精美
jīngměi · HSK 6
exquisite
💎✨ jīng (refined/essence) + měi (beautiful) = refined beauty
精 means精refined or essence — think of rice polished to perfection. 美 means beautiful. Together they describe something crafted with such care that every detail is flawless — exquisite elegance.
精 — rice 米 + blue/green 青 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 米 (rice) gives the meaning, while 青 supplies the sound. Originally referred to polished, refined rice — grain with the husk removed. The sense broadened to 'refined, pure, essence,' and later 'fine, skilled, spirit.'
美 — sheep 羊 on top + big 大 below
美 is traditionally explained as a pictograph of a person (大) wearing a large sheep or ram's-head ornament, suggesting beauty through adornment. An alternative reading takes 羊 (sheep) over 大 (big) to mean 'a big, fat sheep'—seen as delicious and pleasing, hence 'beautiful, good'.