If you want to refer to a person as beautiful, would you use [綺麗]{きれい} or [美しい]{うつくしい}? What's the difference?


I'm a little confused on the difference between 綺麗【きれい】 and 美しい【うつくしい】. When
is it appropriate to use either word to refer to a person?

For example, if I wanted to refer to a woman as beautiful, would I say
「綺麗【きれい】な女【おんな】」 or 「美【うつく】しい女【おんな】」?

Does it matter what age a person is? Is one only appropriate if the person is
young like in their 20s, late teens or a teenager? Do you only use one when
they are in their 30s or older?




Agreed with other answers that 綺麗 focuses on the physical appearance, while
美しい also includes mental/situational aspects.

> Does it matter what age a person is? Is one only appropriate if the person
> is young like in their 20s, late teens or a teenager? Do you only use one
> when they are in their 30s or older?

You can use it for any ages, and regardless of their gender. 綺麗 does require
that the subject is 整っている, i.e. things need to be neat. For example, you can't
describe a hand with scars and dirty with oil 綺麗, because it's not neat. On
the other hand, 美しい doesn't have such restriction and you can pretty much use
it for anything (even when the subject is not neat).

For example, 「傷だらけの、機械油にまみれた美しい手」is completely fine, whereas
「傷だらけの、機械油にまみれた綺麗な手」is contradictory.

