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Either words or expressions, formal ones or informal ones.

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  • What have you found out? There is no effort shown here at all. Any dictionary should give you at least a few suggestions?
    – deutschZuid
    May 28, 2014 at 21:22
  • The dictionary won't provide the most modern, up-to-date informal, fashionable and street language words to describe it.
    – user76935
    May 28, 2014 at 21:33
  • Did you just come up with this assumption yourself?
    – deutschZuid
    May 29, 2014 at 0:09
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    do you want adjectives or nouns?
    – Stan
    May 29, 2014 at 0:43
  • @Stan - I think that doesn't matter. If you know a couple just give them in an answer please.
    – user76935
    May 29, 2014 at 6:57

4 Answers 4

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These are some idioms which may be an answer to the question:

眉清目秀 (mei qing mu xiu) This literally means: "(His/this Man's) eyebrows are clear and (His) eyes are beautiful."

玉树临风 (yu shu lin feng) This literally means: "(Men are/He is like a) grown jade tree which has faced the wind."

英姿挺拔 (ying zi ting ba) This literally means: "The handsome appearance (of Him/this Man) is outstanding."

帅气逼人 (shuai qi bi ren) This literally means: "The handsome attitude (of Him/this Man) is daunting."

Chinese idioms, usually, only consist of four characters. And all of the above given examples can be used to refer to a handsome man.

Be aware, though, that these are formal expressions, so, they are literary and are likely to be interpreted as being corny when used in an informal context.

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  • Could you evaluate a bit more whether these are formal or informal ones and what situations they could be used in. Also, if there is a slight difference between each of them, it would benefit the answer for pointing that out as well.
    – user76935
    May 29, 2014 at 7:15
  • Chinese idioms are usually wise saying with only four characters, but there could be a story behind it. These four mean pretty much the same. For example, the first one 眉清目秀 (mei qing mu xiu) literally mean eyebrows are clear and eyes are beautiful, and the last one 帅气逼人 (shuai qi bi ren) literally mean the handsome attitude is daunting.
    – ChineseHulu.com
    Jun 5, 2014 at 16:39
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    From a learner's perspective, that'd be very useful to put into the actual answer rather than in the comments section! It would, basically, make your answer even better and stand out with personalized knowledge! Do you know the literal meanings for the other two wise-sayings as well?
    – user76935
    Jun 5, 2014 at 17:11
  • Thanks for the suggestion! Just moved the comments to answer section.
    – ChineseHulu.com
    Jun 6, 2014 at 4:09
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    Does 玉树临风 not mean something like: "Jade tree that faces the wind." Or "Grown jade that faced the wind" (which is why it got its beautiful polished shape.)
    – user76935
    Jun 6, 2014 at 10:48
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Formal Ones

  • 帥氣 (shuai qi)
  • 英俊 (ying jun)

Informal Ones

This varies between places where Chinese is spoken. Also, since each of these places has many smaller, individual dialects, these examples may not always apply to each Chinese-spoken area.

  • In Taiwan you could say:

    • 美型男 (mei xing nan)
    • 潮男 (chao nan)

  • In China you could say:

    • 高富帅 (gao fu shuai)

  • In Hong Kong you could say:

    • 靚仔 (liang zai)
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  • Could you evaluate on slight differences between each of them and what situations they could be used in?
    – user76935
    May 29, 2014 at 7:18
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    Also, in English, it would be more accurate to state: "This varies between Chinese speaking areas", rather than referring to each of your mentioned three as a country.
    – user76935
    May 29, 2014 at 7:47
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An informal way to refer to a handsome man in any Chinese-spoken area is 男神 (nan shen), which is a common fashion word among younger people. It's especially popular with young "girly girls" who would like to think of a handsome guy as their "prince". Literally it's translated as "man God" and its English equivalent would be Adonis.

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  • In which of the areas where Chinese is spoken is 男神 a popular word?
    – user76935
    Jun 5, 2014 at 9:09
  • @user76935 Everywhere, especially among younger generation.
    – AGamePlayer
    Jun 6, 2014 at 14:55
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In English:

"someone is/looks handsome?"

In Taiwanese Mandarin:

他(ta) 很(hen) 英俊(ying-jun)。 (click the sentence to hear it.)

他 很 帥(shuai)。

In Taiwanese Min-nan:
伊(yi) 真(jin) 緣投(en-dau)。

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  • Although 他很帥 is referred to as someone being 帥 (handsome) here, it doesn't refer to a handsome person when used as 帥哥 (a common way to address young people.). Which may be likely to cause confusion among new learners.
    – user76935
    Jun 6, 2014 at 19:14

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