Why You Should Never Say “Bien Fait” in French
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- čas přidán 2. 06. 2024
- OOPS! That French expression doesn’t mean what you think it means. Discover the real translation of “Bien Fait” - and why you should avoid it altogether.
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Have you ever said “Bien Fait” to a French person and wondered why they looked puzzled, hurt, or confused? That’s because this French expression doesn’t mean what you think…
Today, we’ll explore a French vocabulary mistake that I see all the time, including among my own students! You’ll learn what “Bien Fait” really means, and some alternative French expressions that can help you express what you really mean.
Find the free EXTENDED LESSON and ask me questions about this French lesson on the Comme une Française blog. It includes a full written lesson, with all the French expressions, more specific vocabulary you can use, and extra resources.
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Exactly! "Bien fait" means "that's what you get" when someone does something and it backfires on them.
So basically the meaning is only sarcastic 😂
@@Albatrosspro1 Yes, very sarcastic. LOL😂
Exactly, short and clear. In spanish we also used it "bien hecho! (Buhhh)"
@@azuquita3856 haha, "Bien hecho" I didn't know that. Thanks !
It is not sarcasm at all. You're wishing ill on someone. You are happy the person got what he/she deserved. It's revenge.
I was told to use “bien fait” as a way to say “good job!” by one of my French teachers a few years ago so… bien fait to them, I guess
Big fat OOF!
French canadian here. Bien fait is actually sometime used to say you did a good job. "Tu as bien fait ton travail!" does mean "You did your job well!". However it can be used in a sarcastic way.. Like you don't like someone and they fail at someting very badly, you could tell them "bien fait". What matters is how you phrase it
@@bluesmurff6163 Yes, like she said, it has to be used in a sentence to mean "well done".
@@Laurent69ftm Yes, but what i meant is than it's a matter of tone. Many people will say bien fait and actually mean you did well
@@bluesmurff6163 ok thank god because I am canadian (anglophone but i use french at work) and I have been saying "bien fait" for years and no one ever said anything about it!!
I suppose in England we would say “Well that went well” - meaning exactly the opposite.
Thats just sarcasm/irony
@@jefvanhove3989 that's what they speak in England, no?
@@spencerlively3049 i've heard that rumor too
Spencer Lively yeah, I’m pretty sure that it’s their national language
@@as.829 More an art form.
I didn’t know Anne Hathaway was French.
Lol
Bien fait!
Of course she is, didn't you watch Les Misérables?
And half Mexican.
I guess she lives in Paris. That's not her, tough...
My Grandmother who taught me French and German told me 'Only learn a sentence or phrase 'and Never translate a word on it's own. ' 'If you do you will make horrible mistakes.'
That is a very English way to try to learn a language.
I don't think it is a good way.
Making mistakes is also a form of learning
Words are contextual, that is their meaning changes by the contex in how they are used. In English we have the word "cool". "The party was cool!" (fun) OR "The water was cool" (lacking heat)
I think she a very wise woman!
You shouldn’t translate at all. It’s much better to learn the actual definition of the word, not the word in English that has the most similar definition.
As a french person, bien fait has two meanings:
when talking about someone's work: "un travail bien fait" means "Good job"
It can also mean "you deserve what's happening to you".
The tone used is very important.
Non mais je penses que ça dépend surtout le contexte quoi x).
Mais maintenant que j’y pense pourquoi on dit “bien fait” like it doesn’t make any sense o.o
@@KK-rg8ye en vrai c'est sarcastique et un peu méchant genre " bien fait pour toi fallait pas chercher les problèmes "
Yeah I was thinking the same thing. It does mean that, it's all about tone.
It's exactly the same in spanish.
Help... I need a French Friend to help me learn French!!!! I love your language!!! I'm so jealous!!!
Pretty Woman's iconic line "Big mistake" was translated to "Bien fait" in french
Is there a french version of the 1990 PRETTY WOMAN? I want, please 🥺
@@Reine111 I think this person is talking about the dubbed version in french.
And I think it's rather the subtitles he's talking about.
The subtitles show “bien fait” as “Beyonce” 😂
That is gold
Dyani I read it in half Spanish and half English like bien as in really and fait as fat and I was so confused😂😂
Well, we deserved it.
I always saw this as a perspective issue.
In English "well done" is used to say something the person did was done in a fine manner.
In French "well done" is used to say something that happened to the person you're addressing was well fit/well done to what she deserved (after doing something bad).
In English it qualifies what you did. In French it qualifies what was done to you.
Sounds like the sarcastic “well good for you!” that we rosbifs use a lot!
