bon travail
In French, "nice job" is expressed as bon travail.
The phrase bon travail is used to praise someone for doing a task well.
Which one should you use?
While bon travail is a professional way to say "nice job", you might use Félicitations to say "congratulations" in a formal way or Bravo to say "well done" in both formal and informal situations. For more casual or idiomatic praise, you might use Bien joué (well played), Super ! (great job) or Génial ! (awesome or fantastic).
Did you know?
- The word travail in bon travail originates from the Late Latin word tripālium, which described a torture device made of three stakes.
- In some French contexts, overly frequent use of bon travail from a superior can be perceived as patronizing rather than encouraging.
- Using bon travail in a casual setting can sound like a literal translation from English and may feel unnatural to native speakers.
Examples in context
- Tu fais un bon travail.You do a nice job.This sentence uses bon travail to show someone is doing a nice job.Tatoeba #6935924 by Aiji, translation #2954467 by CK
- Tom semblait faire du très bon travail.Tom seemed to be doing a very nice job.This sentence uses bon travail to describe someone who seemed to be doing a very nice job.Tatoeba #7960279 by Micsmithel, translation #6246648 by CK
- Bien joué lors du match ! Tu as été impressionnant. Continue comme ça !Well played in the game! You were impressive. Keep it up!
- Bravo pour ta présentation ! Ton élocution était parfaite, et ta recherche approfondie a été clairement visible. Je suis vraiment impressionné par ton professionnalisme et tes compétences en communication. Continue comme ça, tu es sur la voie du succès !Nice job on your presentation! Your delivery was perfect, and your in-depth research was clearly visible. I'm truly impressed by your professionalism and communication skills. Keep it up, you're on the path to success!
- Bon travail sur ce rapport.Nice job on this report.
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hugo is praising Léa for finishing a project at the office.
- HugoLéa, tu as fini le projet ?Léa, did you finish the project?
- LéaOui, c'est terminé.Yes, it is finished.
- HugoBon travail, c'est parfait.Nice job, it is perfect.
- LéaMerci, Hugo !Thank you, Hugo!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bon, travail, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
