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きれい vs 美しい

JLPT N5 vocabulary · what is the difference?

きれい covers both "pretty" and "clean, tidy", and is the everyday word; 美しい means only "beautiful", never "clean", and it sounds literary. A tidy room is きれい and never 美しい.

When to use each

きれい

きれい

The everyday word for anything nice to look at, and also the normal word for clean or tidy. It is a な-adjective written in kana, so use きれいな before a noun and きれいです at the end.

  • きれいな花ですね。

    きれいなはなですね。

    What a pretty flower.

  • 部屋をきれいにしました。

    へやをきれいにしました。

    I tidied up the room.

Full entry for きれい

美しい

うつくしい

Beauty only — scenery, music, a voice, a way of living. It carries admiration and sounds written or formal, so in daily conversation it can come across as poetic. It never describes cleanliness.

  • 山の景色がとても美しい。

    やまのけしきがとてもうつくしい。

    The mountain scenery is very beautiful.

  • 彼女の声は美しいです。

    かのじょのこえはうつくしいです。

    Her voice is beautiful.

Full entry for 美しい

Sentences where only one works

  • 机の上がきれいになりました。

    つくえのうえがきれいになりました。

    The desk has been tidied up.

    Cleanliness, so only きれい. 美しくなりました would suggest the desk turned into a work of art.

  • 手をきれいに洗ってください。

    てをきれいにあらってください。

    Please wash your hands properly.

    Here きれいに means thoroughly, cleanly. 美しく cannot be used for washing.

  • この絵は本当に美しい。

    このえはほんとうにうつくしい。

    This painting is truly beautiful.

    Admiring art. きれい is also correct here, but sounds lighter, closer to "pretty".

  • 彼の生き方は美しいと思う。

    かれのいきかたはうつくしいとおもう。

    I think the way he lives is beautiful.

    Abstract, moral beauty. きれい does not reach this sense.

Common mistakes

  • トイレが美しいです。

    トイレがきれいです。

    The learner means the toilet is clean. 美しい never carries the clean sense, so this sounds like praising the toilet as a work of beauty.

  • きれい花

    きれいな花

    Although it ends in い, きれい is a な-adjective. It needs な before a noun, and its negative is きれいじゃない, not きれくない.

Frequently asked questions

Can I call a person 美しい?

Yes, but it is strong and literary, the sort of thing written rather than said. To pay someone an ordinary compliment, きれいですね is far more natural.

Is 美しい more polite than きれい?

Not more polite — more literary. Politeness comes from です and ます, not from the choice of adjective.

Which do I use for scenery?

Either. 美しい景色 is the set literary phrase, and きれいな景色 is what people actually say when looking at a view.