"beauty is only skin deep" meaning in English

See beauty is only skin deep in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Proverb

Etymology: First use appears c. 1809, although beauty is but skin-deep appears much earlier. Head templates: {{head|en|proverb|head=beauty is only skin deep}} beauty is only skin deep
  1. A person's character matters more than their appearance. Categories (topical): Appearance Synonyms: beauty is but skin-deep, beauty is only skin-deep Related terms: it's what's inside that counts Translations (a person's character is more important than their outward appearance): الجمال جمال الروح (Arabic), външността лъже (vǎnšnostta lǎže) (Bulgarian), skønhed kommer indefra (Danish), uiterlijk schoon is slechts vertoon (Dutch), laksana bunga dadap, sungguh merah berbau tidak (Indonesian), más peaca bheith buí tá na mílte damanta (Irish), ní hí an bhreáthacht a bhruitheann na prátaí (Irish), 美人というも皮一重 (bijin to iu mo kawa hitoe) (alt: びじん と いう も かわ ひとえ) (Japanese), لقسان بواه ددڤ, سوڠݢوه مره برباءو تيدق [Jawi] (Malay), بواه ماسق مره بلوم تنتو مانيس راسڽ [Jawi] (Malay), laksana buah dedap, sungguh merah berbau tidak [Rumi] (Malay), buah masak merah belum tentu manis rasanya [Rumi] (Malay), pozory mylą (Polish), quem vê cara não vê coração (Portuguese), вне́шность обма́нчива (vnéšnostʹ obmánčiva) (Russian), cái nết đánh chết cái đẹp (english: good personality strikes beauty dead) (Vietnamese)

