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表扬 (biǎo yáng) — to praise, to commend

Definition

Everyday word for praising someone's effort or behavior — common in school, work, and family. More formal than 夸奖, but less weighty than 表彰 (formal honor) or 歌颂 (extol).

verb
to praiseto commend

Examples

  • 表扬。
    Lǎo shī jīng cháng biǎo yáng rèn zhēn zuò zuò yè de xué shēng.
    The teacher often praises students who do their homework carefully.
  • 表扬。
    Mā ma biǎo yáng le wǒ zuó tiān de nǔ lì.
    Mom praised my efforts yesterday.
  • 表扬。
    Lǎo bǎn biǎo yáng le dà jiā de gōng zuò.
    The boss praised everyone's work.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

表biǎoshow
扬yángspread

表 means to show and 扬 means to spread; together they convey openly commending someone.

Characters in this word

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

The shape 表 pairs 衣 (garment) with 毛 (hair or feather), originally an outer garment.

Open 表 →

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 揚; 扬 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
昜
昜yáng揚
Same sound today

The traditional form 揚 uses 手 to show a hand-related action and 昜 to give the sound; the simplified 扬 is a later abbreviation.

Open 扬 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4HSK 2.0 Level 4Communication & Speech

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