Somebody say: I took the full test score
And I answer: Good for you!
which one is correct in Russian:
"хорошо для тебя"
or
"повезло тебе"
And also we use "тебе на пользу" in another situation like: eating healthy food is good for you ?
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11When you are saying "good for you" in this context, is it a genuine praise or you're being sarcastic?– Quassnoi ♦Commented Mar 11, 2019 at 21:40
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1meant real praise, but what about sarcastic situation?– WorldLoverCommented Mar 12, 2019 at 5:50
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1Never mind the Russian; I don't even understand the English! What's "I took the full test score" supposed to mean?– StrawberryCommented Mar 13, 2019 at 10:50
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@Dmitry: welcome to the translator's life!– Quassnoi ♦Commented Mar 13, 2019 at 11:55
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@Strawberry It presumably means "I achieved the maximum possible score on the test." Compare "He took first prize." Either the OP is not a native English speaker or speaks a regional variant.– David42Commented Sep 19, 2023 at 12:56
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8 Answers
хорошо для тебя in this context is not idiomatic.
I guess in Russian it can be expressed with Поздравляю! or Молодец/Молодчина!
(Тебе) везёт / Везёт (тебе) is suitable in situations where luck is truly a determinant or when there's some degree of jealousy involved.
In the context of physical benefit it's usually phrased as полезно, and тебе полезно when it's beneficial specifically to that person
тебе на пользу is normally coupled with the verb идти and refers to certain vivid signs of the benefit or lack thereof observed in the person after the fact or predicted.
answered Mar 11, 2019 at 21:18
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Thank you please explain more about difference between Молодчина and Молодец, is Молодчина like a feminine form of Молодец? Commented Mar 12, 2019 at 5:47
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Also could you please explain more about полезно and тебе на пользу with real sentences? Commented Mar 12, 2019 at 5:52
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2@WorldLover молодчина is more informal. The word itself is genderless.– lolbasCommented Mar 12, 2019 at 7:00
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2Молодец, Молодец, как соленый огурец! ... is a silly rhyme that my daughter's native-Russian-speaking nanny taught me– JonathanCommented Mar 12, 2019 at 12:29
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1@user28434, either im stupid, or молодчина in the sense of "good one" is both M&F: kartaslov.ru/значение-слова/молодчина . In sense "good guy" it is M for sure.– SanctusCommented Mar 12, 2019 at 13:31
The sarcastic version of «good for you» is «флаг тебе в руки». Example:
- Если тебя все устраивает, то флаг тебе в руки. Но я увольняюсь.
- Good for you if you're ok with it, but I'm quitting this job.
As mentioned above, most common is to use "Поздравляю!", but you can also use "Здорово!" or "Рад за тебя!".
You should be really careful using "Хорошо тебе", which is most literal translation, but implies jealousy and may actually mean you are not happy for this person.
As per last paragraph, most common in this case is word "полезно". E.g. "Заниматься спортом полезно". ("Doing sports is good for you / Doing sports is healthy"). You can also say "Заниматься спортом Спорт пойдет тебе на пользу" which is a bit more an advice than a neutral statement and implies that you should start doing sports.
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1a better phrasing in Russian is Занятия спортом пойдут тебе на пользу, that is noun instead of infinitive verb, because in Russian infinitives in the role of subject can't have a conventional verbal predicate like in the phrase Курить может повредить твоему здоровью (wrong), the predicate must be either a noun Курить - это зло, an adverb Курить вредно or another infinitive Курить - здоровью вредить, further reading infinitive subject, syntactic properties of infinitives Commented Mar 12, 2019 at 16:00
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1
The answer depends on whether or not you wanted to use "good for you" as a sarcastic retort, which is how that expression is frequently used nowadays when the speaker has no interest in someone else's happy moment, as in "good for you, but why should I care?"
If you were genuinely happy for that person, you could say "Я рад/рада за тебя!" ("I'm glad(m/f) for you!") or, more neutrally, "Ну и отлично." (roughly "Well, great.") Your second option "Повезло тебе" might work, but implies the high score may not have been well deserved. Баян Купи-ка's answer offers a few other nice options.
If you were going for sarcasm lined with thinly veiled indifference and annoyance, however, a more appropriate reply could be "ну и ладно" (roughly, "well, okay"), or "какой/какая молодец" (roughly, "attaboy/attagirl") with "какой/какая" drawled and overarticulated. Note that being sarcastic in a language you don't speak very well may have disastrous consequences for you and is best avoided altogether (not that it's ever right to be sarcastic even in your native language anyway).
"Good for you!" can also be translated as informal "Красавчик" in order to show your personal reaction (to say someone's really good at what he does).
As for "тебе на пользу" in "eating healthy food is good for you", it's better to say "есть здоровую еду полезно", without "тебе", or translate it "здоровая еда для тебя полезна", it's much closer to what natives say to each other.
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Nice suggestions, but I want to note that "красавчик" would only apply to males and has distinct "bro culture" vibes, which may be perceived somewhat negatively, especially in mixed-gender groups.– undercatCommented Mar 13, 2019 at 13:04
Also, there's the Russian phrase "А ты хорош!" used in the sense of "Good for you!".
"Good for you" can also be used with a bit of sarcasm / discontent, e.g. with someone bragging about their success and expecting to be praised. In this case, you could go with "ну и славно" or "ну поздравляю, поздравляю".
You could also use the form
Неплохо!
which for full impact should be pronounced with a hint of admiration.
