to praise; to commend
HSK level
表扬 is written with 14 strokes (表: 8, 扬: 6). The animation replays automatically.
表扬 (biǎoyáng) is a verb meaning 'to praise or commend,' specifically praise given openly by someone of higher standing to someone below them for good behavior or performance.
A teacher 表扬s a student, a boss 表扬s an employee, a parent 表扬s a child. This built-in top-down direction is the crucial difference from English 'praise,' which is direction-neutral. You would not normally say you 表扬 your boss — that would sound presumptuous; you would use 称赞 (to commend) or 夸 (to praise, casual).
表扬 also implies public, often official recognition, as opposed to a quiet private compliment. As a noun it means 'commendation.' Its opposite in the school/workplace context is 批评 (pīpíng), 'to criticize.'
Note: Carries a top-down flavor: typically someone in authority (teacher, boss, parent) praising a subordinate. Praising an equal or a superior is 夸 or 称赞 instead.
Character by character
Memory hook: To 'show' (表) and 'raise up' (扬) someone's good deed in public — that's commending them.
老师表扬了他的作业。
Lǎoshī biǎoyáng le tā de zuòyè.
The teacher praised his homework.
neutral
他今天受到了老板的表扬。
Tā jīntiān shòudào le lǎobǎn de biǎoyáng.
He was praised by the boss today.
neutral
你做得很好，值得表扬。
Nǐ zuò de hěn hǎo, zhídé biǎoyáng.
You did very well; you deserve to be praised.
spoken
校长在会上公开表扬了这个班。
Xiàozhǎng zài huì shàng gōngkāi biǎoyáng le zhège bān.
The principal publicly commended this class at the meeting.
written
夸 is casual, spoken praise that works in any direction — you can 夸 a friend's cooking or your own kid. 表扬 is more formal and top-down (authority to subordinate). Use 夸 among equals and in everyday chat.
称赞 means 'to commend/laud' and is neutral about direction — you can 称赞 a superior's work. 表扬 specifically flows downward from authority; 称赞 is more formal and status-flexible.
Acquire it by listening
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