'Lì rén' literally combines 'lì' (beautiful, elegant, radiant) and 'rén' (person), yielding a classical, literary term meaning 'a beautiful or graceful person'—typically referring to a refined, attractive woman. Unlike modern colloquial terms like 'měinǚ' (beautiful woman), 'lì rén' carries poetic weight and historical resonance, often appearing in classical poetry, traditional opera, or formal written descriptions.

The term evokes elegance and inner virtue as much as physical beauty, reflecting Confucian ideals of harmony between appearance and moral character. It is rarely used in casual speech and appears most frequently in artistic contexts—such as titles of paintings, literary allusions, or ceremonial language—to convey admiration with dignity and restraint. While grammatically a noun, 'lì rén' functions as a standalone subject or appositive and does not take plural markers or measure words in classical usage.