Chinese word

不敢当

Pronunciation

Pinyinbù gǎn dāng

Meaning

  • interjectiontoo kind

Example

谢谢你的夸奖，不敢当xiè xiè nǐ de kuā jiǎng bù gǎn dāng

Thanks for your compliment. That's too kind.

Illustration for 不敢当 (too kind)

More examples

这都是大家的努力，过奖了，不敢当。zhè dōu shì dà jiā de nǔ lì guò jiǎng le bù gǎn dāng

It's all thanks to everyone's hard work, and you're too kind to praise me so highly.

Core concept

A modest step back from praise, signaling that the speaker should not be credited so highly.

Common phrases

  • 过奖了，不敢当guò jiǎng le bù gǎn dāng

    That's more praise than I deserve

Similar words

过奖了guò jiǎng le: A modest reply saying that the praise is more than the speaker deserves.
哪里哪里ná lǐ ná lǐ: A friendly, brief reply that lightly brushes aside praise.
太客气tài kè qì: A polite reply that gently says the other person is being overly courteous.

Definition in Chinese

在别人夸奖自己时表示谦虚，意思是自己不配受此夸奖。zài bié rén kuā jiǎng zì jǐ shí biǎo shì qiān xū yì si shì zì jǐ bú pèi shòu cǐ kuā jiǎng

Word origin

不 (bù, "not") + 敢 (gǎn, "dare") + 当 (dāng, "be worthy of") forms the image of not daring to claim that praise as deserved.

Usage tips

  • Unlike a plain English response that simply accepts a compliment, this expression adds a conventional note of modesty and is especially suitable in a polite exchange.

Other meanings

  • humbledinterjection
  • not worthyinterjection

Word lists with this word