Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 做得好 | zuò de hǎo |
| 辛苦 | xīnkǔ |
You can use these phrases to praise someone for their efforts or the quality of their work. 做得好 is used to praise the quality of a specific completed action or performance. In contrast, 辛苦 is used to acknowledge the effort or hardship someone endured to complete a task.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase 做得好 is composed of the verb 做 (to do), the structural particle 得 (used to link a verb to a complement of degree) and the adjective 好 (good/well).
Which one should you use?
Use 做得好 when you want to say "good job" regarding the quality of a specific task. Use 辛苦 when you want to say "good job" in the sense of acknowledging someone's hard work or effort.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The particle 得 in 做得好 is a structural particle that must be used when describing how an action is performed.
How do you pronounce it?
zuò de hǎo
When do people say it?
In professional or group settings, saying 大家辛苦了 is a common way to express "good job" by acknowledging the collective effort of a team.
Did you know?
- If you say 做得好 to a person much older than you or of much higher status, it may sound patronizing or condescending, like a teacher praising a child.
- The word 辛苦 literally translates to 'bitter' and 'hard', making the phrase an acknowledgment of someone's suffering or toil.
- In some contexts, 辛苦 can be used to politely ask someone to do a difficult favor, essentially saying 'I am sorry to put you through this hardship'.
Examples in context
- 大家辛苦了！Good job, everyone!This sentence is useful for expressing "good job, everyone!" using 辛苦.Tatoeba #13549383 by LeviHighway, translation #9411222 by DJ_Saidez
- 做得好！Good job!This sentence is useful for saying "good job!" using 做得好.Tatoeba #4261676 by egg0073, translation #1021038 by Quazel
- 你们小组干得好，我们成功了！Well done, your team! We succeeded!
- 你在演讲比赛中做得太棒了！You did amazing in the speech contest!
- 这次你做得好。Zhè cì nǐ zuò de hǎo.You did a good job this time.
Example conversation
A manager is praising an employee after a successful presentation.
- 佳怡 Jiayi志强，你这次做得好。Zhìqiáng, nǐ zhè cì zuò de hǎo.Zhiqiang, you did a good job this time.
- 志强 Zhiqiang谢谢经理，我会继续努力。Xièxiè jīnglǐ, wǒ huì jìxù nǔlì.Thank you, manager, I will keep working hard.
- 佳怡 Jiayi你的表现很出色。Nǐ de biǎoxiàn hěn chūsè.Your performance was excellent.
- 志强 Zhiqiang我会加油的。Wǒ huì jiāyóu de.I will do my best.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “good job” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
