Difference between 好看、美丽 and 漂亮 All these words are used to describe beauty but which one is used for human, and which is used for things?
The differences between 好看, 美丽 and 漂亮 just like that differences between good-looking, beautiful, pretty, it's so hard to distinguish... well, just a joke. The three words can be used for a good-looking person. 好看 may be used for not only a person, but also a book: 书很好看, a movie: 电影很好看, or other artistic works. If it's used for praising someone's looking, the degree is lower than 美丽 and 漂亮. Both 美丽 and 漂亮 are synonymical in almost all cases: 美丽的新娘 and 漂亮的新娘 are almost the same. 美丽 can also be used for landscape: 美丽的风景, some place: 美丽的上海, 美丽的家乡, etc. 漂亮 is generally used for persons only, also used as an adverb rarely, for example: well done means 干得好, you may say 干得漂亮 as well.