夸赞 (kuā zàn) — to speak highly of, to praise, to commend

Definition

夸赞 means to praise or commend someone warmly for their work, behavior, or achievements. It is more emphatic and verbal than 赞扬, which is more formal and often used in writing or for official recognition.

verb
to speak highly ofto praiseto commend

Examples

  • 夸赞。
    Lǎo shī jīng cháng zài kè táng shàng kuā zàn xué shēng de jìn bù.
    The teacher often praises students' progress in class.
  • 夸赞。
    Guān zhòng duì zhè bù diàn yǐng de yǎn jì yí zhì kuā zàn.
    The audience unanimously commended the acting in this film.
  • 夸赞。
    Tā de nǔ lì dé dào le dà jiā de kuā zàn.
    His hard work was praised by everyone.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

夸kuāpraise
赞zànpraise

'夸' and '赞' both express praise, so together they mean to speak highly of someone.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
大大dàman
Sound part声符shēngfú
于
于yú夸kuā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

夸 is built from 大, a standing man, above 于, which gives the sound.

Open 夸 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 贊; 赞 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 赞 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (称赞, 赞赏) it is 讚; in others (赞成, 赞同) it is 贊.

  • 㚘㚘㚘
  • 貝貝bèimoney

This note is about the traditional form 贊. It pairs 㚘 with 貝 (money) for helping with money; the simplified 赞 is a shorthand.

Open 赞 →

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