9 Simple Ways to Give Compliments in Chinese

Basic Compliment Structures

First and foremost, let’s take a look at the most common structures we use when complimenting someone.

Many of these follow the same general pattern: Subject + Adverb + Adjective. The adverb basically takes the place of the verb in this structure, does it sound a bit complicated? Don’t worry, it’s actually quite simple when you see it in practice:

Subject + Adverb + Adjective

……很……！very

(hěn)

---

……太……！too

(tài)

---

……真……！really

(zhēn)

---

……好……！so

(hǎo)

---

……相当……！quite

(xiāngdāng)

---

……特别……！specially

(tèbié)

---

……怎么那么……！Why so……!

(zěnme nàme)

The next two examples follow a slightly different structure:

Be sure to note that these last two put the adjective before the adverb.

Subject + Adjective + Adverb

……极了！extremely

(jí le)

---

……得不得了！exceedingly

(de bùdéliǎo)

General compliments

Now that we’ve covered the sentence structure for compliments and the different adverbs you can use, let’s look at some words you can use to compliment people on different things

Just like in English, there are many different words in Chinese to express how good something is. These can be really useful in everyday life because they’re so versatile and easily fit into the structures we just learned. Let’s look at some examples and their English equivalents.

好	(hǎo)	Good
了不起	(liǎobùqǐ)	Amazing
厉害	(lìhài)	Awesome
棒	(bàng)	Great
了不得	(liǎobùdé)	Terrific
优秀	(yōuxiù)	Excellent
牛	(niú)	Awesome
完美	(wánměi)	Perfect

e.g.

您真了不起！(Nǐn zhēn liǎobùqǐ!)
You are terrific!

你儿子好棒！(Nǐ érzi hǎo bàng!)
Your son is great!

你穿这身衣服美极了！(Nǐ chuān zhè shēn yīfu měi jíle!)
You look gorgeous in this dress!

你怎么那么有型！(Nǐ zěnme nàme yǒu xíng!)
Why are you so stylish!

Complimenting Someone’s Appearance

If you want to compliment someone’s physical appearance, you probably want to use adjectives that are more descriptive. Let’s go over some Chinese adjectives that you can use to tell someone how beautiful or handsome they look.

漂亮	(piàoliang)	Beautiful
好看	(hǎokàn)	Good looking
帅	(shuài)	handsome
酷	(kù)	Cool
可爱	(kě’ài)	Adorable
优雅	(yōuyǎ)	Elegant
有型	(yǒu xíng)	Stylish
美	(měi)	Gorgeous

e.g.

你的新发型太好看了！(Nǐ de xīn fǎxíng tài hǎokàn le!)
Your new hairstyle is so beautiful!

你好优雅啊！(Nǐ hǎo yōuyǎ a! )
You are so elegant!

你穿这身衣服美极了！(Nǐ chuān zhè shēn yīfu měi jíle!)
You look gorgeous in this dress!

你怎么那么有型！(Nǐ zěnme nàme yǒu xíng!)
Why are you so stylish!

Compliment Someone’s Personality or Behavior

While compliments related to physical appearance are nice to hear, compliments about a person’s personal character or work are equally important. Here are a few words you can use when you want to compliment someone’s personality:

乖	(guāi)	Well-behaved
聪明	(cōngmíng)	Clever
靠谱	(kào pǔ)	Reliable
有意思	(yǒuyìsi)	Interesting
精彩	(jīngcǎi)	Wonderful
干得漂亮	(Gàn de piàoliang!)	Good job!
做得好	(Zuò de hǎo)	Well done!
能干	(nénggàn)	Capable

e.g.

你女儿特别乖！(Nǐ nǚ’ér tèbié guāi!)
Your daughter is really well-behaved!

你真靠谱！(Nǐ zhēn kào pǔ!)
You are so reliable!

你的演讲精彩极了！(Nǐ de yǎnjiǎng jīngcǎi jíle!)
Your speech is wonderful!

你的想法很有意思！(Nǐ de xiǎngfǎ hěn yǒuyìsi!)
Your idea is very interesting!