כל הכבוד
kol ha-ka-VOD
Well done, kudos (lit. "all the honor").
What does it literally mean, and what do Israelis actually mean?
What it literally means
Literal: "all the honor."
סיימת את התואר בזמן? כל הכבוד!Si'yamta et ha-to'ar ba-zman? Kol ha-kavod!You finished the degree on time? Kudos!
What Israelis actually mean
"well done! kudos!", honor = weight: the root's "heavy" logic surprises people.
כל הכבוד לצוות על העבודה הקשה.Kol ha-kavod la-tzevet al ha-avoda ha-kasha.Full credit to the team for the hard work.
Where did this word come from?
"All the honor [to you]." The biblical root כבד (heavy/weighty → honor) is ancient and confirmed; the *phrase* as a stand-alone congratulation is modern Israeli usage, an expansion of older "yesh kavod" / "kavod la…" formulas. Treat "biblical origin" claims for the phrase itself as folk; root confirmed, phrase well-supported as a modern idiom.
Register & social context
Universal, warm, for anything from a marathon to a well-parked car. Praises effort and achievement, unlike mazal tov which marks events and luck.
Root & morphology
Root כ.ב.ד ("heavy" → "weighty → honored"). כל (kol, all) + כבוד (kavod, honor/glory). The same "heavy" root gives kaved, liver, the "heavy" organ.
Influences & contact languages
- Hebrew (עברית, Ivrit)Biblical root כ.ב.ד "heavy → honored"; the standalone congratulation is a modern Israeli idiom.
Which places are associated with this word?
This word travels through people, not places, so we don't pin it.
See where it lives in the language constellationHear it in the wild
סיימת את התואר בזמן? כל הכבוד!
Si'yamta et ha-to'ar ba-zman? Kol ha-kavod!
You finished the degree on time? Kudos!
כל הכבוד לצוות על העבודה הקשה.
Kol ha-kavod la-tzevet al ha-avoda ha-kasha.
Full credit to the team for the hard work.
What English speakers get wrong
Unlike "congratulations" (mazal tov, for luck/events), kol hakavod praises *effort*, you say it for things achieved, not things that happened. Also the root's "heavy" logic surprises people: honor = weight.
What lives next to this word?
Sources & review
Want to use this word? Understand it inside a full sentence: Open baba →