Correct

佩服 vs 钦佩

/ pèifú vs qīnpèi /
Strokes

Definition

佩服 and 钦佩 both are Verbs, which means [admire; think highly of; esteem], indicate "to admire sb.'s strong point".

Example

钦佩 sounds more forceful and polite, so it can be applied to outstanding people or deeds. 佩服 can be applied to oneself (treating oneself as an object).
1) 为人正直勇敢 in example ① is very high praise, so 佩服 can also be replaced by 钦佩, whereas example ② just refers to a good player, so 钦佩 cannot be used.

2) In example ③, 实在不敢佩服 is a tactful way to show disdain it cannot be replaced by 钦佩.
1
Xiǎozhāng
小张
wéirén
为人
zhèngzhí
正直
yǒnggǎn
勇敢
  
,
hěn
pèi
佩服
  
(
qīnpèi
钦佩
  
)
  

I admires Xiao Zhang's integrity and bravery very much.

2
de
lánqiú
篮球
de
me
那么
hǎo
  
,
pèi
佩服
  
,
pèi
佩服
  

I admire you very much for your excellent skills of playing basketball.

3
zhèzhǒng
这种
huáérshí
华而不实
de
zuòfēng
作风
  
,
ràng
rén
shízài
实在
gǎn
pèi
佩服
  

It's difficult for us to admire his superficial cleverness.

钦佩 is used to refers to distinguished deeds.
4
men
我们
duì
páichúwànnán
排除万难
de
kànghóng
抗洪
jīngshén
精神
  
,
biǎoshì
表示
qīnpèi
钦佩
  

We express our admiration for your tenacious anti-floods actions.

5
zài
áizhèng
癌症
de
duìkàng
对抗
zhōng
yíng
赢得
le
duō
许多
rén
de
qīnpèi
钦佩
  

She won the admiration of many people in her battle against cancer.

佩服 can be applied to oneself to show humor.
6
néng
shuō
chū
yàng
那样
de
huà
  
?
Lián
自己
dōu
yào
pèi
佩服
dāngshí
当时
de
yǒng
勇气
le
  

Can I say that? I will have to admire my courage at that time.

7
fēicháng
非常
pèi
佩服
自己
de
shù
艺术
bāo
细胞
  
,
yuèliang
月亮
néng
zhào
chéng
zhèyàng
这样
  
!

I felt proud of my artist gennius, to shoot the moon to such a view.

Related

钦佩佩服