杨柳腰

楊柳腰

yángliǔyāo

noun

Meanings

1 willow waist
2 slender and supple waist (literary, of a woman)

Characters

poplar / willow

Examples

她一转身，杨柳腰随风轻摆。

Tā yī zhuǎnshēn, yángliǔyāo suí fēng qīng bǎi.

When she turned, her willow waist swayed lightly in the breeze.

古画里的仕女，大多有一副杨柳腰。

Gǔ huà lǐ de shìnǚ, dà duō yǒu yī fù yángliǔyāo.

The court ladies in old paintings almost all have willow-slim waists.

Tips

history

Bai Juyi's poem 《不能忘情吟》 contains the line 樱桃樊素口，杨柳小蛮腰 — cherry-like mouth of Fansu, willow waist of Xiaoman. The phrase 杨柳腰 came to stand for slender-waisted beauty, and 小蛮 became a byword for a young beauty.

In Pop Culture

小蛮腰 Xiǎományāo

Canton Tower's nickname

The Guangzhou TV tower is widely known as 小蛮腰 thanks to its curving, narrow-waisted silhouette — a direct nod to Bai Juyi's line.

Stroke Order

杨 yáng

柳 liǔ

腰 yāo