In austria we have a french school book called BIEN FAIT
After watching this video, I found your comment so funny 😆😆
I didn't watch the video, however, here's what I can tell you as a native French speaker :
"Bien fait" is not used as sarcasm to describe something. If you say, for instance, "C'est bien fait" (C'est = It/That is), then it becomes a genuine compliment that would mostly be used when talking about art - paintings, drawings, movies. However, you wouldn't use it for music, though I cannot explain why, French speakers would understand, but it would sound very odd to our ears.
"Bien fait" on its, whilst it literally translates to "Well done", is a way to express that you find someone else's misery, failures or shortcomings deserved. It can be used when joking with a friend who explains something annoying that happened to them, or, when used seriously, it simply states that whoever experienced unpleasantness had it coming.
Une autre expression très utile est « bien joué » , ce qui signifie en anglais « well played »
Tout à fait !
Yes, « bien joué » is what I use... because my impulse is always to say bien fait, and it's the simplest path for my brain to travel.
golongusa J’utilise « bien joué » toujours, surtout à grâce de regarder des joueurs français sur CZcams 😁
That can also be used sarcastically like bien fait,,,
Except that "bien fait" applies to the "punishment" that you get because of bad deeds or inaction whereas "bien joué" qualifies an action
One of my elementary school French teachers had a little stamp that said "Bien fait" that she would put on our assignments.
What matters is whether it's used as a sarcams of not... In France " Bien fait" is mostly used that way... But it's not always the case
Oops
A local french teacher use "bon travail" ( good job / well done) on this kind of stamp.
Lol, I just watched this video today and I already got to use this phrase. I saw a news report that people were told no after trying to return toilet paper that they couldn't resell online. I shouted, "Bien fait," at the screen. Serves them right. Bien fait!
Excellent use of the expression!
Sadly, this whole telling someone "good job" doesn't work in multiple languages. I speak Japanese as well as English, and figured I'd share what I knew. In japanese, you can't say "you did good!" (良くできました！/yoku dekimashita!) Because that phrase is often used towards little kids and so is seen derogatory, as If you're looking down on them and you're being sarcastic. Instead, you have to say "良く頑張りました/ yoku ganbarimashita" which means "you worked hard" XD
I guess it gives the person you're talking to the same effect, it's just not as satisfying to the speaker/us! XD
That's fantastic, SAiKA, thanks for sharing your knowledge of japanese with us!
Ahhh i really wanna learn japanese :(
How about otsukare sama desu?
@@yanis905 As far as my weeb knowledge goes, I think it means more "thanks for the hard job"
@@teaspoon3774 Yes, this is the main meaning, but it looks like my Japanese colleagues used it quite liberally.
My French friends say "bien joué" so I follow their example and that's the one I use.
As in, well played.
Correct! "Bien joué" means "Well done". 👍
The same as chwarae teg in Welsh.
I lived for 4 years in Québec. My ex and ex-belle-mère were my tutors as I learned my second language. Although I don`t believe "bien fait(e)" has the same potential negative connotation as it would in France, they definitely gently corrected me when I tried to logic my way into using "bien fait(e)"and instead got me into the habit of "bien joué(e)"
That said, I HAVE heard my ex use "bien joué(e)" sarcastically
And in Québec, you always have the option of using "trop hot, là" (though pronounced "trop hot LUH" lol ;) )
Reminds me of how Southerners in the USA, generally women, say "Bless your heart" in reaction to some other's comment, but what they mean is that they think you've been vulgar.
"bien fait" has the exactly meaning as "bem feito" in portuguese (makes sense since one is the literal translation of the other and vise versa)
Is the same in spanish "bien hecho". Is like you deserve what is happening to you, in a bad way.
Expressions should be treated as a single unit and an equivalent expression found in the target language (as opposed to translating one word at a time). The difficult part is that we are often so used to using expressions in our our own language that we are not aware that they are expressions. My favourite "well done" is "bravo". It's short and sweet.
In Spanish (castellano) we use the same term. "Bien hecho" translates to "you deserve it!" But "está bien hecho" means it's well done.
No siempre, “Bien hecho” también se dice para decir buen trabajo (well done).
So it's always sarcastic. I think of the southern saying, "Bless your heart." If someone southern says that to you, it usually means that you messed up.
Or that you're not that smart... 😂😂
I'm from the South and most of the time when we in my area say it, we usually mean it sincerely if something bad has happened. But just like almost anything in English, it can be said sarcastically. But it's much different than this case because it can have a positive or negative meaning, whereas this always has negative.
Every Italian I've ever worked with will call someone handsome or beautiful when they make a mistake.
