ça en valait la peine
In French, "it was worth it" is translated as ça en valait la peine.
This phrase is used to express that a positive result justified the effort or hardship spent to achieve it. In this construction, the pronoun en is grammatically required to refer back to the effort or the thing being evaluated.
What does it mean word for word?
A literal translation of ça en valait la peine is "it of it valued the pain", where la peine refers to the effort or hardship involved.
Which one should you use?
You can use Ça en a carrément valu la peine informally to mean "it was totally worth it" or Ça en valait vraiment la peine informally to mean "it was really worth it".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
To make the phrase more formal and suitable for written or highly professional contexts, replace ça with cela to say cela en valait la peine.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase is currently in the past tense. To change it to the present tense to say "it is worth it", change the verb from valait to vaut to form ça en vaut la peine.
Did you know?
- While peine refers to effort in this phrase, it is also the root of the French word peine-à-jouir, a technical term for the inability to experience pleasure.
- In French law, the word peine is used to describe a criminal sentence, such as peine de mort for the death penalty.
- The phrase ça en valait la peine can be used ironically in French to describe a disaster that was not worth the effort at all.
Examples in context
- J'espère que ça en valait la peine.I hope it was worth it.This sentence is useful for expressing a hope that a previous effort resulted in a worthwhile outcome using ça en valait la peine.Tatoeba #1848640 by sacredceltic, translation #1839496 by CK
- L'organisation de cet événement en valait vraiment la peine. Nous avons récolté beaucoup de fonds pour une bonne cause.Organizing this event was really worth it. We raised a lot of funds for a good cause.
- Malgré tous les obstacles, cela en a valu la peine. Nous avons obtenu d'excellents résultats.Despite all the obstacles, it was worth it. We achieved excellent results.
- Le voyage était long, mais ça en valait la peine.The trip was long, but it was worth it.
- On a beaucoup travaillé, mais ça en valait la peine.We worked a lot, but it was worth it.
Example conversation
Chloé and Lucas are looking at a beautiful view after a long hike.
- ChloéLa montée était vraiment difficile, non ?The climb was really difficult, wasn't it?
- LucasOui, mais regarde la vue, ça en valait la peine.Yes, but look at the view, it was worth it.
- ChloéTu as raison, Lucas, c'est magnifique.You're right, Lucas, it's magnificent.
- LucasJe suis content d'être venu avec toi.I am happy to have come with you.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
