Topic: encouragements and congratulations

[Skyinou]

We got one "provocative" idiom, let's have some others in the same way.

(E) well done! Congratulations
(F) Bravo! Félicitations!

(F) Allez!
(E) Go! ?*

(E) way to go!*


*please help me translate idioms
And finding others.

[Tsway'eion]

The opposite of this would be something good to add as well. Something along the lines of booing someone, or words of negative discouragement.

[Txur’Itan]

~ Gambatte ~ Try your best / work harder = In Japanese at the office, instead of saying you did a good job, the common thing is to say is keep working harder...

['eylan na'viyä]

(E)Pity!, Too bad (D)Schade

[Prrton]

~ Gambatte ~ Try your best / work harder = In Japanese at the office, instead of saying you did a good job, the common thing is to say is keep working harder...

Japanese society could not function without this concept. 

頑張る(gambaru v. intransitive) persevere/"hang in there"/"don't give up"

I would like to add:

お疲れさま (o.tsukare.sama (essentially a noun)) lit. "honorable tiredness"

Said as a phrase/post-activity "closure greeting" in praise of someone or a group for the hard work that they put into the task at hand. Example: A 6 hour meeting is over. Everyone is exhausted, but something of value has been accomplished (or even if it hasn't the krr was nekx'ed). As the meeting is breaking up someone initiates: "o.tsukare.sama de.shi.ta" ("It was an 'honorably tiring (experience/exercise/period of time)'"). Others chime in to thank everyone for their time/energy/collaboration, responding (often simultaneously) "o.tsukare.sama de.shi.ta." (Cf. the Battlestar Galactica (Syfy) benediction "So say we all".) In Japanese culture this is simultaneously a statement of thanks, encouragement and a congratulations.

different but similar:

ご苦労さま (go.kurō.sama (essentially a noun as well)) lit. "honorable suffering/hardship/pain/anxiety"

Said from someone who is at a slightly higher social position situationally/contextually to someone who is providing some service as a function of work in thanks for the proper/good/smooth/satisfactory execution of that work. (There are many very subtle differences in using this phrase without offense within Japanese dialog, but they are essentially not important enough in terms of pragmatic distinction to delve into here). Usage examples:

• Manager to staff after staff has remained up all night (in the office without going home (known as "night watch" (徹夜 tetsuya)) producing a report: Go.kurō.sama de.shi.ta. (you have suffered honorably to get this done)
• Addressee receiving a package at the door from a delivery person (and it's pouring rain/but not necessarily) Go.kurō.sama de.shi.ta. (the package is on time and the delivery person is panting from having run up 3 flights of stairs)
• Coach to sports team in locker room after they've lost a game by one point (98 to 99) Go.kurō.sama de.shi.ta. (He/She is still very proud of them.)

PS: "de.shi.ta" = Na'vi «lìmu/lamu/lolu/...»

['eylan na'viyä]

Coach to sports team in locker room after they've lost a game by one point (98 to 99) Go.kurō.sama de.shi.ta. (He/She is still very proud of them.)

That made me think about a phrase that describes the opposite.
Its from a simpson-episode  :

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pull_a_Homer
(E)to pull a Homer: succeed despite idiocy
(D)einen Homer bauen: gelingen trotz dummheit

We know that the Na'vi are very honest("they didn't even have a word for lie")

maybe they say something like that about themself, if something went good although they did a bad job ||if they do not deserve the honor although something went excellent