赞不绝口

• Pinyin: zàn bù jué kǒu
• Hanzi breakdown: 赞 = 夅 + 贝 (to commend/praise); 不绝 = unceasing/without stop; 口 = mouth

Meaning

To praise without stopping; to be full of unstinting praise. To speak highly of something in an uninterrupted stream of admiring comments.

A four-character idiom describing enthusiastic, continuous praise. Common in restaurant reviews, cultural criticism, and descriptions of extraordinary skill or achievement. Implies genuine, heartfelt admiration rather than empty flattery or perfunctory compliments.

Examples

1. 宾客们品尝了这道传统名菜后，无不赞不绝口，纷纷向厨师讨要食谱。 After tasting this famous traditional dish, the guests couldn't stop praising it and kept asking the chef for the recipe.
2. 这部小说出版后迅速引发广泛关注，文学界对其精巧的叙事结构赞不绝口。 After it was published, the novel quickly attracted widespread attention, and the literary world couldn't stop praising its sophisticated narrative structure.
3. 她的现场演奏技惊四座，令现场观众赞不绝口，掌声经久不息。 Her live performance amazed everyone, and the audience couldn't stop praising it as the applause went on and on.

Usage Guide

Context: food, art, performance, achievement

Tone: admiring

Do Say

• 参观团考察完这家企业的智能生产线后，对其领先的技术水平和管理水准赞不绝口。(After inspecting the company's intelligent production line, the visiting delegation was full of praise for its leading technological level and management standards.)
• 美食评论家对这家餐厅的招牌菜赞不绝口，称其用料考究、技法精湛、口味独特。(The food critic heaped unstinting praise on the restaurant's signature dish, calling its ingredients refined, its technique exquisite, and its flavor unique.)

Don't Say

• 赞不绝口地提出批评 — 赞不绝口 can only describe unreserved praise; it cannot be combined with criticism or negative evaluation in any form

Origin & History

赞 (to praise) + 不绝 (unceasing) + 口 (mouth) — a mouth that will not stop praising

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal