Can you really only call men "handsome"?

Men do not like being called beautiful in the same way women do not like being called handsome.

Women call men “beautiful” all the time. Men generally do not call other men “beautiful” in non-romantic contexts when acknowledging attractiveness. It is also common for older generations to call women “handsome.” Today, this might be considered a sort of shy or bashful or “proper” way to call a woman attractive, and it is likely falling out of general usage.

Most women will feel insulted if they are called handsome.

Beautiful has some mildly feminine connotations. Handsome has some mildly masculine connotations. Many people still care about these things. Many others don't. Personally I think it's silly and am not at all offended if someone called me (a man) beautiful. But again, some people do care, so in general, if you don't know someone well enough to know their thoughts on conventional gender roles and associations, then yeah, it's probably safer to use beautiful for women and handsome for men.

Women used to be called "handsome" fairly often. You can see it in a lot of old books. But it fell out of fashion.  https://www.reddit.com/r/etymology/comments/d3lvc9/when_did_referring_to_women_as_handsome_fall_out/

You occasionally hear men described as “beautiful.” And more commonly boys will be described that way. But yes, it’s fairly uncommon. Just like calling women “handsome” is fairly unusual. (Though more common in the past)

Handsome is considered to be a masculine word while beautiful is treated as feminine. Have definitely met handsome women and beautiful men, both were happy to be referred to as such. In both cases, these were exceptions rather than the norm. In situations where you see a masculine woman and are comfortable with the person, you might use handsome to describe them. The same goes for a feminine man. For the most part, you will make people either uncomfortable or confused to mismatch the description and the gender.

You occasionally hear people describe someone as "a beautiful man," but more often than not this is intended in a humorous way. Yes, it is still generally the convention to use "handsome" as a descriptor for an attractive man.

Beautiful and handsome are almost describing two different things in my mind. A handsome woman would be attractive in a masculine way, and the opposite would be true for beautiful men. There is an implication that a beautiful man is attractive, but not as masculine. This can be taken as an insult, although I don’t think this is something that is universally felt. Although from what I’ve observed, women describing a man to other women sometimes say that a man is beautiful, in a strictly complimentary tone.

This is a cultural thing. Yes, for the most part you are correct. This obviously doesn't mean every single English speaking man and woman will share these views. but there's enough of them for it to be a good idea to stick to these gendered usage of these words.

"Handsome", "good-looking", "attractive" are all fine, "beautiful" and "gorgeous" are becoming more common (but you'd only say that if you were really laying it on thick, I'd avoid using those until you're more comfortable with the language), and most guys would interpret "pretty" as an insult - I'd only call a guy "pretty" if he was, like, James Charles

You can definitely tell a man he has beautiful eyes or beautiful lips or beautiful hair but if you call him beautiful, it does imply that he might be feminine. It’s very rare to ever call a woman handsome anymore.

I've definitely seen in older books a woman being described as 'handsome'. I usually associate it with a particular type of beauty - bolder, stronger features as opposed to more delicate features that might be described as 'pretty' or even 'beautiful'. I also think it was often used to describe a slightly older woman - not exclusively, though. But to me there was always a kind of implication that a 'handsome' type of beauty in a woman ages better, and it also has a dignified undertone IMO. I'd certainly be highly flattered to be described as 'handsome'! I think 'beautiful' for men is coming more into fashion than it used to be. It can have slightly feminine undertones, but in this day and age that's definitely not always seen as a bad thing!

I think,in most cases, handsome is a simple and direct way to express compliments,no matter when.

It depends. I would say in general 'beautiful' has a certain feminine connotation, so you might hear someone call a man beautiful if he has a somewhat androgynous quality. Like I'd think of the males elves in LOTR as beautiful rather than handsome.

‘Handsome’ tends to denote masculine beauty/attractiveness, and ‘beautiful/pretty’ feminine. I run in queer circles and there are plenty of masculine women there who love to be called handsome.

I'm not a native but i find it weird for no reason lol

In general, yes. If you call a man "pretty" for example, many people will immediately think you're making a comment about his sexual preferences - i.e. that he's *effeminate.* It is quite deeply engrained in our society that referring to a male by using typically-feminine words is a "subtle" way to *accuse* them of being gay. I want to make it perfectly clear: I am **not** saying that such judgements are right or wrong. I'm merely trying to offer advice to ESL students.

If you're a man and you call a man beautiful, he will probably think you're gay. If he wants to be seen as masculine he will feel insulted. Depending on where you are he might even be angry. If you're a woman and you call a man beautiful, he will probably think you believe he is gay. If he wants to be seen as masculine he will feel insulted. There may be some exceptions to this one in a purely athletic context. Generally in most contexts you don't call a man handsome or beautiful as a man unless you want to be seen as coming on to him. If you want to be complimentary you'd be better off complimenting some specific attribute and mixing in humor or alternate motive for the compliment. "Wow, nice beard, I've tried growing one but it was too itchy for me." "I like that haircut, what barber do you go to?"

Im a woman and i call men beautiful all the time. In my opinion beautiful is a neutral term but i’m probably in the minority or technically wrong. I’ve never had a man be insulted or offended by my calling him beautiful.

Handsome women are usually not attractive in a usual sense. But in a stronger way, like a horsey woman in my period british novels.

Women can be called handsome, but it means they are attractive in a masculine or noble way.

at least around younger people/ teenagers we’ve gone past the “feminine” and “masculine” connotations long ago. everyone can be called whatever they like. besides as far as i know beautiful has never been inherently for women

Handsome woman = kinda old fashioned way of saying a woman is attractive, but usually applied to older women. On an episode of Star Trek The Next Generation, Picard called a woman in a bar a “handsome woman” and got a drink thrown in his face.