You might be dumb but at least you're attractive lol
It was particularly offensive if the person was not in fact attractive lol
@@sarabeth641 yeah this popular misconception about "Bless your heart" being 100% catty and sarcastic all the time seems to be something non-Southerners have latched onto as a kind of meme, and I think even some Southerners propagate the myth because they like the idea "If we say this we're not being nice", even though they could go outside any day and hear people saying it genuinely. I think people just like the idea of it as a sarcastic phrase, and sure it is fun, but it would be a huge mistake to go walking around the South assuming everyone who says "bless your heart" is being rude.
I don't think it is sarcastic. It's just that in English when you say "well done", you mean it like the person did something in a fine manner. In French it is meant as something fitting (considering the bad things you did) happened to you. In English you mean what the person did was well done. In French they mean it like what was done to the person/what happened to the person was wall deserved/was well done (to him/her not by him/her).
There’s a little town in southeast Saskatchewan, Canada close to the US border called Bienfait. I believe the locals call it ‘bean fate’.
You are correct. That's what they call it.
Bienfait in one word means blessing. Totally different than bien fait in two words.
Bienfait is a proper noun in this situation. If you absolutely want to translate it , "benefit" is a good choice
There’s a town up here called “Pouce Coupe” (“Cut Thumb”).
They pronounce it “Poose-Coop”, and have no idea what it means.
Franglais ahahah
Bien fait = It serves you right!
Note that "bien fait" can be used as an adjective and this time is means "well done". Like in "c'est du travail bien fait", meaning "this is a job well done".
En anglais “well done” peut aussi avoir deux senses, juste comme en français.
Ouais, pas beaucoup des Anglophones utilisent “well done” s’ils n’est pas sarcastique.
@@LoverOfStuff Disagree.
Agree. Both are used.
Kind of like Nelson from The Simpsons pointing at you and saying "Ha ha!"
Classic!
This is what I like about English. As a speaker of both languages (though not fluent French) English seems to deal with this problem simply by the tone in which it's said.
We can say "well done" when we genuinely mean it in a normal tone or, say "well done!" With a sarcastic tone, when we don't
Point two (the meaning of « bien fait » ) is used exactly the same in Portuguese 😊
Wow, I'd never have realised that, thank goodness I never said that to anyone by accident😂 it's great how you can take such a simple phrase and make such an informative lesson!
J’étais coupable ! Quand j’ai appris le français pour la première fois, j’ai dit, « Bien fait. » Heureusement, ma cousine française m’a corrigé.
Thuan Tran Combien de fois as-tu appris le francais?
Thank you for reminding me how much I love French!
In Turkish we say Aferin which means well done sarcastically. I get it now thank you
I use 'Bon travail', merci Geraldine! : ) first viewer here
I say "Tres bien" as that is what my French teacher said if we did well.
beau travail also
It’s almost as if “bien fait” is meant in a sarcastic way, non? ... “Well done!” Sarcastically
Non. C'est un raccourci de "C'est bien fait pour toi." Ce n'est pas sarcastique.
It's not sarcastic but much worse: "you deserve it!".
@@Commeunefrancaise
Pas d'accord. Sarcastique signifie moqueur. Dire "c'est bien fait pour toi" c'est utiliser un terme positif dans un sens négatif, à des fins de moquerie. C'est typiquement sarcastique.
I do not agree. Sarcastic means mocking. Saying "c'est bien fait pour toi" is using a positive term in a negative sense, for mocking purposes. It's typically sarcastic.
"that's what you get" is a good phrase
I actually agree. If you come from an English-speaking background, sarcasm does cover this. We have as many levels of sarcasm as eskimos have words for snow. My view is that sarcasm is definitely treated differently in Romance languages. It’s not a strength of French, Italian, Spanish.
I’m in love. My french teacher was an old nun who didn’t understand that we didn’t speak french. She can make a class fluent in a year.
I have had native French speakers say to me "bien fait" very clearly indicating congratulations.
Your videos are super helpful, thank you so much!!
In portuguese we use "Bem feito" exactly the same way.
También para felicitar a alguien, se puede decir: "Bien joué !"
L'équivalent en anglais chez les Américains pour "C'est bien fait pour toi.", c'est, "That's what you get.". J'adore ta chaine, Géraldine! C'est trop bien!
J'ai vraiment aimé cette présentation.
Votre présentation est BIEN FAITE 😀
Tu as tout compris, Leira ! 😋
Non, c'est pas BIEN FAITE ... c'est GÉNIALE!
C'est une présentation bien faite!
