窈窕 (yǎotiǎo): graceful and refined (of a woman)

Meanings

1 graceful and refined (of a woman)
2 slender and elegant
3 (literary) secluded and beautiful (of a place)

Characters

窈

yǎo

deep and secluded / graceful

窕

tiǎo

slender / delicate / graceful

Examples

窈窕淑女，君子好逑。

Yǎotiǎo shūnǚ, jūnzǐ hǎoqiú.

A graceful and virtuous maiden — a gentleman's good match.

她身姿窈窕，举止优雅。

Tā shēnzī yǎotiǎo, jǔzhǐ yōuyǎ.

She has a graceful figure and elegant bearing.

Tips

history

窈窕 opens the Book of Songs (《诗经》), China's oldest poetry anthology (c. 11th–7th century BCE). The line 窈窕淑女，君子好逑 from the poem 关雎 (Guān Jū) is one of the most-quoted lines in Chinese literature, establishing 窈窕 as the classical ideal of feminine grace.