美しい

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 美しい, read うつくしい, is an い-adjective meaning beautiful.
• Basic usage: It can describe the beauty of scenery such as a rainbow or the simple shape of a bowl.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Before a noun
  • It modifies a noun directly, as in the example 美しい虹.
• Past form
  • The past form is 美しかった.
• A related word
  • きれい can mean clean as well as beautiful, so distinguish the words when discussing cleanliness.