英俊

• Pinyin: yīng jùn
• Hanzi breakdown: 英 = 艹 + 央 (originally 'finest flower', extended to mean outstanding/brilliant); 俊 = 亻 + 夋 (person + phonetic component meaning outstanding)

Meaning

Handsome; strikingly good-looking (typically of a man). Describes refined, masculine attractiveness.

Applied almost exclusively to men. Conveys a sense of clean, refined good looks rather than rugged or flashy appearance. Can also carry a secondary sense of talented and outstanding in classical usage, though the modern sense is predominantly physical.

Examples

1. 这位青年演员刚凭反战历史剧拿下最佳男主角，外形英俊，表演也很细腻。 This young actor just won Best Actor for an anti-war historical drama; he is handsome and also gives a very nuanced performance.
2. 她看完百页档案后，只对一位五官英俊、眼神忧郁的青年建筑师格外好奇，决定请他参加复试。 After reading the hundred-page file, she was especially curious about one young architect with handsome features and a melancholy gaze, and decided to invite him to the second interview.
3. 这位政界新秀外貌英俊、口才流利，初次亮相便引来关注，但选民更看重他能否提出可行的就业和医疗政策。 This political newcomer was handsome and articulate, so his debut drew attention, but voters cared more about whether he could propose workable policies on jobs and healthcare.

Usage Guide

Context: appearance, description, social

Tone: appreciative

Do Say

• 这位二十八岁便升任合伙人的年轻律师举止成熟，面容英俊，谈吐优雅，每次出庭都引发旁听席骚动。(This young lawyer, promoted to partner at twenty-eight, is mature in manner, handsome, and elegant in speech; every court appearance causes a stir in the gallery.)
• 制片方从两万多名报名者中选出这位气质英俊、潜力出众的年轻人担纲男主角，并为他安排十八个月的表演培训。(From more than twenty thousand applicants, the production company chose this young man, who has a handsome presence and outstanding potential, to play the male lead and arranged eighteen months of acting training for him.)

Don't Say

• 这座建筑设计得非常英俊 — 英俊 describes people, not objects or designs; for aesthetically pleasing architecture use 造型优美、设计精良 or 气势宏伟

Origin & History

英 (outstanding, brilliant — 艹 grass/flower radical + 央 centre, originally meaning the finest flower) + 俊 (talented and handsome — 亻 person radical + 夋 phonetic, meaning outstanding)

Cultural Context

Era: Classical–Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal