Congratulations in French

Congratulations are a universal way to celebrate achievements, but did you know that French provides a variety of elegant and fun ways to express this sentiment? Whether you’re cheering on a friend, applauding a colleague, or celebrating someone’s success, knowing how to say “Congratulations” in French can help you connect on a deeper level with French speakers. Plus, these phrases can enhance your French skills, making your conversations more authentic and engaging.

Get ready to mas­ter nine unique ways to say “Con­grat­u­la­tions” in French! From for­mal to casu­al expres­sions, this guide has got you cov­ered.

“Félicitations!” — The Standard and Most Versatile Option  

If there’s one word you should always have ready, it’s “Félic­i­ta­tions!”. Pro­nounced feh-lee-see-ta-syon, this expres­sion is the go-to for con­grat­u­lat­ing some­one on just about any­thing. It’s sim­ple, wide­ly under­stood, and appro­pri­ate for both for­mal and infor­mal sit­u­a­tions.  

When to Use It:

• Grad­u­a­tions
• Work pro­mo­tions
• Engage­ments or wed­dings
• Birth announce­ments  

Exam­ple Sen­tence  

French: Félic­i­ta­tions pour ton nou­v­el emploi!  

Eng­lish: Con­grat­u­la­tions on your new job!  

This word is per­fect when you’re not quite sure which expres­sion to choose — you can’t go wrong with “Félic­i­ta­tions!”.  

“Bravo!” — Simple and Effective  

Short, uni­ver­sal, and easy to pro­nounce, “Bra­vo!” is anoth­er pop­u­lar way to con­grat­u­late some­one. Pro­nounced just as it’s writ­ten (brah-voh), this term car­ries a casu­al yet enthu­si­as­tic vibe.  

When to Use It:

• Applaud­ing a great per­for­mance  
• Con­grat­u­lat­ing a child or stu­dent  
• Prais­ing quick wins  

Exam­ple Sen­tence  

French: Bra­vo pour avoir rem­porté ce prix!  

Eng­lish: Great job win­ning that award!  

Quick and punchy, “Bra­vo!” works espe­cial­ly well in spon­ta­neous set­tings where every­one joins in to cel­e­brate.  

“Toutes mes félic­i­ta­tions!” — For­mal and Heart­felt  

Feel­ing sen­ti­men­tal? “Toutes mes félic­i­ta­tions!” (pro­nounced toot meh feh-lee-see-ta-syon) is a more thought­ful and for­mal vari­a­tion of “Félic­i­ta­tions!”.  

When to Use It:

• Writ­ing heart­felt con­grat­u­la­to­ry cards  
• When address­ing some­one in a for­mal set­ting  
• To express extra warmth and admi­ra­tion  

Exam­ple Sen­tence  

French: Toutes mes félic­i­ta­tions pour votre mariage!  

Eng­lish: My heart­felt con­grat­u­la­tions on your wed­ding!  

This phrase is par­tic­u­lar­ly ele­gant, mak­ing it a great option when you want to leave a last­ing impres­sion.  

“Super!” — Casu­al and Enthu­si­as­tic  

When you’re excit­ed for some­one and keep­ing it laid-back, “Super!” is the word for you. Pro­nounced just like the Eng­lish word soo-per, it’s com­mon­ly used in con­ver­sa­tion­al French.  

When to Use It:

• Infor­mal set­tings with friends or fam­i­ly  
• Cel­e­brat­ing small achieve­ments  

Exam­ple Sen­tence  

French: Tu as réus­si l’examen? Super!  

Eng­lish: You passed the exam? Awe­some!  

“Super!” shows enthu­si­asm with­out requir­ing com­plex phras­ing, mak­ing it a clas­sic choice for every­day sit­u­a­tions.  

“Bien joué!” — Recognizing a Job Well Done  

Lit­er­al­ly trans­lat­ed as “Well played!”, “Bien joué!” (bee-en huh-ay) is ide­al for prais­ing someone’s effort or suc­cess in a spe­cif­ic task.  

When to Use It:

• Cel­e­brat­ing sports vic­to­ries  
• Acknowl­edg­ing someone’s hard work or strat­e­gy  

Exam­ple Sen­tence  

French: Bien joué pour avoir ter­miné le pro­jet avant la date lim­ite!  

Eng­lish: Well done for fin­ish­ing the project before the dead­line!  

You can think of it as the French equiv­a­lent of the Eng­lish “Nice work!” or “Good job!”.  

“Chapeau!” — Expressing Admiration and Respect  

If you’re tru­ly impressed, you can say “Cha­peau!”. This phrase lit­er­al­ly means “Hat off!” and is pro­nounced shah-poh. It’s a fig­u­ra­tive way to tip your hat in admi­ra­tion.  

When to Use It:

• Prais­ing artis­tic tal­ents  
• Acknowl­edg­ing remark­able per­son­al achieve­ments  

Exam­ple Sen­tence  

French: Cha­peau pour cet incroy­able tableau que tu as peint!  

