Most people like hearing compliments, and they allow you to express your liking for someone and provide an opportunity for people to open up to each other. When they’re heard in a sincere manner, people feel appreciated. With that being said, when you have the opportunity to compliment someone, do it. It’s the key to their heart!
There are many kinds of compliments in Chinese, and they need to be used in different situations. In addition, there’s a wide spectrum of tones and ways to say them. Don’t worry, though; they’re not difficult at all. As long as you follow our guide, you can become a master of giving Chinese compliments!
Table of Contents
- Complimenting Someone’s Look
- Complimenting Someone’s Work
- Complimenting Someone’s Skills
- Other Compliments
- How to Make Your Compliments Sound More Sincere
- What to Expect After Giving Compliments
- Conclusion
1. Complimenting Someone’s Look
1-
Example situation: Suppose your friend is dressing up today for a party, and you think they look very nice.
In Chinese: 你今天穿得怎么这么好看。
Pinyin: Nǐ jīn tiān chuān de zěn me zhè me hǎo kàn.
In English: “Your outfit looks great today.”
2-
Example situation: Suppose your friend did her makeup perfectly today.
In Chinese: 你今天的妆容好精致啊。
Pinyin: Nǐ jīn tiān de zhuāng róng hǎo jīng zhì a.
In English: “Your makeup looks great today.”
3-
Example situation: Suppose a guy is admiring the girl he likes and thinks she looks pretty while smiling.
In Chinese: 你笑起来可真美。
Pinyin: Nǐ xiào qǐ lái kě zhēn měi.
In English: “You are so pretty when you are smiling.”
4-
Example situation: Suppose your friend is wearing a suit today for a presentation, and he looks very nice in the suit.
In Chinese: 你这身西装穿起来非常绅士。
Pinyin: Nǐ zhè shēn xī zhuāng chuān qǐ lái fēi cháng shēn shì.
In English: “Your suit makes you look like such a gentleman.”
Compliment your dream girl with the best you’ve got!
5-
Example situation: Suppose your relative just had her baby, and you want to say something nice about the baby. You happen to notice that her eyes are pretty.
In Chinese: 瞧这双大眼睛，多么炯炯有神啊。
Pinyin: Qiáo zhè shuāng dà yǎn jīng, duō me jiǒng jiǒng yǒu shén a.
In English: “Look at these big eyes, how bright and full of life.”
6-
Example situation: Suppose your friend is going to have a football game, and you see that he looks very confident and ready for it.
In Chinese: 你今天可真是神采飞扬。
Pinyin: Nǐ jīn tiān kě zhēn shì shén cǎi fēi yáng.
In English: “Today you seem so full of spirit.”
2. Complimenting Someone’s Work
7-
Example situation: Suppose your teammate in a basketball match just scored for your team.
In Chinese: 干得漂亮。
Pinyin: Gàn de piào liang.
In English: “Good job.”
8-
Example situation: Suppose you did something good for your company and your boss wants to compliment you in front of other people so that they will learn from you.
In Chinese: 你是大家的楷模。
Pinyin: Nǐ shì dà jiā de kǎi mó.
In English: “You are everyone’s role model.”
When we have done something with genuine effort, we deserve to be appreciated.
9-
Example situation: Suppose your classmate offered a very creative and smart idea for a group project.
In Chinese: 你可真是个有想法的人。
Pinyin: Nǐ kě zhēn shì gè yǒu xiǎng fǎ de rén.
In English: “You have some good ideas.”
10-
Example situation: Suppose your friends were confused about what to do, and you offered a great idea that everyone liked.
In Chinese: 你简直就是我们的智多星。
Pinyin: Nǐ jiǎn zhí jiù shì wǒ men de zhì duō xīng.
In English: “You deserve to be called the most resourceful person among us.”
11-
Example situation: Suppose your friend taught you how to make a dish that seemed pretty hard for you.
In Chinese: 你这也太厉害了吧。
Pinyin: Nǐ zhè yě tài lì hai le ba.
In English: “I can’t believe you are so great at this.”
3. Complimenting Someone’s Skills
12-
Example situation: Suppose you’re asking your friend what to wear for a date and she gives you a good idea of what to wear.
In Chinese: 你的品味也太好了。
Pinyin: Nǐ de pǐn wèi yě tài hǎo le.
In English: “Your taste is so good.”
13-
Example situation: Suppose your friend invited you over to his house and cooked something delicious for you.
In Chinese: 你做饭好棒啊。
Pinyin: Nǐ zuò fàn hǎo bàng a.
In English: “You are a fantastic cook.”
14-
Example situation: Suppose you’re unsure about your future, and your friend showed great wisdom and helped you understand what you should pursue.
In Chinese: 你太有智慧了。
Pinyin: Nǐ tài yǒu zhì huì le.
