妙龄

妙齡
miàolíng
noun #32,068

Meanings

  1. 1 the prime of youth (typically of a young woman)
  2. 2 blooming age
  3. 3 youthful age

Examples

Tā zhèng zhí miàolíng.
She's in the prime of her youth.
Yī wèi miàolíng shàonǚ zǒu jìn le shūdiàn.
A young woman in the bloom of youth walked into the bookstore.

Tips

usage
Literary, almost always describing women — 妙龄少女 (a young woman in her prime) is the fixed collocation, traditionally referring to ages roughly 16-20. Now slightly old-fashioned and rarely used to describe modern peers; more common in fiction, songs, and ad copy for cosmetics/jewelry.
memory
(wonderful, exquisite) + (age) — 'the wonderful age'. Same as in 美妙 (měimiào, 'beautiful and wonderful') and 奇妙 (qímiào, 'marvelous').

Stroke Order

miào
líng