"Cute" generally means pretty or beautiful. In my experience, it usually is used with somebody or something smaller, but this is not always true. If a girl is short and pretty, she would almost certainly be described as cute. Any baby (human or animal) would be described as cute unless they were actually ugly. ("Oh it's a kitten! Isn't it cute!") One observation: Very few women think they are as pretty as other people think they are. This is certainly true in China, where humbleness is a prime virtue. One more meaning of "cute" - It is also a slang term to describe somebody who is outwardly very polite or innocent, but is actually lying or being insulting. "What did you do with my pen. It was just here a second ago." "Why, I have no idea what could have happened to it!" "Don't get cute with me - what did you do with it!?" I am sure that in your case, that is not how it is being used.

Western: Cute is a good thing. Eastern: Cute isn't a good thing.

Guys say this to girls in order to pay them a compliment about their looks. Women over 30 are never referred to as 'cute'.

It depends really on what the occasion was,when a certain guy told you that. You could be both cute and beautiful. 'Cute' could also refer to a certain attitude of yours,not necessarily your physical looks. If you acted in a delicate way or smiled in a cheerful way,some might perceive your action as 'cute'. Anyways if someone tells you " you are cute "they don't mean you are not beautiful, there is no relation between being the former and necessarily therefore not being the later. You can also feel what the guy says, his nonverbal part of communicating this message would be probably sensed by you, his admiration, the way he looks you in the eye,will indicate how he perceives you. In all cases it is a compliment and a positive nice gesture, so don't worry if he didn't tell you 'you are cute,beautiful,gorgeous and irresistable' all at a time :P

Well...I think sometimes "cute"doesn't always mean you're cute as a child or you're innocent,naive.It can also refer to"you're beautiful".