过奖

• Pinyin: guò jiǎng
• Hanzi breakdown: 过 = beyond, excessive; 奖 = 大 + 将 — to commend or award

Meaning

To over-praise; to flatter excessively — a polite, self-deprecating response to a compliment.

A set phrase used when someone praises you and you wish to appear modest by saying the praise is more than you deserve. Equivalent to 'you flatter me' or 'you're too kind' in English. Predominantly used in formal or semi-formal speech as a social courtesy.

Examples

1. 您过奖了，我不过是尽了自己的本分而已。 You’re too kind—I just did what I was supposed to do.
2. 听到前辈如此称赞，她连忙说过奖了，自己还需要继续努力。 Hearing such praise from a senior, she quickly said, “You’re too kind,” adding that she still needed to keep working hard.
3. 大家过奖，这次成果是整个团队共同努力的结果，不是我一个人的功劳。 You’re too kind—this achievement is the result of the whole team’s effort, not my credit alone.

Usage Guide

Context: social, professional, modesty

Tone: humble

Do Say

• 您过奖了，我还有很多需要向您学习的地方。(You flatter me — there is still much I need to learn from you.)
• 过奖过奖，这只是我们团队应做的事情。(You're too kind — this is simply what our team is supposed to do.)

Don't Say

• 他过奖我写得好 — 过奖 is used as a standalone fixed response, not in third-person constructions; say 他夸我写得好 instead

Origin & History

过 (excessively, beyond due measure) + 奖 (to praise, to award)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal