The word 美丽 is formed by combining two independent characters, each contributing a layer of meaning to create a unified concept. The first character, 美 (měi), on its own means "beautiful" or "fine", often relating to pleasing aesthetics. The second, 丽 (lì), carries the sense of "lovely", "radiant", or "elegant". When joined, they do not create a new literal object but rather intensify and enrich the idea of beauty, merging into a single compound that conveys a more complete and vivid sense of "beauty" or "beautiful", as if stacking two similar shades of the same color to produce a deeper, more brilliant hue.