# It's worth it



## Josh_

I was wondering what the Arabic equivalent is (if there is one) for the English phrase "was it worth it?" which is kind of used as a snide comment when someone does something bad.

Example:

"You stole $50 dollars from my wallet.  Well, I hope it was worth it, because I will never trust you again."


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## ayed

*هل تستحق سرقتها*
*هل تستحق ذلك؟*

In Saudi colloquial we say:
*ما تستاهل سرقتها*
*ما تحمل سرقتها*
*ما تسوى سرقتها*

More comments are expected 
Thank you


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## Josh_

Thanks Ayed.  It seems like the meaning of the phrases you gave does not give the same meaning as what I was intending in English.


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## zooz

I was thinking about this for a while. unfortunately I think there's no equivalent translation for it. the best line I could come up with is "*حسناً، أتمنى أن تكون فعلتك ذات قيمة*". noting that it's not common but somehow gives a similar sense. I'll keep my eyes on this one though.

fortunately we have in our syrian dialect the corresponding expression which we really use a lot and, happily, in one word: (*مِحْرِزْ*) or (*حَرْزانْ*).
your example'd be: (*سرقت خمسين دولار من جزداني. ان شاء الله تكون محرزة/حرزاني لأني ما عاد اسق فيك أبداً*).


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## Josh_

Thank you for your help, zooz.  I like to learn phrases in any dialect.  I hope to branch out and learn dialects in addition to the Egyptian one.


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## elroy

My situation is like that of Zooz; I've been mulling over this for several days and haven't been able to come up with an adequate translation.

I hadn't thought of محرزة; we use that a lot too. In Palestinian Arabic, we would say

سرقت خمسين دولار من جزداني. إن شاء الله كانت عملتك محرزة، لإني مش راح أثق فيك من هون وطالع. 
_Sara2et khamsiin dolar min juzdaani. Inshallah kaanat 3amiltak mi7irzeh, la2inni mish ra7 atheq fiik min hoon u Taale3._ 

I think this word is probably the best translation.


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## toolmanUF

Hey everybody,

I have been studying Arabic for 2 and a half years now, including a 2 month period in Amman, Jordan. I have really enjoyed it, and I'd like to get more involved in this forum in order to improve my Arabic even more. 

Thus, I'll begin with a phrase that I have wanted to use many times when I am trying to speak Arabic, and I don't know how to translate it. 

How can one say "it's worth it" in Arabic? As in the context of something like: Learning Arabic is very difficult, but it's worth it!

(Spanish and French equivalents would be "vale la pena" and "ça vaut la peine")


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## CarlosPerezMartinez

Try this two verbs: *استحقّ  *and *استأهل *


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## toolmanUF

Mil gracias, Carlos.

De hecho, este verbo me vino a la mente, pero no sé como se usa. ¿Hay otras palabras necesarias que debo usar con el verbo para darlo el significado que busco?

¿Podrías usarlo en una frase para que tenga mejor idea de como se utiliza?


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## CarlosPerezMartinez

Pues lo usas en tercera persona singular (especialmente استأهل ) y ya está. Para decir: merece la pena dices يستأهل  o يستحقّ
Merece la pena que vayas a tu casa: يستأهل أن تذهب الى بيتك


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## toolmanUF

Thanks a lot! I think that got it!


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## elroy

CarlosPerezMartinez said:


> Pues lo usas en tercera persona singular (especialmente استأهل ) y ya está. Para decir: merece la pena dices يستأهل  o يستحقّ
> Merece la pena que vayas a tu casa: يستأهل أن تذهب الى بيتك


 No me suena haber leído ni oído esa construcción.  ¿De dónde te la has sacado?  Desde luego, no digo que sea incorrecta, puede que exista y que yo simplemente no la conozca, pero de todas formas no la había visto antes.

Me interesaría saber qué opinan los demás.


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## CarlosPerezMartinez

La he oído en Arabia Saudí.


