bon travail
In French, "good work" is expressed as bon travail.
bon travail is a way to praise someone for completing a task successfully. Other ways to express praise or congratulations include Bravo, Super or Très bien fait (very well done). You might also say Je vous félicite to say "I congratulate you" in a polite and formal way.
Which one should you use?
While bon travail is common, you may use beau travail in more formal or artistic contexts to praise the quality or elegance of a result. For a more colloquial tone, you can use the phrase Ça, c'est du bon boulot to say "that's good work".
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Canadian French, the expression belle job can be used to say "good work".
How does it change in a sentence?
When saying someone 'did' good work, French typically uses the partitive article du (du bon travail) rather than just the noun phrase alone. For example, you can say Tu as fait du bon boulot to mean "you did good work".
Did you know?
- The word travail is etymologically linked to 'torture'. It originates from the Latin word tripālium, which referred to a torture device made of three stakes.
- When praising someone's effort in Quebec, you might hear belle job. This uses the feminine form of the adjective with the English loanword 'job', which is a linguistic quirk of Canadian French.
- Using beau instead of bon in beau travail shifts the meaning from mere success to the aesthetic quality or elegance of the result.
Examples in context
- Tom a fait un bon travail.Tom did good work.This sentence shows how to state that Tom did good work using bon travail.Tatoeba #1371709 by nimfeo, translation #4667208 by CK
- Vous avez tous fait du bon travail.All of you did good work.This sentence is useful for expressing that a group of people did good work using bon travail.Tatoeba #9046 by sacredceltic, translation #17642 by CK
- Vous avez toutes fait du bon travail.You all did good work.This sentence is useful for expressing that a group of women did good work using bon travail.Tatoeba #4869157 by sacredceltic, translation #2733654 by CK
- Je vous félicite pour le succès de ce projet. Vous avez fait du bon travail et votre contribution a été inestimable.I congratulate you on the success of this project. You did a great job, and your contribution has been invaluable.
- Super, tu as fait du bon boulot avec ce tableau. Les couleurs sont magnifiques et l'expression est captivante!Great job, you did well with this painting. The colors are beautiful, and the expression is captivating!
- 9 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A manager is reviewing a report with an employee.
- GabrielLéa, j'ai lu ton rapport. Bon travail !Léa, I read your report. Good work!
- LéaMerci beaucoup, Gabriel.Thank you very much, Gabriel.
- GabrielC'est très précis et complet.It is very precise and complete.
- LéaJe suis ravie que ça vous plaise.I am glad that you like it.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bon, travail, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
