📖 Meaning
Describes a young woman of outstanding beauty and charm. The imagery evokes the delicate blossoming of peach flowers and the graceful sway of willow branches. It is used to praise feminine loveliness in the prime of youth.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom draws on classical poetic imagery: 桃夭 refers to the famous ode in the Book of Songs (诗经·周南·桃夭), which compares a bride to blooming peach blossoms, while 柳媚 evokes the graceful elegance of willow branches. Though no single literary source records the exact four-character phrase, it is a later compound built from these well-established motifs. It has been used in vernacular fiction and opera to depict beautiful young women.
💡 Example Usage
那女子桃夭柳媚，令众人一见倾心。
The young woman was as lovely as blossoming peach and graceful willow, captivating everyone at first sight.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 桃夭柳媚
- Pinyin: táo yāo liǔ mèi
- Literal Translation: peach, tender, willow, charming
- Category: Quality
- Characters: 4