J'espère que je l'ai utilisée correctement! 😊
@@CaptainNoch en français, il n'y a pas lieu de féliciter juste pour un travail bien fait. On le fait surtout quand il s'agit d'un très bon travail, remarquable, très au-dessus de la moyenne. Donc, dans ton contexte, un Français dirait : c'est une présentation très bien faite, bravo. Et dit avec un ton moqueur, ça voudrait dire l'opposé. C'est le côté latin de la chose, on aime utiliser les superlatifs.
Bien joué ??
Thanks for being here for us. Bravo! C'est super!
you can also use "bien joué" which is used informally with friends / family.
Thank you very much for that lesson. I have lived in France since 2006 and have used 'bien fait' incorrectly for almost all of them. I have subscribed!
Oh no!! I write this on my daughter’s homework all the time. 😫
The silver lining: now you can share with her a lesson _you_ have learned. And show her that it's never too late to improve.
Native speakers: Isn't Bien fait written on homework that's been well done. I lived in France and can almost see it in my mind's eye.
DorotheOle- I thought so too, from now on I’ll play it safe and write “bon travail”.
Hahaha
It's ok. Tell her! :) it's a fun mistake to make.
Salut Geraldine! You explain the things in everyday life context not like just bookish manner it is really very helpful. Thank you so much.
I am a teacher and I have used this "bien fait" a few times! Thanks for the clarification...
More of this please! So i can use it to speak better ironic french.
Em Cabo Verde, a expressão "bien fait" tem o mesmo significado na ligua francesa. Tem também quase a mesma pronuncia em kriolo (lingua materna fala nas ilhas de Cabo Verde)
Idk if this is right or not, but I was told to use “chapeau”, short for “hats off to you”.
Thank you so much for this!!
the interesting thing I note that I hear so often when you used the example that used the word malade. how many americans say something like mullahde. You show how to give the A sound the exact same weight and sound. Welsh is like that... Vowels are very precisely pronounce...no slurred or abbreviated.
It seems like this is the equivalent of, “bless your heart.”
YES. That!
Is bless your heart not something nice ?
In the south USA, it's not nice
blue smurff it is a back handed compliment. For example, “Joe comes in last in every race, but he keeps on trying. Bless his heart.” Obviously Joe might be not be destined to be a runner and could put his energy into other endeavors. They won’t tell him that. They will just let him fail and fake that they are impressed or concerned. I think in German it is like Schadenfreude.
Rachel Mitcheson Schadenfreude is taking pleasure in someone else’s misfortune
It's like saying "good job" *sarcastically* in English. Like, "Oh, good job! Look what you've done now."
Merci beaucoup ! This is exactly what I need
Thank you! Subscribed xx
Merci merci merci! J'ai su que cette phrase est problématique mais pas de détails
I swear every french teacher has that outfit
This is very helpful. Merci
Loved this video! This channel is so good!
New sub! In Quebec, there are a million and a half rules that I need to learn and this is one of them.
Not really... "Bien fait" in itself here sounds super unnatural and isn't necessarily sarcastic. For the sarcastic way, we'd say "Bien fait/Tant mieux pour lui!". To congratulate, we say "Good job" in itself (Don't say this in formal environments) or "Très bien", "Bravo", "C'est bien fait" if in more formal environments. "Bien joué" would only work while you're playing something here like sports or games. You'll notice that Canadian French is extremely informal and we usually speak with a whole lot of English expressions or Anglicisms.
C'est super! Merci
Bravo! Et merci. La vidéo est super.
Before watching, I assume it's like saying "brawo" in Polish where it is used sarcastically to mock someone's silly mishap.
It is
Bien fait: Serves you right. C’est bien fait: It is well done.
@@charlottegladen8396 I’m from Quebec, Canada, so perhaps the European nuance of ‘bien fait’ is a little lost on me. But even francophones here will use anglicisms like ‘good job!’ between each other. Ah, well. C’est la vie.
Thank you very much madame!
In Brazilian Portuguese is exactly the same meaning! "Bem feito". Very interesting.
"It serves her right". Would that translate as "Bien fait pour elle"? And in the plural "Bien fait pour eux/elles"?
Exactement, Paul !
Would the meaning of “bien fait” reminds me of the English phrase “good for you”? I more often hear “good for you” mean a negative thing, similar to how you explained “bien fait”.
Nope. "Good for you" is used in English when someone is bragging about something, and you aren't impressed.
E.g. statement: "I am the best looking person who ever lived" .
Answer: "Good for you! [I don't care, I'm not impressed]"
"Served you right!" is probably the nearest translation in English of "bien fait"
"Good for you" can go either way, depending on the context and the tone of voice. When addressed to a child who just found an Easter egg (and accompanied by a hug), it would be positive. When addressed to a bragging blowhard, it would be sarcastic.
