I’m a big fan of flattery. I like to see people smile, and I like the idea that I added a little joy to their day, so naturally I like having an arsenal of phrases to use in Chinese to do just that.

In Chinese, complimenting people works around the same way it does in English, give or take a few cultural nuances, and below you’ll find ## phrases to help you compliment somebody in Taiwan.

First, here’s the way you say, “to compliment” or a “compliment” in Chinese.

稱讚

ㄔㄥ ㄗㄢˋ

chēng zàn

我試著稱讚他。

ㄨㄛˇ ㄕˋ ㄓㄜ˙ ㄔㄥ ㄗㄢˋ ㄊㄚ。

wǒ shìzhe chēngzàn tā

I tried to compliment him.

When you compliment somebody or somebody compliments you, the response you may hear most often is 哪裡，哪裡 (ㄋㄚˇ ㄌㄧˇ， ㄋㄚˇ ㄌㄧˇ/nǎlǐ， nǎlǐ)， which means “where, where?” and is just a humble way to respond to a compliment.

You can think of it as our English version of saying “Nooooo, that isn’t true”.

SKILL

1.) 你很棒！

nǐ hěn bàng

ㄋㄧˇ ㄏㄣˇ ㄅㄤˋ

This can be used as a general compliment when someone has done something impressive, like cooked a good dinner, drawn a beautiful picture or learned a language.

2.) 你很厲害！

ㄋㄧˇ ㄏㄣˇ ㄌㄧˋ ㄏㄞˋ

nǐ hěn lìhài

You’re awesome!

3.) 他煮飯很厲害!

ㄊㄚ ㄓㄨˇㄈㄢˋㄏㄣˇ ㄌㄧˋㄏㄞˋ

tā zhǔfàn hěn lìhài

His cooking is really awesome!

4.) 他數學很厲害。

ㄊㄚ ㄕㄨˋㄒㄩㄝˊ ㄏㄣˇ ㄌㄧˋ ㄏㄞˋ

tā shùxué hěn lìhài

His math skills are really awesome!

5.) 你很優秀！

ㄋㄧˇ ㄏㄣˇ ㄧㄡ ㄒㄧㄡˋ！

nǐ hěn yōuxiù！

You are outstanding!

6.) 他是個很優秀的醫生。

ㄊㄚ ㄕˋ ㄍㄜ˙ ㄏㄣˇ ㄧㄡ ㄒㄧㄡˋㄉㄜ˙ ㄧ ㄕㄥ。

tā shì ge hěn yōuxiù de yīshēng。

As a doctor, he is very good.

What’s the difference between 厲害and 優秀？

While 厲害 （ㄌㄧˋ ㄏㄞˋ／lìhài) can be used for things or people, 優秀（ㄧㄡ ㄒㄧㄡˋ/yōuxiù), can only be used to talk about people who are successful in their respective fields. 

7.) 你家小孩很優秀!

ㄋㄧˇ ㄐㄧㄚ ㄒㄧㄠˇ ㄏㄞˊ ㄏㄣˇ ㄧㄡ ㄒㄧㄡˋ

nǐ jiā xiǎohái hěn yōuxiù

Your Xiao Hai is so outstanding!

When you give compliments about children using 優秀 （ㄧㄡ ㄒㄧㄡˋ/yōuxiù), you’re also saying that they’re successful 成功 (ㄔㄥˊㄍㄨㄥ／chénggōng).

They might have become really outstanding in their field, like an engineer or a famous scientist.

Here’s an important distinction though.

People who are older and who have a higher seniority can say 你很優秀 （ㄋㄧˇ ㄏㄣˇ ㄧㄡ ㄒㄧㄡˋ/nǐ hěn yōuxiù) to younger, less experienced people in a lower position as a compliment.

If you want to compliment someone senior to you, make sure to use 成功(ㄔㄥˊㄍㄨㄥ／chénggōng)..

8.) 你很聰明！

ㄋㄧˇ ㄏㄣˇ ㄘㄨㄥ ㄇㄧㄥˊ

nǐ hěn cōngmíng

You are so smart!

APPEARANCE

9.) 你很漂亮

ㄋㄧˇ ㄏㄣˇ ㄆㄧㄠˋ ㄌㄧㄤˋ

nǐ hěn piàoliàng

You’re so pretty.

This one is just for the ladies.

10.) 你很帥

ㄋㄧˇ ㄏㄣˇ ㄕㄨㄞˋ

nǐ hěn shuài

You’re so handsome.

This one is just for the guys.

11.) 你的氣色很好

ㄋㄧˇ ㄉㄜ˙ ㄑㄧˋ ㄙㄜˋ ㄏㄣˇ ㄏㄠˇ

nǐ de qìsè hěn hǎo

Your complexion looks really good.

This is also a great way to start small talk when you see an acquaintance on the street.

12.) 我喜歡你的裙子

ㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧˇ ㄏㄨㄢ ㄋㄧˇ ㄉㄜ˙ ㄑㄩㄣˊ ㄗ˙

wǒ xǐhuān nǐ de qúnzi

I like your skirt.

You can expect to hear a response like “謝謝，我在 (地方) 買的(ㄒㄧㄝˋ ㄒㄧㄝ˙， ㄨㄛˇ ㄗㄞˋ ( ㄉㄧˋ ㄈㄤ˙) ㄇㄞˇ ㄉㄜ˙ /xièxie, wǒ zài (dìfang) mǎi de)” if one girl compliments another girl’s clothes.

13.) 你今天很漂亮。

ㄋㄧˇ ㄐㄧㄣ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄏㄣˇ ㄆㄧㄠˋ ㄌㄧㄤˋ

nǐ jīntiān hěn piàoliàng

Today you look really pretty.

Compared to the first phrase, this phrase just means that today the person looks especially beautiful.

14.) 你今天穿得真漂亮。

ㄋㄧˇ ㄐㄧㄣ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄔㄨㄢ ㄉㄜˊ ㄓㄣ ㄆㄧㄠˋ ㄌㄧㄤˋ

nǐ jīntiān chuān dé zhēn piàoliàng

The way you dressed today is really pretty.

15.) 你好猛!

ㄋㄧˇㄏㄠˇㄇㄥˇ

nǐ hǎo měng

You are mighty! 

This is often said between guys although girls say it, too.

FOOD

Try complimenting the local food. Trust me, the locals will be delighted.

16.) 你們這邊的海鮮都好新鮮呢!

ㄋㄧˇ ㄇㄣ˙ ㄓㄜˋ ㄅㄧㄢ ㄉㄜ˙ ㄏㄞˇ ㄒㄧㄢ ㄉㄡ ㄏㄠˇ ㄒㄧㄣ ㄒㄧㄢ ㄋㄜ˙

nǐmen zhèbiān de hǎixiān dōu hǎo xīnxiān ne!

Your seafood is all so fresh!

PETS 

17.) 你家的狗好漂亮!

ㄋㄧˇ ㄐㄧㄚ ㄉㄜ˙ ㄍㄡˇ ㄏㄠˇ ㄆㄧㄠˋ ㄌㄧㄤˋ

nǐ jiāde gǒu hǎo piàoliàng!

18.) 好可愛

ㄏㄠˇ ㄎㄜˇ ㄞˋ

hǎo kě ài

How cute!

 Have any compliments to add or questions to ask? Leave ’em in the comments below!

Note of gratitude: This post wouldn’t be possible without the help of YuYuan, our native Taiwanese speaker. Read more about her here.