Punjabi Compliments and Words of Encouragement ਹੌਸਲਾ

Praise, reassurance and the phrases that tell someone they did well. Punjabi compliments are warm and often invoke a blessing.

What to know before you use these

Praise often arrives as a blessing — Rather than describing you, Punjabi praise frequently wishes something for you. The compliment and the good wish are the same sentence.
"Charhdi kala" has no English equivalent — Relentless high spirits in the face of whatever is happening — a Sikh idea as much as a phrase, and untranslatable in one word.
Cooking, children and generosity land hardest — Compliments in these three areas carry more weight than anything you could say about someone's clothes or their house.

All 19 phrases

Cover:

You've done wonders

ਤੁਸੀਂ ਕਮਾਲ ਕਰ ਦਿੱਤੀ

Tusi kamaal kar ditti

They say

ਬਹੁਤ ਬਹੁਤ ਧੰਨਵਾਦ

Bahut bahut dhannvaad — Thank you very much

Keep it up

ਇਸੇ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਲੱਗੇ ਰਹੋ

Ise tarhaan lagge raho

Don't lose heart

ਹੌਸਲਾ ਨਾ ਹਾਰੋ

Hausla na haaro

You can do it

ਤੂੰ ਕਰ ਸਕਦਾ ਹੈਂ

Tu kar sakda hain

💡 informal; to a woman say ਕਰ ਸਕਦੀ ਹੈਂ (kar sakdi hain)

I'm proud of you

ਮੈਨੂੰ ਤੇਰੇ 'ਤੇ ਮਾਣ ਹੈ

Mainu tere te maan hai

💡 ਤੂੰ form — this is said to family and close ones

You look lovely today

ਅੱਜ ਤੁਸੀਂ ਬਹੁਤ ਸੋਹਣੇ ਲੱਗ ਰਹੇ ਹੋ

Ajj tusi bahut sohne lagg rahe ho

Your Punjabi has become really good

ਤੇਰੀ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਬਹੁਤ ਵਧੀਆ ਹੋ ਗਈ ਹੈ

Teri Punjabi bahut vadhia ho gayi hai

💡 the compliment every heritage learner is chasing

They say

ਧੰਨਵਾਦ

Dhannvaad — Thank you

What a beautiful house

ਘਰ ਬਹੁਤ ਸੋਹਣਾ ਹੈ

Ghar bahut sohna hai

You have a big heart

ਤੇਰਾ ਦਿਲ ਬਹੁਤ ਵੱਡਾ ਹੈ

Tera dil bahut vadda hai

Everything will work out

ਸਭ ਕੁਝ ਠੀਕ ਹੋ ਜਾਵੇਗਾ

Sabh kujh theek ho javega

💡 spoken often as 'theek ho ju' or 'ho jauga'

Try one more time

ਇੱਕ ਵਾਰ ਫੇਰ ਕੋਸ਼ਿਸ਼ ਕਰ

Ikk vaar pher koshish kar

You're very hardworking

ਤੂੰ ਬਹੁਤ ਮਿਹਨਤੀ ਹੈਂ

Tu bahut mehnati hain

Stay in high spirits

ਚੜ੍ਹਦੀ ਕਲਾ ਵਿੱਚ ਰਹੋ

Charhdi kala vich raho

💡 ਚੜ੍ਹਦੀ ਕਲਾ — the Sikh ideal of relentless optimism

Your cooking is delicious

ਤੁਹਾਡੇ ਹੱਥਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਸੁਆਦ ਹੈ

Tuhaade hathan vich suaad hai

💡 literally 'there is flavour in your hands'

Don't worry at all

ਰਤਾ ਫ਼ਿਕਰ ਨਾ ਕਰੋ

Rata fikar na karo

💡 ਰਤਾ = not even a tiny bit

That suit really suits you

ਇਹ ਸੂਟ ਤੁਹਾਡੇ 'ਤੇ ਬਹੁਤ ਫੱਬਦਾ ਹੈ

Eh suit tuhaade te bahut phabbda hai

💡 ਫੱਬਣਾ = to look good on someone — a lovely verb to know

You've made our name shine

ਤੂੰ ਸਾਡਾ ਨਾਂ ਰੌਸ਼ਨ ਕਰ ਦਿੱਤਾ

Tu saada naan raushan kar ditta

💡 the highest parental praise — 'you lit up our name'

Wonderful! Balle balle!

ਬੱਲੇ ਬੱਲੇ!

Balle balle!

💡 pure Punjabi delight — for good news or on the dance floor

Keep your courage up

ਹਿੰਮਤ ਰੱਖ

Himmat rakh

💡 informal — said to someone going through a tough time

Other situations

Smaller topics — meeting someone new, the weather, shopping, work, family — live in the full phrasebook, alongside every phrase on this page. See the phrasebook index for the whole set, or the dialogues for these phrases inside whole conversations.