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Apologies | Complaints
| Compliments | Refusals
| Requests | Thanking
Chinese Compliments
Chinese Compliment Responses
- Rejecting
- Disagreeing and denigrating (No, I’m older and uglier.)
- Expressing embarrassment (Don’t say that. I’m embarrassed.)
- Explaining (No, I didn’t watch my diet and I’ve gained
some weight.)
- Thanking and denigrating (Thank you, but the sweater is not that
nice.)
- Accepting
- Most responses to compliments in Chinese tend to be rejections, characterized
by disagreement and self-denigration.
- The norm of Chinese society is to appear humble. Modesty is one of
the most important constituents of self-image. As a result, Chinese speakers
choose to lower themselves when responding to compliments, believing that
appearing humble will help maintain and enhance their face and image.
Above passages from Chen
(1993), p. 55 [©].
[ Research
notes on the section above... ]
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