He compliments your looks but ignores what you say. Here's what it means.

This pattern usually means he's early-stage interested and hasn't thought past the initial attraction yet, or he's not that interested but is keeping you on the line. The way to tell the difference is what happens next. If he's someone who just moves slow, he'll shift when you give him an opening. If he's just killing time, he won't. When he sees you're a real person with thoughts and opinions, people who are actually interested will lean in. People who aren't will fade or stay in the same shallow groove.

The fact that he's still texting you and complimenting you means there's something there. But leaving the ball entirely in his court lets him stay comfortable. A reply that redirects the conversation is how you find out if he's actually interested in you, or just in the image of you.

Your reply needs to gently call out the imbalance without making it weird. Don't reference his behavior directly. Instead, respond to his compliment briefly and then pivot hard to something about you that has weight. Ask him a question that requires an actual answer, or share something real that opens the door for him to ask you about it. You're not testing him. You're just showing him what a real back-and-forth looks like.

The move here is smooth, not confrontational. You're saying yes to the compliment, but your energy goes toward something that matters. If he follows you into that space, great. If he tries to steer back to appearances or one-liners, you have your answer about where his head is.

Send your redirected reply within a few hours if the conversation is still going. Don't wait days to respond, because that reads like you're angry or playing a game. Give him one full back-and-forth cycle. That means he gets one chance to engage with what you actually brought up. If he responds to your real question or comment with a real answer, he's showing interest. If he deflects, changes the subject, or goes back to compliments, that tells you something too.

After one cycle, you'll know. If he's stuck in appearance-mode after you've opened a door to something deeper, that's not going to shift without you repeatedly doing the work. At that point, you can either accept that this is the level he's operating at or step back. Don't keep trying to make him see you if he's not interested in looking.