1.
flattery; compliment; polite but insincere praise
Words of praise or admiration spoken to please someone, often without genuine sincerity. Most commonly appears in the form お世辞. Composed of 世 (world, society) + 辞 (words).
お世辞はやめてください。
Please stop flattering me.
お世辞でも嬉しい。
Even if it's just flattery, I'm happy to hear it.
お世辞抜きで言うと、この料理は本当においしい。
Without any flattery, this food is truly delicious.
USAGE:
世辞 is almost always used with the polite prefix お as お世辞. It refers to compliments that may not be entirely sincere, given as a social courtesy. The expression お世辞抜きで (without flattery, honestly speaking) is used to emphasize sincerity.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- お世辞を言う (to flatter, to pay a compliment)
- お世辞抜きで (without flattery, honestly)
- お世辞にも～ない (not even by flattery — used to say something is genuinely bad)
- お世辞が上手 (good at flattering)
SIMILAR WORDS:
おべっか means sycophantic flattery and is more negative. 褒め言葉 means words of praise and is more neutral.