恭维 (gōng wéi) — to flatter, to butter up (often insincerely) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

恭维 is to flatter insincerely, often to gain favor — unlike 表扬 or 称赞, which praise someone genuinely for real merit.

verb

to flatterto butter up (often insincerely)

Examples

恭维，。
Tā zǒng ài gōng wéi lǐng dǎo, xiǎng dé dào tí bá.
He always flatters the leadership, hoping to get promoted.
，。
Tā suī rán zuǐ shàng shuō gōng wéi huà, xīn lǐ qí shí kàn bù qǐ nǐ.
Though she says flattering words, in her heart she actually looks down on you.
恭维，。
Nǐ bié gōng wéi wǒ le, wǒ zhī dào zì jǐ bù xíng.
Stop flattering me — I know I'm not good enough.

Origin

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

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

共

共gòng恭gōng

Same sound today

恭 has 心, meaning heart, and 共, read gòng.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 維; 维 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìthread

Sound part声符shēngfú

唯

唯wéi維wéi

Same sound today

In the traditional form 維, 糸 marks a thread meaning and 唯 provides the sound; the simplified 维 is a later shortened shape.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Communication & Speech

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