褒扬 (bāo yáng) — to praise, to commend (formal or official context)

Definition

A formal/written verb meaning 'to praise or commend' someone for a specific achievement — stronger and more official than everyday 表扬, which is used for routine classroom or workplace feedback.

verb
to praiseto commend (formal or official context)

Examples

  • 褒扬。
    Gōng sī bāo yáng le tā de tū chū gòng xiàn.
    The company commended his outstanding contributions.
  • 褒扬。
    Zhè wèi lǎo shī jīng cháng bāo yáng xué shēng de jìn bù.
    This teacher often praises students' progress.
  • 褒扬。
    Zhèng fǔ gōng kāi bāo yáng le nà xiē jiàn yì yǒng wéi de rén.
    The government publicly praised those who acted bravely for justice.

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.

褒bāopraise
扬yángcommend

褒 and 扬 both carry praise, so together they express commendation.

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
衣衣yī
Sound part声符shēngfú
保
保bǎo褒bāo
Same sound today

褒 combines 衣, a meaning part, with 保, a sound part.

Open 褒 →

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 →

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