亭亭玉立 — “Gracefully tall and slender (describing a woman or girl)”
亭亭玉立 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Gracefully tall and slender (describing a woman or girl)”. Tall and straight and elegant (describing plants or trees). Literally, “Gracefully upright and standing like jade”.
亭亭玉立 Pronunciation and Pinyin
亭亭玉立 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 亭亭玉立
Origin and Story of 亭亭玉立
During the Northern Qi Dynasty, Emperor Wucheng, Gao Zhan, was notoriously cruel. He murdered his nephew, Gao Bainian, and engaged in illicit relations with Lady Li, the wife of his brother Gao Yang.
Frequently indulging in wine and women, his body grew increasingly thin and weak. He often hallucinated, seeing a gracefully tall and slender beauty standing before him.
Imperial physician Xu Zhicai prescribed medicine for him, and he soon recovered from his illness. However, he later resumed his excessive indulgence and eventually died from it.
Idioms Related to 亭亭玉立
Synonyms of 亭亭玉立
Antonyms of 亭亭玉立
More idioms starting with 亭
Recommended tools
Bingo Cards
Picture and word Bingo for your class
Open the tool →
Writing Worksheets
Printable tracing sheets with a QR learning companion
Open the tool →
Stroke Order Animator
Turn a Chinese character or sentence into a GIF or MP4
Open the tool →
Character Highlight Animator
Choose character parts and animate their colors, together or in stroke order
Open the tool →Questions about 亭亭玉立
What does 亭亭玉立 mean?
亭亭玉立 (tíng tíng yù lì) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Gracefully tall and slender (describing a woman or girl)”.
How do you pronounce 亭亭玉立?
亭亭玉立 is pronounced tíng tíng yù lì in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 亭亭玉立 literally mean?
Literally, 亭亭玉立 means “Gracefully upright and standing like jade”. It is used to mean “Gracefully tall and slender (describing a woman or girl)”.
Where does 亭亭玉立 come from?
亭亭玉立 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 亭亭玉立?
亭亭：高耸直立的样子。形容女子身材细长。也形容花木等形体挺拔。