1200s.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) きれー [kíꜜrèè] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [kʲiɾe̞ː]

Adjective

綺(き)麗(れい) • (kirei) -na (adnominal 綺(き)麗(れい)な (kirei na), adverbial 綺(き)麗(れい)に (kirei ni))

1. [from late 1300s] pretty, gorgeous, beautiful

   Synonyms: 美しい (utsukushii), 麗しい (uruwashii), (dialect) きれか (kireka)

   綺麗(きれい)な空(そら)

   kirei na sora

   a beautiful sky

   綺麗(きれい)な音(おと)

   kirei na oto

   a beautiful sound

2. [from 1200s] clear, clean, pure

   Synonyms: 清浄 (seijō, “pure”), 清らか (kiyoraka, “clean, clear (as of water)”), すっきり (sukkiri, adverb)

3. [from early 1600s] clean, not dirty

   Synonyms: 清潔 (seiketsu), すっきり (sukkiri, adverb)

4. [from 1682] tidy, neat, everything put away

   Synonym: さっぱり (sappari, adverb)

   部屋(へや)をきれいにする

   heya o kirei ni suru

   to tidy up one's room

   このラベルはきれいにはがせます。

   Kono raberu wa kirei ni hagasemasu.

   This label can be peeled off cleanly.

5. [from 1711] fair, impartial, of clear conscience

Usage notes

This term is often spelled in hiragana.

Inflection

Inflection of 綺麗

Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	綺麗だろ	きれいだろ	kirei daro
Continuative (連用形)	綺麗で	きれいで	kirei de
Terminal (終止形)	綺麗だ	きれいだ	kirei da
Attributive (連体形)	綺麗な	きれいな	kirei na
Hypothetical (仮定形)	綺麗なら	きれいなら	kirei nara
Imperative (命令形)	綺麗であれ	きれいであれ	kirei de are
Key constructions
Informal negative	綺麗ではない 綺麗じゃない	きれいではない きれいじゃない	kirei de wa nai kirei ja nai
Informal past	綺麗だった	きれいだった	kirei datta
Informal negative past	綺麗ではなかった 綺麗じゃなかった	きれいではなかった きれいじゃなかった	kirei de wa nakatta kirei ja nakatta
Formal	綺麗です	きれいです	kirei desu
Formal negative	綺麗ではありません 綺麗じゃありません	きれいではありません きれいじゃありません	kirei de wa arimasen kirei ja arimasen
Formal past	綺麗でした	きれいでした	kirei deshita
Formal negative past	綺麗ではありませんでした 綺麗じゃありませんでした	きれいではありませんでした きれいじゃありませんでした	kirei de wa arimasen deshita kirei ja arimasen deshita
Conjunctive	綺麗で	きれいで	kirei de
Conditional	綺麗なら（ば）	きれいなら（ば）	kirei nara (ba)
Provisional	綺麗だったら	きれいだったら	kirei dattara
Volitional	綺麗だろう	きれいだろう	kirei darō
Adverbial	綺麗に	きれいに	kirei ni
Degree	綺麗さ	きれいさ	kireisa

See also

• 口(くち)綺(ぎ)麗(れい) (kuchigirei)
• 小(こ)綺(ぎ)麗(れい) (kogirei)
• 手(て)綺(ぎ)麗(れい) (tegirei)
• 身(み)綺(ぎ)麗(れい) (migirei)

References

• 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.