Best Compliments to Give a Woman

Source: Shutterstock

No shame in admitting it: we're all suckers for a good compliment. Thanks to a discussion on Quora titled, "What's the best compliment for a woman you've ever heard?" we have a peek into what both men and women think that answer should be. See the most memorable compliments right here, and of course, let us know what you think is the most meaningful thing someone could ever say to a lady.

A Sweet Thought

"'I want my daughter to turn out like you.'" Told to me by two different men, one of whom I consider my professional mentor and one of the main reasons I got into the line of work I did. This was in my early 20s, when I was earnest, relatively vice-free and full of promise. The daughters in question were young teenagers. Haven't heard it lately, but I always thought of this as the highest compliment."

— Caroline Zelonka

The Line From a Book

"This is an excerpt from a book — Looking For Alaska (2005) by John Green.

'I wanted so badly to lie down next to her on the couch, to wrap my arms around her and sleep. Not f*ck, like in those movies. Not even have sex. Just sleep together in the most innocent sense of the phrase. But I lacked the courage and she had a boyfriend and I was gawky and she was gorgeous and I was hopelessly boring and she was endlessly fascinating. So I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was hurricane.'

"Wouldn't you give anything to have a guy think about you like that?"

— Surabhi Sinha

Double Take

"As I was walking towards the car I thought, 'Who's that pretty blonde woman?'

"My husband said that today. He'd gone into a store to buy something. Really, after 42 years? Amazing."

— Cyndi Perlman Fink

The Strawberry Slush Metaphor

"A friend of mine once said to me: 'You know the 10 minutes just after you've had a strawberry slush? The feeling is similar to having Saniya in your life.' I think it's one of my all-time favorite compliments, because it was extremely personalized. Because I have a sweet tooth. Like, a really, really sweet tooth. The kind where my remains can be identified by my dental records. And like a 5-year-old, I love those sugary, syrupy things — the strawberry slush.

"It's a compliment that makes me smile to this day. Maybe I'll have strawberry slush tonight. And give myself a sugar high. Those are fun."

— Saniya Bhutta

Personality Counts

"I had a boyfriend once who said, 'I think I could have fun in HELL with you.'"

— Madeleine Bolger

Better Than Mom

"Guy: 'You cook better than my mom does!'"

— Vinod Vadakkadath

When You Feel Comfortable

"'With you, I can just be myself.'

"This is the best compliment a human being can get. To let go and just be you and be loved by who you are."

— Sofia Ferreira

Words From a Stranger

"One was strangely from a guy moving me out of my place. He was packing my whole house — art, books, CDs, cookware, etc. And he looks at me and smiles and shakes his head. 'What?' I asked. Then he says, 'Whatever man is lucky enough to end up with you, I know one thing. He will never be bored.'"

— Laura Parker

A Much-Deserved Compliment

"'Without her, I could have never raised you two like I did.' My father to me about mother on the occasion of my sister graduating out of med school. My mother worked full time supporting our (me and my sister) education till grad school, for which we all are very grateful to her."

— Siddharth Ahluwalia