First use appears c. 1630 or c. 1642.
- IPA(key): /ˈbjuːti ɪz ɪn ðiː aɪ əv ðiː bɪˈhəʊldə/
beauty is in the eye of the beholder
- Different people have different views on what is beautiful; beauty is subjective.
1642, Charles Sorel, La Maison des Jeux, page 57:He is referring to the relativity of "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" an idea that became popular in the 18th cent.
people have different ideas of what is beautiful
- Arabic: الْجَمَالُ فِي عَيْنِ النَّاظِرِ (al-jamālu fī ʕayni n-nāẓiri), (please verify) الْجَمَالُ مَقْرُون بِعَيْنِ الْمُلَاحِظِ (al-jamālu maqrūn biʕayni l-mulāḥiẓi)
- Moroccan Arabic: كل خنفوس عند امه غزال (kulla ḵanfūs ʕand ummu ḡzāl), القرد فعين امه غزال (el-qard f-ʕīn ummu ḡzāl)
- Bulgarian: красота́та е в очи́те на гле́дащия (krasotáta e v očíte na glédaštija)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 情人眼裡出西施／情人眼里出西施 (zh) (qíngrén yǎnlǐ chū Xī Shī), 情人眼中出西施 (qíngrén yǎnzhōng chū Xīshī)
- Czech: krása tkví v oku pozorovatele
- Danish: skønhed ligger i øjet der ser
- Dutch: de schoonheid der vrijster ligt in 's vrijers oog
- Estonian: ilu on vaataja silmades
- Finnish: kauneus on katsojan silmissä
- French: il n’y a point de laides amours
- German: die Schönheit liegt im Auge des Betrachters (de)
- Hindi: खूबसूरती देखने वालों के आँखों में होती है (khūbsūrtī dekhne vālõ ke ā̃khõ mẽ hotī hai)
- Hungarian: a szépség a szemlélő szemében van
- Irish: nochtann grá gnaoi, folaíonn grá gráin, is geal leis an bhfiach dubh a ghearrcach féin
- Italian: la bellezza sta negli occhi di chi guarda
- Korean: 아름다움은 그것을 보는 사람 눈에 달려있다 (areumdaumeun geugeoseul boneun saram nune dallyeoitda)
- Malay:
- Jawi: ايلوق بوروق د مات اورڠ تقکن سام د مات کيت
- Rumi: elok buruk di mata orang takkan sama di mata kita
- Polish: nie to ładne, co ładne, ale to co się komu podoba
- Portuguese: a beleza está nos olhos de quem vê (pt) (Brazil), a beleza está nos olhos de quem a vê (Portugal)
- Romanian: frumusețea este în ochii privitorului
- Russian: не по хоро́шу мил, а по ми́лу хоро́ш (ne po xoróšu mil, a po mílu xoróš)
- Slovak: rása je v oku pozorovateľa
- Slovene: vsake oči imajo svojega malarja
- Swedish: skönheten ligger i betraktarens ögon
- Turkish: güzellik bakanın gözündedir
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- Gregory Y. Titelman (1996) Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings, →ISBN, page 21
- Jennifer Speake, editor (2015), “BEAUTY is in the eye of the beholder”, in Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs, 6th edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 15.
