The Art of Conversation 你說什麼 ? What do you say? NI WO TA UNIT 3A HOW TO COMPLIMENT AND HOW TO TAKE COMPLIMENTS IN CHINESE

What do you say? A: 你的中文很好！ A: 你的漢語不錯！ CHINESE CULTURE IN GENERAL HIGHLY VALUES MODESTY AND HUMILITY, SO STANDARD PHRASES FOR ACCEPTING COMPLIMENTS ARE: 哪裡, 哪裡 (NA3LI3, NA3LI3 – NOT AT ALL) OR 過獎了 (GUO4JIANG3 LE – I DON’T DESERVE IT), OR 你 太客氣 (NI3 TAI4 KE4QI - YOU ARE TOO KIND).

Instead of accepting compliments, Chinese people will often respond by rebuffing what you’ve said, and disagreeing with your compliment. This is intended as a polite gesture to appear to be humble – not to argue or disagree with you. Humility is the key to receiving a compliment in China. The idea is to ensure that you don’t sound as though you are boasting or being self-congratulatory by agreeing with something positive that is said about you.

You can say: B: 我學了一年，馬馬虎虎！ B: 不夠好！中文太難了！ B: 沒有沒有 ，漢語很難！ B: 謝謝，是嗎？ YOUNG PEOPLE NOWADAYS TEND TO ACCEPT COMPLIMENTS WITH A SIMPLE “THANK YOU” RATHER THAN THE TRADITIONAL WAY OF DEFLECTING OR REJECTING THEM.

What do you say? A: 這件衣服很漂亮！ B: 太舊了。很便宜。有點兒 短了。 不夠長。 YOU CAN ALWAYS ACCEPT THE COMPLIMENT BY SAYING SOMETHING “NEGATIVE” ABOUT THE OBJECT BEING PRAISED!

What do you say? A: 新書包很好看！ B: 太貴了也不夠大。 B: 很便宜，你也看看！ YOU CAN ALWAYS ACCEPT THE COMPLIMENT BY SAYING SOMETHING “NEGATIVE” ABOUT THE OBJECT BEING PRAISED!

What do you say? A: 你的東西都很好！ B: 沒有，都 ______ 。 YOU CAN ALWAYS ACCEPT THE COMPLIMENT BY SAYING SOMETHING “NEGATIVE” ABOUT THE OBJECT BEING PRAISED!

What do you say? A: 你的房間 _________ ！ B: 對， 可是不夠 _____ 。 YOU CAN ALWAYS ACCEPT THE COMPLIMENT BY SAYING SOMETHING “NEGATIVE” ABOUT THE OBJECT BEING PRAISED!

What do you say? A: 你的褲子很 _______ ！ B: 是嗎？ 太 _______ 了。 YOU CAN ALWAYS ACCEPT THE COMPLIMENT BY SAYING SOMETHING “NEGATIVE” ABOUT THE OBJECT BEING PRAISED!