Definition

1. Verb phrase:
   • To feel flattered, to be pleased by flattery: To experience a sense of pleasure, satisfaction, or vanity because someone has praised, complimented, or buttered you up. The phrase vividly describes the reaction of someone whose ego is stroked.

Usage Examples

• Verb phrase:
  • Anh ấy rất dễ phỉnh mũi bởi những lời khen ngợi. (He is very easy to feel flattered by compliments.)
  • Nghe mọi người tán dương thành tích của mình, cô ấy phỉnh mũi lắm. (Hearing everyone praise her achievements, she felt very flattered.)
  • Đừng có phỉnh mũi vì mấy lời nịnh nọt đó. (Don't get a big head from those flattering words.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase often carries a slightly negative or cautionary connotation, implying that the person is being naive, vain, or easily manipulated by insincere praise.
• It can be used to describe a temporary state of pleased vanity. For example: (Just praise him a little and he immediately gets all puffed up).

Variants and Related Words

• Nịnh (v): to flatter, to butter up. This is the action done to cause someone to .
• Tâng bốc (v): to praise highly, to extol (often excessively).
• Nở mũi (idiomatic verb phrase): to feel proud and pleased (often due to praise or someone else's success). It is very close in meaning but can have a more positive connotation than .
• Phỉnh phờ (v): to deceive, to trick with sweet words. This shares the root "phỉnh" (to deceive) and highlights the manipulative aspect of the flattery.

Synonyms

• Tự mãn: to be self-satisfied, complacent.
• Hãnh diện: to be proud, to feel honored (usually for a genuine reason).
• Khoái chí: to be pleased, delighted.

Related Idioms

• Phỉnh nịnh: (flatter and deceive) This compound emphasizes the deceptive nature of the flattery that leads to .
• Bợ đỡ, nịnh hót: (toadying, sycophancy) Refers to the behavior of those who use excessive flattery.

1. Feel flattered