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Word 4153 of 4449

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お世辞

おせじ

flattery; compliment; empty praise

By Nihongo PathUpdated

Examples

  1. お世辞がうまいですね。

    おせじがうまいですね。

    You're good at flattery, aren't you.

  2. 私達は彼女の料理にお世辞を言った。

    わたしたちはかのじょのりょうりにおせじをいった。

    We flattered her on her cooking.

  3. 彼の字はお世辞にも上手とは言えない。

    かれのじはおせじにもじょうずとはいえない。

    You couldn't call his handwriting good even to be kind.

Common patterns

お世辞を言う
to pay a (hollow) compliment
お世辞がうまい
to be good at flattery
お世辞にも〜ない
cannot be called ~ even out of politeness

Memory tip

世辞 almost never appears without its お. The word implies the praise is not sincere, so 褒め言葉 is the neutral term. Memorize the set frame お世辞にも〜とは言えない.

Kanji in this word

Quick check

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What does お世辞 mean?