C'est très simple. Merci
Mille mercis!
That top looks excellent btw.
So it literally translate to well done but with scaraism
It's the same in Portuguese. We say "bem feito" (literally translates to bien fait/well done) and it is used to tell someone they deserved something bad happened to them.
This is SO helpful!! So glad I found you!!
I’d use “Bien joué”, like ladybug and chat noir did.
Lol yesssss!
Est-ce qu'on peut dire "Bien jouait" ?
Bien joué**
Oui, tout à fait.
très utile, merci! :)
Hi, Im Brazilian and here we have the same expression "Bem feito" that means exactly the same, so for me the direct translation work very well :), anyway good video im loving learn French with you.
Ah, we have that in Dutch as well: net goed!
Translate as: almost well but means: it serves you right!
Merci Anka ! It's so wonderful to learn similarities with other languages.
@@Commeunefrancaise Yes, there are always more than you think. I learned french in school but I never knew about Bien fait.
I would translate it as 'Well done' but in a sarcastic way.
Travel on You Tube Yes, I would Agree. Same good be it use in English
Great video!
Merci beaucoup pour le video!
Actually in English ( depending on the context), the use of ‘well done’ can be used as a put down. ‘So you got another speeding ticket - well done!’
Stephen Briggs: What you're describing is called sarcasm.
James Sandy don’t you think ‘bien fait’ also has a sarcastic feel to it then?
Surely, this is irony.
English is exactly the same - you can say “oh, well done” when somebody breaks something. Our you can shout “well done, you m****f***” when somebody cuts you up on the road.
What is very useful is knowing that it has the same ironic meaning in French, and possibly is used more often in that context in French.
Great to get tips like this. Now I know how to really piss the locals off next time I go to France - because all too often many of them deserve to be told “bien fait”.
“Bien Fait, Monsieur Macron” par example. Just to be topical.
You mean sarcasm, not irony, and it's not the case. You are not saying "You did well" sarcastically to mean that they did bad. You are saying "It is well done that this happened (to you)".
2:21 she finally tells you... you are welcome..
I learnt something new. Bravo!
As a spanglish speaker I tought it meant “really fat” as my first impression 😭😂😂idk much French sorry🙈
Steph Maldonado Why comment then? 😕
Thank you. I wonder if the American company Madewell realizes this. They put bien fait all over their things
I did a quick online search. You're right! That's hilarious!
It's absolutely possible. I saw this in French schoolbooks for foreign learners soooo often. I always cringe.
@@Commeunefrancaise But to clarify, as long as it's in a complete sentence - ça suffit, n'est-ce pas?....'Ce travail, c'est bien fait.' ou 'Le travail est bien fait.' Merci encore!
Merci. Un travail bien fait.
C'est génial!
My teacher says bien fait all the time....
ouch...
Give that teacher the link to this video .. she needs to improve her French.
A classic trap, not "classical", FYI.
C'est genial! Merci beaucoup.
you are amazing, merci
“Bien fait” actually means “Good for you” or “You get what you deserve”
Bam, saved you 7 minutes
French guy here. you missed the point of the video. Bien fait literally translates to that but culturally it means "You get what you deserve." fun fact in japanese they have a specific word for that : Zama, more commonly Zama miro
ThatOneDude Now I want to watch Joker in french.
ThatOneDude Thanks for the correction though
Grammar NAZI
Kristian Marcy How?
I have heard ‘bien joué’ used sarcastically like this.
in french, we very often use irony and sarcasm. it's a manner to say something bad without saying it actually. Yes, it can seems hypocrit, it's mostly understood as politness. I think it's a remain of the "etiquette" in the "ancient regime", when frankly remarks should led to jail... it was better to uses elipses and irony to say something bad. French language is very marked by this.
@@thierryf67 people could go to jail for being frank? :o
@@heather6671 Did you understood me ? I was talking about the kingdom of France, before the revolution. Centuries of abolutism left a mark on the french ways of thinking and language, i think.
@@thierryf67 I wasn't sure what you meant, so I asked. Did you mean that in the past, people in France could be jailed for speaking their mind?
@@heather6671 Are you kidding ? Did you ever heard the absolute kings ? If you spoke against the king, of course, you could be in jailed without explanations, by means of a "lettre de cachet" (letter signed with French royal seal). I'm sorry, i don't know from were you a writting. may be you don't know about European History ?
Merci pour la clarification 👍
thank you so much for this video, this is great for studying during this hard time :)