Turkish · Joy & Praise
Aferin!
ah-feh-REEN · /afeˈɾin/
Well done! / Good job! / Attaboy!
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"Bravo / well done"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
Straight praise — to kids, to dogs, to friends who pulled it off. From a Persian bravo. Careful with tone: aimed at a peer it can turn sarcastic and patronizing ("aferin sana," oh well DONE), the way "good for you" flips in English. Sincere with a warm voice, cutting with a flat one.
Heard in the wild
Sınıfını geçmiş, aferin!
She passed the year — well done!
Where it lands
Turkey-wide; universal
Quick answers
- What does "Aferin!" mean?
- In Turkish, "Aferin!" means "Well done! / Good job! / Attaboy!". Literally it's "Bravo / well done". Straight praise — to kids, to dogs, to friends who pulled it off. From a Persian bravo. Careful with tone: aimed at a peer it can turn sarcastic and patronizing ("aferin sana," oh well DONE), the way "good for you" flips in English. Sincere with a warm voice, cutting with a flat one.
- Is "Aferin!" offensive?
- It's on the mild end — 1/5 (Grandma-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. mild, playful; fine on daytime TV.
- How do you pronounce "Aferin!"?
- Say it "ah-feh-REEN" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: afeˈɾin.
Related in Turkish
Vay anasını! VY ah-nah-suh-NUH Holy cow! / Well I'll be damned! Vay be! VY BEH Wow / damn / would you look at that Helal olsun! heh-LAHL ol-SOON Good on you! / Respect! / You earned it! Kral! KRAHL You're the man! / Legend! / Boss! Efsane! ef-sah-NEH Legendary! / Awesome! / Epic! Harika! hah-ree-KAH Wonderful! / Fantastic! / Great!
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "Hell yes".
- French Ça déchire ! That rocks! / That's awesome!
- German Geil! Awesome! / Sick! / Hell yes!
- Greek ώπα Oops! / Hey, watch it! / Let's go! — NOT mainly the plate-smashing tourist cheer.
- Italian Grande! Nice one! / You legend! / Way to go!
- Japanese やった Yes! / I did it! / We won!
- Korean 아싸! Yes! / score! — the fist-pump syllables.
- Polish zajebisty Fucking awesome / badass — the great slang-POSITIVE of the jebać family.
- Portuguese Que massa! How cool! / Awesome!
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.