#235: 16 Ways to Congratulate Someone | English Phrases & Expressions

This week we have a reason to celebrate. We’re now a 4 million people community on YouTube! And because a lot of people are congratulating us on YouTube, we decided it’d be fitting to record a podcast on different ways to say congratulations. This is a word that learners often misuse, so we detail the different situations when it is okay to say “congratulations” (hint: not on someone’s birthday!).

Key Vocabulary

  • Congrats!
  • Hats off to you!
  • (Give yourself) a pat on the back
  • Get in there!! Or just Get in! (British)
  • Good on you! or Good for you!
  • Good/great job! (pronunciation difference)
  • Sensational!
  • You did it!
  • Nice going!
  • Nice one!
  • Way to go!
  • Kudos!
  • Keep up the good work (good for projects/work)
  • Mad respect

Other Words You’ll Learn

  • Keep me on my toes
  • Gorge yourself on
  • To take it for a spin
  • Copycat
  • Tormenting Keeling over

Quick Definitions from the Episode

  • Trustworthy: if someone is trustworthy, you can trust them because they are honest.
  • Sip (something/on something): to drink something slowly, taking very small mouthfuls.
  • The pot of gold (at the end of the rainbow): great wealth or something very good which someone hopes or tries hard to get, but is difficult to get.
  • Overuse: to use something too much.
  • Hang in: to remain brave and determined when you are in a difficult situation.

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Links

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  • Mounir says:

    Heyyy reallifers hope you’re doing well actually today is my birthday I just turned 22 and the podcast was perfectly the right one to listen to.. other than the great lesson and vocabulary in this podcast I just want to point out the great chemistry between you guys and it’s contagious❤️.. you made my day thank you sooo much
    Awwwww yeah

    • Agnieszka from RealLife English says:

      Awww happy birthday, Mounir! May all your wishes come true!

  • Andrew says:

    First off, congratulations guys, you totally deserve it!
    I discovered your channel last year (at those times you had almost 3 million subscribers already) and since then I consume tons of your content practically every day, including podcasts, of course)
    As it turned out, it’s really a fun, natural, and convenient way to learn English, so I’m still here improving my skills by listening to you, thanks a lot, guys)
    Now I wanna say that I was kinda surprised when you told you haven’t heard such phrases in other languages, I mean, “hats off” and “give yourself a pat on the back” because actually we have exact the same things in East Slavic culture (Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus). Maybe it’s because of French impact about 200 years ago when our countries were copycating a lot of stuff from there, who knows. And English culture has a lot to do with French culture, right? So, chances are good that it could be true))
    Anyway, we do use these phrases, but “give yourself a pat on the back” is less common as a phrase, usually we just physically do that, of course, not with a complete stranger (it would be weird a little), but mainly with friends, acquaintances, etc.
    And the last thing that I wanna say in the end is the more I immerse myself into English culture, the less differences I actually see, I find much more common stuff instead.
    Bye for now, and keep up the good job)))

  • Aya Sirine says:

    Aww yeah Real Life English Fluency Coaches , l’m sirine , the biggest dedicated English learner of yours !!!!!! I mean seriously guys thanks to all of your hard work l’m falling head over heels in love with English . I love all of you and l’m truly grateful and thankful to all of you , and actually l have a burning question for you : what do you usually suggest for the young English who are between 12 and 17 years old and who are so ashamed to speak to older learners like them even if their English level is excellent . Do you urge them to get out of their comfort zone and speak themselves?????
    Stay healthy and safe . My best wishes for you ❤

  • Cindy Y.H. says:

    Thank you so much for all the sensational lessons. As a long-time fan, I used to have the previous team without Teacher Olli at first, to be honest. Now, I really like him and I think he always makes the conversations more cheerful and enjoyable!😄

    • Agnieszka from RealLife English says:

      We’re happy that you think so, Cindy!