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I am translating a text from Russian. The text, in one place, describes a person of Asian origin through the eyes of a European Russian young teenager in the late 80s (so not a politically correct time). A word is used that refers to the Asian-specific narrow eyes in a way that is colloquial, but not insulting, and in fact can denote a kind of exotic beauty.

(For those familiar with Russia, the word is "раскосый" and the person is the Korean-Russian singer Viktor Tsoi).

The only English word I could find was "slant-eyed", but this seems to be an outright insult. So how do I convey the meaning correctly? Perhaps I want something similar to the way you use "ebony" for a black person, but for an Asian person and ideally referring to the eyes.

Laurel
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Mikhail Ramendik
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    Talk about epicanthic folds. – Dan Bron Nov 08 '17 at 13:28
  • "Epicanthic folds" is the scientific term. In order to convey the idea of attractiveness or beauty, you'd really need an additional adjective tacked onto the scientific term. Example: "Madelein Fu has a particularly exotic epicanthic fold in her eyes," or something similar. – rhetorician Nov 08 '17 at 13:38
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    Almond-shaped.. – Steven Littman Nov 08 '17 at 14:52
  • It's going to be a bit sticky. Physical characteristics may seem objective but if used in a non flattering light may take on disparaging nuances. So it depends – Mitch Nov 08 '17 at 15:19

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