Handsome was a term in English for a woman as well as a man but it’s not used now. When it was used it was very complimentary but but described a woman with a good looking but strong almost masculine face.

cute can be used for both, handsome is masculine, beautiful is feminine

The words imply different types of attractiveness, but not in a way I can really put into words, so really just whatever the person in question prefers to be called

I think of "handsome" applying to older women who maybe don't have the beauty of youth, but are still pleasant to look at. And maybe beautiful applies to a man who has a lot of youthful attractive features--not necessarily feminine, but boyish. Beautiful is also applied to men in the sense of inner beauty--generosity, kindness, compassion, etc.

There is something of a reassessment of masculinity happening in the US right now. Cruelty, domination and sexual violence is back in, any blurring of gender boundaries is definitely out. If you are talking to Americans, it might be better to tend on the safe side. Still, you can call a dog or a horse or a house handsome too!

Call a man whatever you like - handsome, beautiful, gorgeous, cute, heavenly, wonderful - adonic! Personally, I like "dreamboat", I suppose the adjective would be "dreamboatish"? "Dreamboat-like"? "Dreamboat-ic"? Perhaps "dreamboaty"?

It depends. Yes handsome is the safe choice but modern men are becoming less sensitive to getting "feminine" compliments. (The upset comes from misogamy & the idea that women/feminine = bad/lesser and so giving a man a compliment that "is for a woman" would be the same as calling him a woman or saying he is lesser as a man because he is like a woman)

Some people who are close and are fluid in how they present themselves may appreciate the compliment. But calling a woman "handsome is definitely not a go-to term. I don't know if people would automatically be offended, but it may confuse people.

I call my husband beautiful every day

Yeah for the most part at least, at least where I live, would be pretty strange to call a girl handsome haha.

"handsome" is the safest and most generic word you can use. "Good-looking" or "nice-looking" or "attractive" are all relatively safe. "Beautiful" is generally too strong. You can talk about a beautiful man, but to call a man beautiful would be risky. You would be expressing a risky amount of praise that may show that you like them too much for their comfort. "Cute" or "hot" or "sexy" are all also too strong and potentially too familiar, or in the case of "cute," too juvenile, depending. There are a bunch of older words too. "Studly" is old enough to be potentially funny, but not too old. Same with "hunky." (Both come from calling a man a "stud" or a "hunk.")

Beautiful is definitely used more for women, and handsome more for men. It is unusual to call a man beautiful or a woman handsome, but not unheard of. Just not common.

Eh… it all depends on context / setting. Much more acceptable now than decades ago.

I've been called Beautiful before, but generally its just handsome or cute. Theres not many descriptors for men that don't come off on peoples vague understanding of masculinity and seem insulting.

You can only call a "man" handsome.

You’ll hear it in older English like Pride and Prejudice, but it’s not common in modern usage

Some protagonists in Jane Austen are described as 'handsome'. Emma Woodhouse is handsome, clever and rich . A hundred years later, Wharton describes Lily Bart as handsome, and she is supposed to be very good looking. But today, it's coded more masculine. You could call a house or a nice piece of furniture handsome, especially if it's kind of solid and old-fashioned. You could also call lots of things beautiful. Or animals.

Calling a woman handsome reads a bit weirdly to me, but you can answer call a man beautiful.

No, you can also call women handsome and men beautiful.

Coming from the UK, I think it’s more common to describe a particular feature they have as beautiful, e.g. their skin. Whenever I speak of my friends as beautiful it’s normally a compliment of their character rather than of their physical appearance. “He’s a beautiful man” means “he’s a lovely person”. If in my ‘lads’ group-chat someone posts a picture of themself, it’s not uncommon for people to respond with “beautiful”. It’s meant as a genuine compliment but it carries a humorous tone because of its implied femininity. Generally speaking, I think most men prefer to be called handsome by women as it makes them feel more manly. I would never call a woman handsome for this very reason, it’s like telling them they look like a man. That’s not to say you shouldn’t use it this way as it’s quite a humorous line. Just be aware that’s it better said to someone who isn’t the target. “She’s a handsome looking woman, isn’t she?” could be quite a funny way of saying a woman looks manly. But again, be aware this is highly uncomplimentary.

Gorgeous is the word you can use. I learnt it from Taylor Swift.

If that man has some hands :)

Regardless of whether you're straight or gay, there are quite definitely some men in the world that are quite simply, beautiful.

Yes

Yes that is correct. Beautiful carries connotations of femininity. Handsome is more masculine. Despite the comments here, it is still the norm and if someone were to call me beautiful, I’d absolutely question it and probably wonder if my face is feminine. Outside America for obvious reasons, it is handsome for men, and beautiful for women.

A woman can be described as having handsome features, meaning she looks attractive but has masculine features on her face. But it's really an exclusive compliment reserved for men.

I just call everyone good-looking or focus on specific features I like.

Beautiful is feminine beauty while handsome is masculine beauty. That’s why.

I think if you called a woman handsome, it's not necessarily *offensive* per se but implies some level of masculinity on the part of the woman. It's significantly less common than men being called 'beautiful', which doesn't necessarily carry feminine connotations, but can refer to a certain kind of 'look' a man has.

"Beautiful" for a man is unusual in a way that makes it overtly romantic. "Handsome" for a woman is unusual in a way that makes you sound like someone's 170-year-old maiden aunt. 🙂