壮丽

zhuàng lì · HSK 7

magnificent

🏔️ 壮 = grand/strong + 丽 = beautiful, so grand-beauty = magnificent

壮 carries the sense of robust, grand, or imposing (same 壮 as in 强壮 strong); 丽 means beautiful (as in 美丽). Stacked together they name beauty on a grand scale: majestic, glorious, magnificent.

壮 — 爿 (bed/plank, phonetic) + 士 (scholar/warrior)
A semantic-phonetic compound. 士 ('warrior, man') gives the meaning of strength and vigor, while 爿 ('plank, bed') supplies the sound. Originally describing a robust, sturdy man, it broadened to mean 'strong, robust, magnificent' in general.

More Chinese words · How Chinese works