Ways to say it
| French | IPA |
|---|---|
| bon travail | |
| bien joué | /bjɛ̃ ʒwe/ |
You can use these phrases to praise someone's efforts or achievements. Use bon travail to praise the quality of work or the effort put into a specific task. Use bien joué to praise a specific action, a clever move or a successful outcome, much like the English "well played". In many social situations where an English speaker would say "good job!", a French speaker is more likely to simply say Bravo !
Which one should you use?
While both are used for praise, bon travail focuses on the quality of work or effort, whereas bien joué focuses on a specific successful action or clever move.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Québec, the phrase Bonne job! is used to mean "Good job!"
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use bon travail to refer to a good career or employment. In French, un bon travail refers to the quality of the work performed. If you want to talk about a good career or position, use un bon emploi or un bon métier.
Did you know?
Examples in context
- J'ai un bon travail.I have a good job.Tatoeba #8065000 by Aiji, translation #2266986 by _undertoad
- Tu fais du bon travail.You do a good job.This sentence uses bon travail to describe the work someone is doing.Tatoeba #13370686 by lbdx, translation #2954466 by CK
- Ils font un bon travail.They're doing a good job.This sentence uses bon travail to describe work being performed by a group.Tatoeba #8758250 by Aiji, translation #4889905 by CK
- 45 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hugo and Emma are at the office after finishing a project.
- HugoBon travail sur ce dossier, Emma.Good job on this file, Emma.
- EmmaMerci Hugo, c'était difficile.Thanks Hugo, it was difficult.
- HugoTu as fait un bon travail.You did a good job.
- EmmaC'est gentil de ta part.That is kind of you.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “good job” translations and entries bien joué, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bien, bon, travail, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
