I got hit on by my x-ray technician the other week. She told me I was “beautiful inside and out”. I’ve always been insecure about my ribcage, so that was nice to hear.
But what does it mean if someone who has never actually seen your insides tells you that?
Beautiful Inside and Out – Meaning
When someone calls another person “beautiful inside and out” they’re saying that both their personality and their physical appearance are beautiful. The phrase means that someone is outwardly attractive but that they also have a pleasant personality and seem like a good person.
The Cambridge Dictionary defines “beautiful” as “having an attractive quality that gives pleasure to those who experience it or think about it”.
When we say “beautiful inside and out”, we don’t mean that we think someone’s intestines and lungs are good-looking. We’re referring to the qualities they possess, i.e., their traits, morals, and ideas.
Technically, you could also use it to talk about someone’s internal organs, but that might be a little creepy.
So, if a guy says that you’re “beautiful inside and out”, you can be assured that they mean it as a compliment. In fact, if anyone of any gender says it, they probably mean it to be a compliment. Unless they’re making a sarcastic comment, but that’s something you’ll have to figure out on your own.
Is “Beautiful Inside and Out” Grammatically Correct?
“Beautiful inside and out” is a grammatically correct statement and a common English idiom.
Be careful to avoid saying that someone is “beautiful inside out”. This would mean that you think they’re very attractive when their inside parts are on the outside and vice versa. This would definitely be creepy.
You could, however, describe a nice reversible hat as “beautiful inside out”.
How to Use “Beautiful Inside and Out” in a Sentence
Let’s look at some examples of how to use “beautiful inside and out” in a sentence:
- She’s so pretty that I want to hate her, but I can’t because she’s beautiful inside and out.
- I’m so happy that I get to spend the rest of my life with someone beautiful inside and out.
- Beautiful inside and out: this model spends their free time teaching robots to love.
- He’s definitely beautiful inside and out, but I wonder if he’d be beautiful inside out.
- I thought he was beautiful inside and out, but, apparently, it was only the outside part.
Beautiful Inside and Out – Synonyms
If you’re wondering what to call a person who is beautiful inside and out, you could consider the below variation on the phrase:
- As beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside.
Feel free to replace “they” with the appropriate pronoun. This is a common and popular variant of the phrase.
There are no other standard idioms that are a synonym for “beautiful inside and out”. However, you could switch the word “beautiful” for a variety of synonyms:
- Lovely
- Gorgeous
- Charming
- Delightful
- Pleasing
- Appealing
What to Reply to “You’re Beautiful Inside and Out”
If you’re happy that someone is calling you “beautiful inside and out”, one great response would be a simple “thank you”. It is a compliment, after all.
If you’re feeling particularly self-assured and a little bit cheeky, you could try responding with “I know”.
If you think that the person who’s said that you’re “beautiful inside and out” is being sarcastic, you could reply with a variety of creative insults, which we will decline to list here.
Basically, it depends on the context and it’s up to you. Have fun with it!
Martin holds a Master’s degree in Finance and International Business. He has six years of experience in professional communication with clients, executives, and colleagues. Furthermore, he has teaching experience from Aarhus University. Martin has been featured as an expert in communication and teaching on Forbes and Shopify. Read more about Martin here.
