赞美

• Pinyin: zàn měi
• Hanzi breakdown: 赞 = 夅 + 贝 (to commend/support); 美 = 羊 + 大 (beauty/goodness)

Meaning

To praise; to extol; to speak highly of something's beauty, virtue, or excellence. Used for aesthetic appreciation or moral commendation.

Carries a sense of elevated emotional appreciation. Used to praise nature (赞美大自然), virtues (赞美诚信), heroes (赞美英雄), and art (赞美诗 — hymn of praise). More literary and formal than 称赞 or everyday 夸, and often used in speeches, poetry, and ceremony.

Examples

1. 诗人以饱满的情感赞美了故乡的山川风物与世代相传的淳朴民风。 With deep emotion, the poet praised the mountains and landscapes of his hometown and its simple, time-honored local customs.
2. 导师在毕业典礼上赞美了这届学生的刻苦钻研精神和互帮互助的团队风貌。 At the graduation ceremony, the advisor praised this cohort’s spirit of diligent research and their teamwork in helping one another.
3. 人们用歌声赞美英雄，用诗句铭记那段令人热血沸腾的岁月。 People praise heroes with song and remember those passionate years with poetry.

Usage Guide

Context: literature, ceremony, nature, morality

Tone: elevated/appreciative

Do Say

• 他在主旨演讲中深情赞美了那些长期扎根基层、默默奉献的普通劳动者。(In his keynote speech, he warmly praised those ordinary workers who have long been rooted at the grassroots level, dedicating themselves in silence.)
• 这首组诗以细腻的笔触赞美了江南水乡的温婉景致与绵长悠远的历史韵味。(This suite of poems uses delicate brushstrokes to praise the gentle scenery and lingering historical charm of the water towns of Jiangnan.)

Don't Say

• 赞美你的错误 — 赞美 is reserved for positive qualities and virtues; use 指出 or 批评 for mistakes; even ironic usage sounds distinctly unnatural

Origin & History

赞 (to praise/commend) + 美 (beauty/goodness/excellence)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal