美しい
うつくしい · utsukushii · JLPT N4 · i-adj
beautiful
🌸 美 = sheep 羊 + big 大: a big fat sheep was the old idea of beauty
The kanji 美 stacks 羊 (sheep) over 大 (big); a large, healthy sheep was prized, so the character came to mean fine and beautiful. For the sound, utsukushii starts like oots: oots, so lovely. The ending しい marks it as an i-adjective.
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'.