Comparing "baohu" and "weihu"

保护 and 维护 both are verbs that are related to safety and preservation and in some cases can be used interchangeably. Yet, for the most part, 保护 and 维护 are used very differently and in entirely different contexts. First off, 保护 is used in more informal settings, whereas 维护 is used in formal settings. Second, 美丽 is used in formal settings, whereas 漂亮 is used in informal settings. While both words can be used interchangeably to praise a woman or girl’s physical appearance, when used as such they portray different meaning (美丽 meaning elegant vs. 漂亮 meaning pretty or good-looking). A key difference between these two is 美丽 is often used to describe abstract thoughts or ideas (a story, a legend, etc.), whereas 漂亮 is often used to describe concrete actions or movements (in sports, a performance, a speech, etc.).

	美丽 (měilì)	漂亮 (piàoliang)
Meaning	beautiful, elegant	beautiful, pretty, good-looking
Part of Speech	adjective	adjective
Formality	formal	informal