What does it mean word for word?
أحسنت is a verb in the past tense that literally means "you did well" or "you acted excellently".
Which one should you use?
For more formal situations, you might use عمل رائع to mean "excellent work" or the more descriptive phrase أحسنت القيام بالعمل to say "you have done the job well". For a more casual congratulatory tone, the informal word مبروك (congratulations) is often used.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
In highly formal contexts, use عمل رائع or أحسنت القيام بالعمل. For a colloquial and more informal feel used in many Arabic dialects, you can say عاشَت يَدَك, which literally translates to "may your hand live".
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Gulf Arabic, the word ممتاز is commonly used to mean "excellent" or "brilliant". In Levantine Arabic, the phrase مبروك عليك is used to say "congratulations to you".
How does it change in a sentence?
The form of the word changes depending on who you are addressing: use أحسنتِ (ahsanti) when addressing a female, and use أحسنتُم (ahsantum) when addressing a group of people.
How do you pronounce it?
ahsanta
Did you know?
- In many Arabic cultures, praising a child's 'good job' using only human praise is sometimes avoided to prevent the 'evil eye', and phrases attributing the success to God are added.
- The root of أحسنت comes from حُسن, which is the same root used for the word 'beauty'. Thus, doing a 'good job' is linguistically linked to creating something beautiful.
- While أحسنت is a general praise, the colloquial عاشَت يَدَك is specifically used when someone has physically created something, such as a meal or a piece of art.
Examples in context
- أحسنت في الامتحان اليوم.ahsanta fil imtihaan al-yawm.Good job on the exam today.
- أحسنت صنعاً في هذا العمل.ahsanta sun'an fee hadha al-'amal.You did a good job on this work.
- أحسنت، لقد فزت بالمسابقة!ahsanta, laqad fuzta bil musabaqa!Good job, you won the competition!
Example conversation
Layla is reviewing Yusuf's drawing.
- ليلى Laylaأحسنت يا يوسف! الرسم جميل جداً.Ahsanta ya Yusuf! Ar-rasm jamil jiddan.Good job, Yusuf! The drawing is very beautiful.
- يوسف Youssefشكراً لكِ يا ليلى.Shukran laki ya Layla.Thank you, Layla.
- ليلى Laylaهل استغرقت وقتاً طويلاً في رسمه؟Hal istaghraqta waqtan tawilan fi rasmih?Did it take you a long time to draw it?
- يوسف Youssefنعم، لقد عملت عليه لساعتين.Na'am, laqad amiltu alayhi li-sa'atayn.Yes, I worked on it for two hours.
