My TraitsBy Bhupendra Singh Chauhan · Updated August 13, 2026
Most people flinch at this one. The two flinches are an apology before you start, and a CV strength standing in for a human one. Neither is warm, and warmth is the whole point. The answers that land say one specific good thing plainly, then give the reader a scrap of evidence for it.
Tap any line to copy. Pick a strategy chip to filter by angle. Edit before pasting — verbatim copies read flatter.
I am very hard to embarrass. It means I will ask a stranger for directions, sing badly in a car, and dance first at a wedding.
Why it works: States the trait and then proves it three cheap, concrete ways. Evidence is what separates this from an adjective, and all three examples are easy to picture.
I still get properly excited about small things. A good sandwich can carry an entire afternoon and I refuse to be embarrassed about it.
Why it works: Warm without being grand, and the refusal at the end gives it nerve. Naming a sandwich rather than a value keeps the whole thing believable.
I am genuinely good at being wrong. It took years, and it has made every argument I have shorter and considerably less expensive.
Why it works: An unusual strength to claim, and a real one. The dry final clause stops it reading as a virtue statement while still saying something attractive.
This might sound arrogant, but I think I am a pretty good person overall.
Why it falls flat: Apologises before it says anything, then says nothing. The question invited warmth and the answer refuses it, which reads as a lack of nerve rather than modesty.
My work ethic. I always give one hundred percent to everything I do.
Why it falls flat: An application-form strength on a dating profile. It describes an employee rather than a person, and nobody has ever been charmed by a work ethic.
My loyalty, my kindness and how much I care about the people in my life.
Why it falls flat: Three virtues claimed by everyone and shown by nobody. Without a single example the reader has only the claim, and claims about character are the easiest thing to write.
Say it straight, then prove it. The apology — this might sound arrogant, but — costs you the only thing the question was asking for, and readers register it as a lack of nerve rather than modesty. Skip virtues you cannot show: loyal, kind and caring are claimed by everyone and evidenced by nobody. A small, slightly odd strength works better than a large obvious one, because it sounds true. And keep it human rather than professional; work ethic belongs on an application form, and nobody has ever been charmed by one.
One specific good thing, said plainly, with a scrap of evidence behind it. Hard to embarrass is stronger than kind, because you can show it with three small examples a reader can picture.
Not when it is small and evidenced. What actually reads badly is the apology in front of it, since hedging tells the reader you did not have the nerve to answer the question you were asked.
Only if it sounds like a person. Work ethic and attention to detail belong on an application form, and they put the reader in an office rather than in the same room as you.
Every question OkCupid offers, grouped the way the app groups them, each with a sample answer you can copy. Free, no signup.
See all 53 questionsYour AI wingman for Hinge, Bumble & Tinder
Try free