# 美不胜收

měi bù shèng shōu

So beautiful and abundant that one cannot take it all in

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** Beauty beyond what one can fully receive

**Traditional Chinese:** 美不勝收

**Register:** Appreciative · expressive

[Perspective](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/perspective)

## When to use it

Praise an abundance of lovely sights.

Usually many sights or rich detail, not just one plain object.

## Understanding the expression

The beauty exceeds the observer’s capacity to appreciate everything at once. This makes the expression especially suitable for gardens, scenery, exhibitions, and rich arrangements of color or detail. The emphasis combines loveliness with abundance. It is not necessarily a claim that nothing in the world could be more beautiful. A scene earns the description because looking in one direction leaves more beauty waiting elsewhere, encouraging prolonged attention and admiration.

## Examples

春天的花园美不胜收。

### Traditional Chinese

春天的花園美不勝收。

chūn tiān de huā yuán měi bù shèng shōu 。

The spring garden offers more beauty than one can take in.

沿途雪景美不胜收。

### Traditional Chinese

沿途雪景美不勝收。

yán tú xuě jǐng měi bù shèng shōu 。

The snowy scenery along the way is wonderfully abundant.

灯会的彩灯美不胜收。

### Traditional Chinese

燈會的彩燈美不勝收。

dēng huì de cǎi dēng měi bù shèng shōu 。

The festival lanterns are dazzlingly beautiful.

这些刺绣作品美不胜收。

### Traditional Chinese

這些刺繡作品美不勝收。

zhè xiē cì xiù zuò pǐn měi bù shèng shōu 。

These embroidered works offer an abundance of exquisite beauty.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 6, 2026.

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E7%BE%8E%E4%B8%8D%E5%8B%9D%E6%94%B6)

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=755&webMd=1&la=0)

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