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 →