beauty

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 美 has 9 strokes and expresses beauty and also appears in established spellings such as 美味しい.
• Basic usage: 美味しい is read おいしい, and 美しい is read うつくしい.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Set reading 美味しい and kun reading 美しい
  • 美味しい is read as the whole word おいしい and describes good taste.
  • このスープは野菜の甘みが出ていて美味しい。 means “This soup is delicious because the vegetables bring out a natural sweetness.”
  • 美しい is read うつくしい and describes beauty.
  • 雨上がりの山に美しい虹がかかった。 means “A beautiful rainbow appeared over the mountain after the rain.”