Alternative forms

{
  "etymology_text": "First use appears c. 1809, although beauty is but skin-deep appears much earlier.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "proverb",
        "head": "beauty is only skin deep"
      },
      "expansion": "beauty is only skin deep",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "proverb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English proverbs",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Arabic translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Danish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Dutch translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Indonesian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Irish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Japanese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Malay translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Polish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Vietnamese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Appearance",
          "orig": "en:Appearance",
          "parents": [
            "Perception",
            "Body",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1809, Francis Lathom, London, Or, Truth Without Treason, A Novel, page 2:",
          "text": "\"Handsome those that handsome do say I; beauty is only skin deep; it is the principle of the heart I consider.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1910, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “The Girl and the Habit”, in Strictly Business:",
          "text": "And she graced the transition. Beauty is only skin-deep, but the nerves lie very near to the skin. Nerve—but just here will you oblige by perusing again the quotation with which this story begins?",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2014 September 25, Hugo Macdonald, “Could those utopian hoardings for new developments get any more nauseating?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:",
          "text": "Isn’t it time the marketing budgets were reapportioned to the bones and muscles of the building themselves? At present, the beauty in London’s building boom is barely skin deep.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A person's character matters more than their appearance."
      ],
      "id": "en-beauty_is_only_skin_deep-en-proverb-f4nk9uV9",
      "links": [
        [
          "character",
          "character"
        ],
        [
          "matter",
          "matter"
        ],
        [
          "appearance",
          "appearance"
        ]
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "it's what's inside that counts"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "beauty is but skin-deep"
        },
        {
          "word": "beauty is only skin-deep"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "ar",
          "lang": "Arabic",
          "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
          "word": "الجمال جمال الروح"
        },
        {
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "vǎnšnostta lǎže",
          "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
          "word": "външността лъже"
        },
        {
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
          "word": "skønhed kommer indefra"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
          "word": "uiterlijk schoon is slechts vertoon"
        },
        {
          "code": "id",
          "lang": "Indonesian",
          "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
          "word": "laksana bunga dadap, sungguh merah berbau tidak"
        },
        {
          "code": "ga",
          "lang": "Irish",
          "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
          "word": "más peaca bheith buí tá na mílte damanta"
        },
        {
          "code": "ga",
          "lang": "Irish",
          "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
          "word": "ní hí an bhreáthacht a bhruitheann na prátaí"
        },
        {
          "alt": "びじん と いう も かわ ひとえ",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "bijin to iu mo kawa hitoe",
          "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
          "word": "美人というも皮一重"
        },
        {
          "code": "ms",
          "lang": "Malay",
          "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
          "tags": [
            "Jawi"
          ],
          "word": "لقسان بواه ددڤ, سوڠݢوه مره برباءو تيدق"
        },
        {
          "code": "ms",
          "lang": "Malay",
          "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
          "tags": [
            "Jawi"
          ],
          "word": "بواه ماسق مره بلوم تنتو مانيس راسڽ"
        },
        {
          "code": "ms",
          "lang": "Malay",
          "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
          "tags": [
            "Rumi"
          ],
          "word": "laksana buah dedap, sungguh merah berbau tidak"
        },
        {
          "code": "ms",
          "lang": "Malay",
          "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
          "tags": [
            "Rumi"
          ],
          "word": "buah masak merah belum tentu manis rasanya"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
          "word": "pozory mylą"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
          "word": "quem vê cara não vê coração"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "vnéšnostʹ obmánčiva",
          "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
          "word": "вне́шность обма́нчива"
        },
        {
          "code": "vi",
          "english": "good personality strikes beauty dead",
          "lang": "Vietnamese",
          "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
          "word": "cái nết đánh chết cái đẹp"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "beauty is only skin deep"
}
{
  "etymology_text": "First use appears c. 1809, although beauty is but skin-deep appears much earlier.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "proverb",
        "head": "beauty is only skin deep"
      },
      "expansion": "beauty is only skin deep",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "proverb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "it's what's inside that counts"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English proverbs",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Terms with Arabic translations",
        "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
        "Terms with Danish translations",
        "Terms with Dutch translations",
        "Terms with Indonesian translations",
        "Terms with Irish translations",
        "Terms with Japanese translations",
        "Terms with Malay translations",
        "Terms with Polish translations",
        "Terms with Portuguese translations",
        "Terms with Russian translations",
        "Terms with Vietnamese translations",
        "en:Appearance"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1809, Francis Lathom, London, Or, Truth Without Treason, A Novel, page 2:",
          "text": "\"Handsome those that handsome do say I; beauty is only skin deep; it is the principle of the heart I consider.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1910, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “The Girl and the Habit”, in Strictly Business:",
          "text": "And she graced the transition. Beauty is only skin-deep, but the nerves lie very near to the skin. Nerve—but just here will you oblige by perusing again the quotation with which this story begins?",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2014 September 25, Hugo Macdonald, “Could those utopian hoardings for new developments get any more nauseating?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:",
          "text": "Isn’t it time the marketing budgets were reapportioned to the bones and muscles of the building themselves? At present, the beauty in London’s building boom is barely skin deep.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A person's character matters more than their appearance."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "character",
          "character"
        ],
        [
          "matter",
          "matter"
        ],
        [
          "appearance",
          "appearance"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "beauty is but skin-deep"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "beauty is only skin-deep"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ar",
      "lang": "Arabic",
      "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
      "word": "الجمال جمال الروح"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "vǎnšnostta lǎže",
      "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
      "word": "външността лъже"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
      "word": "skønhed kommer indefra"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
      "word": "uiterlijk schoon is slechts vertoon"
    },
    {
      "code": "id",
      "lang": "Indonesian",
      "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
      "word": "laksana bunga dadap, sungguh merah berbau tidak"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
      "word": "más peaca bheith buí tá na mílte damanta"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
      "word": "ní hí an bhreáthacht a bhruitheann na prátaí"
    },
    {
      "alt": "びじん と いう も かわ ひとえ",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "bijin to iu mo kawa hitoe",
      "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
      "word": "美人というも皮一重"
    },
    {
      "code": "ms",
      "lang": "Malay",
      "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
      "tags": [
        "Jawi"
      ],
      "word": "لقسان بواه ددڤ, سوڠݢوه مره برباءو تيدق"
    },
    {
      "code": "ms",
      "lang": "Malay",
      "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
      "tags": [
        "Jawi"
      ],
      "word": "بواه ماسق مره بلوم تنتو مانيس راسڽ"
    },
    {
      "code": "ms",
      "lang": "Malay",
      "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
      "tags": [
        "Rumi"
      ],
      "word": "laksana buah dedap, sungguh merah berbau tidak"
    },
    {
      "code": "ms",
      "lang": "Malay",
      "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
      "tags": [
        "Rumi"
      ],
      "word": "buah masak merah belum tentu manis rasanya"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
      "word": "pozory mylą"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
      "word": "quem vê cara não vê coração"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "vnéšnostʹ obmánčiva",
      "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
      "word": "вне́шность обма́нчива"
    },
    {
      "code": "vi",
      "english": "good personality strikes beauty dead",
      "lang": "Vietnamese",
      "sense": "a person's character is more important than their outward appearance",
      "word": "cái nết đánh chết cái đẹp"
    }
  ],
  "word": "beauty is only skin deep"
}

Download raw JSONL data for beauty is only skin deep meaning in English (5.2kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-02-03 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-01-20 using wiktextract (05fdf6b and 9dbd323). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.