Kanji for “beauty”

Beauty as a quality or ideal, covering appearance, art and conduct.

美 bi / utsuku-shii

Closest natural translation · misunderstanding risk Low

Reading: bi / utsuku-shii — Common standalone reading
About the reading: Used alone as an abstract noun, and very widely in compounds and names.
Literal meaning: Beauty
What it suggests: Beauty as a quality or an ideal, covering appearance, art and conduct alike.
When to use it: For beauty in the broad, abstract sense.
On its own: Natural as an abstract noun, though slightly formal alone.
In compounds: Very natural in 美人 (a beautiful person) and 美術 (fine art).
As a tattoo: Simple and well understood. Also extremely common in women's names, which some readers notice first.
Worth knowing: 美 is the most frequent character in Japanese women's names — 由美, 美咲, 恵美. Standing alone on a person it can read as a fragment of somebody's name rather than as the idea of beauty.

美麗 birei

Related meaning, not a literal translation · misunderstanding risk Low

Reading: birei — Common compound reading
About the reading: A standard written compound, more common in print than in speech.
Literal meaning: Beautiful, splendid
What it suggests: Polished, ornate beauty. It describes surfaces and craftsmanship more than character.
When to use it: For visual, decorative beauty.
On its own: Natural in writing; formal in conversation.
In compounds: Natural as the complete word 美麗.
As a tattoo: Elegant but bookish; it reads as a description of an object.

麗 rei / urawa-shii

Symbolic choice, not a literal translation · misunderstanding risk Medium

Reading: rei / urawa-shii — On-yomi; also a given name
About the reading: Rarely stands alone as a noun; common in names and compounds.
Literal meaning: Graceful, lovely
What it suggests: Refined, graceful beauty with a classical feel.
When to use it: For an elegant, old-fashioned impression rather than the plain word beauty.
On its own: Limited as a standalone noun.
In compounds: Natural in 華麗 (splendid) and 秀麗 (graceful).
As a tattoo: Visually striking, but many readers will take it as a woman's name.
Worth knowing: Read as a name such as Rei more often than as the word beauty.

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