称得上 / 称不上【chēngdeshàng / chēngbushàng】

称得上 says the subject has earned a label. It is 称 "to call" with a potential complement – 得 or 不 between a verb and its result, saying whether the result can happen. 称得上 is "can be called"; 称不上 is "can't really be called".

是 after it is optional before a noun and left out before an adjective.

称不上 for playing something down

The negative is used as often as the positive, and it softens: the thing isn't bad, it just doesn't reach the label. 什么 before the noun makes it more dismissive.

In a question

称得上…吗 asks whether the label fits, often expecting "no".

Mistakes

The negative goes inside the word, as 不 in place of 得. 不 in front makes a different and odd sentence.

• × 他不称得上专家 → 他称不上专家

堪称 has the same meaning in written praise; 称得上 is the everyday form.