muito bem!
/ˈmũj̃.tu ˈbẽj̃/word by word
In Portuguese, "well done" is translated as muito bem!
muito bem! is a common phrase used to say well done. Depending on the context, you may also use more specific expressions such as Excelente trabalho! to say excellent work or Belo desempenho! to respectfully say great performance.
Meaning: exclamation of praise (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase muito bem literally translates to "very well".
Which one should you use?
It is important to distinguish between praise and cooking. If you want to say a steak is "well done", use bem-passado or passado instead of muito bem.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈmũj̃.tu ˈbẽj̃/. The word has 3 syllables and the stress is on the 1st syllable.
Did you know?
- In Brazil, people often replace muito bem! with mandou bem! in informal settings to tell someone they 'sent it well' or nailed it.
- The word muito comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *ml̥tos, which originally meant 'crumbled' or 'crumpled'.
- In a sarcastic tone, muito bem can be used to mean 'great, just great' when something goes wrong, similar to English irony.
Examples in context
- Parabéns pelo excelente trabalhoCongratulations on the excellent work
- Parabéns pelo seu excelente trabalho! Estamos muito orgulhosos de você.Congratulations on your excellent work! We are very proud of you.
- Show de bola! Você passou na prova!Awesome! You passed the exam!
- Muito bem! Você conseguiu!Well done! You did it!
- Muito bem! Continue assim.Well done! Keep it up.
Example conversation
Rodrigo is praising Mariana for finishing a difficult puzzle.
- RodrigoMuito bem! Você terminou o quebra-cabeça.Well done! You finished the puzzle.
- MarianaObrigada, Rodrigo! Foi bem difícil.Thank you, Rodrigo! It was very difficult.
- RodrigoMas você teve muita paciência.But you had a lot of patience.
- MarianaEu tentei não desistir.I tried not to give up.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “well done” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (muito, bem) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bem, muito, CC BY-SA 4.0.