Eng­lish: Hats off for that incred­i­ble paint­ing you cre­at­ed!  

This unique phrase adds a touch of charm and class to your con­grat­u­la­tions.  

“Je suis ravi(e) pour toi” — Sharing Personal Happiness  

When you want to high­light your emo­tion­al con­nec­tion to someone’s Achieve­ment, use “Je suis ravi(e) pour toi” (zhuh swee rah-vee poor twah). This trans­lates to “I’m delight­ed for you!”  

When to Use It:

• Con­grat­u­lat­ing close friends or fam­i­ly  
• Express­ing gen­uine hap­pi­ness for their suc­cess  

Exam­ple Sen­tence  

French: Je suis ravie pour toi, tu le mérites telle­ment!  

Eng­lish: I’m so hap­py for you; you deserve it so much!  

Say­ing this from the heart can make your con­grat­u­la­tions feel even more spe­cial.  

“Quel succès!” — Highlighting Achievement  

If some­one has just accom­plished some­thing tru­ly impres­sive, use “Quel suc­cès!” (kel sook-seh), which means “What a suc­cess!”.  

When to Use It:

• Cel­e­brat­ing notable accom­plish­ments  
• Prais­ing large-scale vic­to­ries or out­comes  

Exam­ple Sen­tence  

French: Mais quel suc­cès, ton entre­prise est floris­sante!  

Eng­lish: What a suc­cess, your busi­ness is thriv­ing!  

“Quel suc­cès!” shows admi­ra­tion and empha­sizes the grandeur of the Achieve­ment.  

“Meilleurs vœux de succès!” — Wishing Continued Success  

Look­ing for an encour­ag­ing and for­ward-think­ing phrase? Try “Meilleurs vœux de suc­cès!” (meh-yeur vuh duh sook-seh), which means “Best wish­es for suc­cess!”.  

When to Use It:

• Send­ing well wish­es for future endeav­ours  
• Con­grat­u­lat­ing some­one start­ing a new chap­ter  

Exam­ple Sen­tence  

French: Meilleurs vœux de suc­cès dans ta nou­velle aven­ture!  

Eng­lish: Best wish­es for suc­cess in your new adven­ture!  

This polite and sup­port­ive phrase works won­ders when paired with a thought­ful card or gift.  

Level Up Your French by Saying “Congrats!”  

Learn­ing how to express con­grat­u­la­tions in French isn’t just a lin­guis­tic exercise—it’s a cul­tur­al one, too. Whether you’re cheer­ing some­one on with a sim­ple “Bra­vo!” or craft­ing a heart­felt “Toutes mes félic­i­ta­tions!” these phras­es will help you con­nect with French speak­ers on a deep­er lev­el.  

Start using these phras­es today, and watch how a lit­tle effort can trans­form your French con­ver­sa­tions. Bonne chance!  

FAQs  

1. What is the dif­fer­ence between “Félic­i­ta­tions” and “Toutes mes félic­i­ta­tions”?  

Both phras­es are used to express con­grat­u­la­tions, but “Toutes mes félic­i­ta­tions” is a more for­mal and heart­felt way of say­ing the error occurred dur­ing gen­er­a­tion. Please try again or con­tact sup­port if it con­tin­ues.

2. Can I use “Bra­vo!” in for­mal set­tings?  

“Bra­vo!” is gen­er­al­ly reserved for casu­al or spon­ta­neous sit­u­a­tions. While it effec­tive­ly con­veys excite­ment and praise, it may not always car­ry the lev­el of for­mal­i­ty required in pro­fes­sion­al or cer­e­mo­ni­al con­texts. For these sit­u­a­tions, phras­es such as “Toutes mes félic­i­ta­tions!” or “Meilleurs vœux de suc­cès!” are more appro­pri­ate.

3. Is “Super!” com­mon­ly used in writ­ten French?  

“Super!” is pri­mar­i­ly a spo­ken expres­sion used in infor­mal con­ver­sa­tions to show enthu­si­asm. While it can appear in casu­al writ­ten com­mu­ni­ca­tion, such as texts or social media, it’s sel­dom used in for­mal writ­ing or seri­ous con­texts. For writ­ten con­grat­u­la­tions, opt for more tra­di­tion­al phras­es like “Bien joué !” or “Quel suc­cès !”.

4. Are there region­al vari­a­tions in con­grat­u­la­to­ry phras­es?  

Yes, just like in Eng­lish, dif­fer­ent French-speak­ing regions may have their unique expres­sions or styl­is­tic pref­er­ences. For instance, Québé­cois French often incor­po­rates local col­lo­qui­alisms, while Euro­pean French tends to fol­low more tra­di­tion­al con­ven­tions. Learn­ing region­al nuances adds depth to your lan­guage skills and helps you con­nect authen­ti­cal­ly with speak­ers from var­i­ous areas.