How it works
This compliment generator gives one kind line per press, written to be said to another person. It holds 210 compliments in six groups: friend, coworker, partner, family, teacher and stranger, 35 in each. Under every line is a short note that says which detail to add, because a compliment lands when it could only be about one person.
Read the full guide
Praise what a person chose or did
Every line here praises a choice, a habit or the effect someone has on a room. None comments on a body, a weight or an age, so nothing turns awkward at work or in a shop. The Coworker group keeps to work: clear handover notes, short meetings, credit given by name. The Stranger group holds lines to say in passing, such as "Your garden makes this street better."
A compliment began as good manners
The word reached English from French, which took it from Italian complimento and Spanish cumplimiento, from cumplir: to complete, or to do what is proper. A compliment was first a courtesy you owed someone. Complement, with an e, is the same word by another road. Each line here is polite, and each is unfinished until you add the detail.
- Pick who it is for in the list. A Partner line in a coworker's leaving card is a mistake you only make once.
- Draw three, keep the one that is true of the person, then add the detail the note asks for.
- For a team thank-you, pick Coworker and press once for each person.
Questions and answers
How do I make a compliment sound sincere?
Make it specific and make it true. "You are great" could be about anyone. "You make a long drive feel short." is about one person, and it gets better when you name the trip. The note under each line says which detail to add. If a line is not true of the person, press again.
What is a good compliment to give a stranger?
Praise something they chose or did, keep it short, and keep moving so they do not feel they owe you a conversation. A hat, a well-behaved dog and a smooth bus ride are all safe ground. The Stranger group holds 35 such lines, and each note says who it suits: a cashier, a busker, a bus driver. A link ending in #stranger opens on that group.
Does the page write a new compliment each time?
No. It deals from a fixed list of 210 lines that were written for this page and read a second time, and the whole list is printed at the bottom. Every line says "you". For lines that say "I", meant for yourself, draw from the affirmations.