In English: “You are such a wise person.”
15-
Example situation: Suppose you just saw your friend’s new photo shots on social media; you think they look great and want to say something nice.
In Chinese: 你照相技术好牛啊。
Pinyin: Nǐ zhào xiàng jì shù hǎo niú a.
In English: “Your photography skill is amazing.”
How are your photography skills?
16-
Example situation: Suppose you just asked your friend for life advice, and what he told you was very helpful.
In Chinese: 你有着成熟的思想。
Pinyin: Nǐ yǒu zhe chéng shú de sī xiǎng.
In English: “You have an extremely mature mind.”
17-
Example situation: Suppose you asked your friend about philosophy, and he discussed something deep.
In Chinese: 你的见解很有深度。
Pinyin: Nǐ de jiàn jiě hěn yǒu shēn dù.
In English: “Your ideas are very insightful.”
18-
Example situation: Suppose your friend just told a very funny joke.
In Chinese: 你可真是富有幽默感啊。
Pinyin: Nǐ kě zhēn shì fù yǒu yōu mò gǎn a.
In English: “You are so full of a sense of humor.”
4. Other Compliments
19-
Example situation: Suppose your friend showed great talent for singing and you enjoy people who sing well.
In Chinese: 你简直就是我的偶像。
Pinyin: Nǐ jiǎn zhí jiù shì wǒ de ǒu xiàng.
In English: “You are like an idol to me.”
20-
Example situation: Suppose your friend received a high test score without even studying, but you received a lower score after studying so much.
In Chinese: 我可真是羡慕死你了。
Pinyin: Wǒ kě zhēn shì xiàn mù sǐ nǐ le.
In English: “I envy you so much that I could die for it.”
We should all strive to become a better person.
21-
Example situation: Suppose your friend is a very hardworking person, which motivates you to work hard.
In Chinese: 是你让我想成为一个更好的人。
Pinyin: Shì nǐ ràng wǒ xiǎng chéng wéi yī gè gèng hǎo de rén.
In English: “You make me a better person.”
22-
Example situation: Suppose your friend just helped you with a difficult math problem that you couldn’t solve, so you want to show your admiration.
In Chinese: 你可真让我自叹不如啊。
Pinyin: Nǐ kě zhēn ràng wǒ zì tàn bù rú a.
In English: “You are so good that it makes me feel like I am so far from your excellence.”
5. How to Make Your Compliments Sound More Sincere
Sometimes, compliments can sound pretentious if they’re not given properly, which can make the effect backfire. We want to express our compliments in a sincere manner to make the other person feel comfortable accepting the compliment. This is a great way to enhance a relationship.
The compliments in Chinese that we listed here are all in a sincere tone. If you notice, we sometimes add particles such as 啊 (a) and 呀 (ya) to emphasize the tone and make it sound more friendly. Moreover, you can add more personal details to specify why you want to offer the compliment while avoiding vague Chinese compliments such as 挺好 (tǐng hǎo) or 不错 (bú cuò), meaning “It’s good” or “Not bad.” Phrases like these don’t provide enough depth to the compliment.
6. What to Expect After Giving Compliments
Unlike in Western culture, where you’ll probably prefer to directly accept the compliment and say “Thank you,” the Chinese response to compliments is different. Chinese people like to shy away from compliments and appear to be modest. Traditionally, accepting a compliment without being self-deprecating would be impolite. But now, more and more people are learning to reply to compliments with a “Thank you.”
If you ever receive a compliment in Chinese, don’t panic! Here, we’ve prepared a list of phrases you can use to respond to compliments in an appropriate manner.
1-
Example situation: Suppose you’re receiving a compliment from your friend, and your friend’s skill on the matter is not bad, so you compliment your friend back by saying that the two of you are on the same level.
In Chinese: 彼此彼此。
Pinyin: Bǐ cǐ bǐ cǐ.
In English: “You are just the same as I am.”
2-
Example situation: Suppose you just showed that you have good skills in something, and you want to seem modest. You can say that your skill is poor.
In Chinese: 献丑了。
Pinyin: Xiàn chǒu le.
In English: “Sorry to show my poor skills.”
3-
Example situation: Suppose you’re receiving compliments from your friend, but you want to seem modest.
In Chinese: 哪有。
Pinyin: Nǎ yǒu
In English: “Not at all.”
4-
Example situation: Suppose you’re receiving compliments from your friend, but you want to seem modest.
In Chinese: 我还差得远呢。
Pinyin: Wǒ hái chà dé yuǎn ne
In English: “I’m still far from that.”
7. Conclusion
Want to win a girl’s heart with a good compliment? Do you feel awkward when you receive a compliment in Chinese? Now you’ve found all the answers in this article. As long as you keep practicing, you’ll definitely be able to produce a healthy social life, knowing when and how to say the right compliments.
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