encouragement vs commendation

encouragement and commendation both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
encouragement	Yes	No	No	No
commendation	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, commendation is a hypernym of encouragement; that is, commendation is a word with a broader meaning than encouragement:

Other hypernyms of encouragement include approval.

encouragement (noun)	commendation (noun)
the act of giving hope or support to someone	an official award (as for bravery or service) usually given as formal public statement
the expression of approval and support	a message expressing a favorable opinion
the feeling of being encouraged