📖 Meaning
Literally meaning 'red lips and white teeth,' this idiom describes someone with a fair and attractive complexion. It is commonly used to praise a person's handsome or beautiful facial appearance.
📜 Origin Story
This phrase originates from the Ming dynasty dramatic work 'Qiong Ju Ji' (琼琚记) by Hu Wenhuan, specifically in the scene titled 'Teasing Wife Under the Mulberry Tree' (桑下戏妻). In the passage, the narrator encounters a woman with red lips and white teeth, a peach-blossom face, green-tinged hair, vermilion cheeks, and willow-leaf eyebrows, and is so captivated by her beauty that he cannot bear to leave. The vivid catalogue of facial features later became a set phrase denoting physical attractiveness.
💡 Example Usage
那个唇红齿白的少年一走上台，便引得全场观众侧目。
As soon as that fair-faced youth with red lips and white teeth stepped onto the stage, he drew the attention of the entire audience.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 唇红齿白
- Pinyin: chún hóng chǐ bái
- Literal Translation: lips, red, teeth, white
- Category: Quality
- Characters: 4