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赏识 (shǎng shí) — to appreciate, to recognize the worth of (someone's talent, quality, or contribution)

Definition

A formal verb for recognizing and valuing someone's talent or worth. Unlike 欣赏 (enjoying beauty or qualities) or 鉴赏 (expert judging of art), 赏识 is specifically about a superior acknowledging a person's abilities.

verb
to appreciateto recognize the worth of (someone's talent, quality, or contribution)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 赏识。
    Gōng sī lǎo bǎn hěn shǎng shí tā tí chū de xīn fāng àn.
    The company boss greatly appreciated the new proposal he put forward.
  • 赏识。
    Zhè wèi lǎo shī hěn shǎng shí xué shēng men de nǔ lì.
    This teacher deeply appreciates the students' hard work.
  • 赏识，。
    Tā de cái huá zhōng yú bèi shǎng shí le, dà jiā dōu hěn gāo xìng.
    Her talent was finally recognized, and everyone was very happy.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

赏shǎngappreciate
识shírecognize

赏 and 识 both involve seeing value and recognizing it, so the word means to appreciate talent.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 賞; 赏 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèicowry
Sound part声符shēngfú
商
商shāng賞shǎng
Same sound today

The traditional form 賞 pairs 商 for sound with 貝, a cowry shell; the simplified 赏 is a shorthand.

Open 赏 →

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 識; 识 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánsay
Sound part声符shēngfú
戠
戠zhí識zhì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 識 pairs 言 (say) with 戠 as a sound part; the simplified 识 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 识 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Attitudes & Opinions

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.