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## ghad

Hello, 

I know it's an old thread, but still.. it worth it (lol )

I think the convenient Arabic equivalent  for this should be:

هل استحق ذلك العناء؟


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## the-moon-light

"You stole $50 dollars from my wallet. Well, I hope it was worth it, because I will never trust you again." 

*لقد سرقت خمسين دولاراً من محفظتي. حسناً ، آملُ أنها كانت تستحق كل ذلك العناء، لأنني لن أثق بك مرة أخرى!*


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## londonmasri

Is there anything like this in Egyptian Arabic? 

E.g.
That car was really expensive!
Yes but it was worth it?

Would it be more natural to translate it as - it deserved every penny?

_'estahlit/mestahla kulli 2irsh' _(?)


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## ghad

Hello londonmasri,

In Egypt we say:  بس تستاهل   (standard arabic >>> لكنها تستحق)

It's totally understood as >>  _but it deserve every penny_

you don't even have to say: بس تستاهل كل قرش 
But if you want to, It's OK .. no problem at all,, It's some kind of confirmation (like: It definitely worth it ) , look:

Ahmed: العربية دى غالية جدا
Merna : أيوة,بس تستاهل 
Ahmed: أيوة فعلا تستاهل كل قرش

This conversation can easily be like this:
Ahmed: العربية دى غالية جدا
Merna : بس تستاهل كل قرش

OR simply :
Ahmed: العربية دى غالية جدا
 Merna : بس تستاهل


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## the-moon-light

Yes but it was worth it?

Aiywa bs kanit tistahil!. (you can stop here if this sentence is an answer, but if you are asking a question you'll continoue:

Aiywa bs kanit tistahil ya tara?

أيوه، بس كانت تستاهل يا ترا؟

You can't say: _'estahlit/mestahla kulli 2irsh' here in your sentence._


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## cherine

I agree with Ghad's post. And when we're talking about money/prices, we also have this expression: tamanha fiih تمنها فيها (for fem.) and tamano fiih (for masc.) تمنه فيه . Which also means that it was worth the money paid for it.


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## londonmasri

Great stuff guys!
Shokran!!


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## hc_ha

"You stole $50 dollars from my wallet. Well, I hope it was worth it, because I will never trust you again."

لقد سرقت خمسين دولارا من محفظتي
يا للحسرة
آمل أنه كان جديرا 
آمل أنه كان يجدر فعلــُـه
لأنني لن أثق بك مرة آخرى

In my humble opinion, the word “worth” in “it was worth it" , can be translated as “ جدير/ يجدر“

In addition to this, for the word “well”, if we use “ حسنا“, it sounds that we are encouraging him to steal.
I think, “well” here, is an interjection, expressing his surprise at the act of stealing. I would rather use “ يا للحسرة” here than use“حسنا “.


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## the-moon-light

But in Arabic we say طيب or زين and both means "well", and حسناً in classical Arabic, and it dosn't mean that we agree or encourging some one.

Like the Mom when she saw her kid doing some thing wrong and she is far from him, so she'll look at him and say: طيييييب 
and that dosn't mean that she's encourging him, and the kid can feel of this from her tone.


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## Michaeladara

many thanks Cherine - I've always wondered exactly how to use that - could you give a sentence with that phrase - تمنه في
thanks again
Michaela


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## cherine

hc_ha said:


> "You stole $50 dollars from my wallet. Well, I hope it was worth it, because I will never trust you again."
> 
> لقد سرقت خمسين دولارا من محفظتي
> يا للحسرة
> آمل أنه كان جديرا
> آمل أنه كان يجدر فعلــُـه
> لأنني لن أثق بك مرة آخرى
> 
> In my humble opinion, the word “worth” in “it was worth it" , can be translated as “ جدير/ يجدر“


Welcome to the forum, hc_ha 
Your translation is very good, but I disagree with both يا للحسرة and جدير .
The English "well" is a positive word in essence, but it doesn't mean any encouragement here. And the same goes for حسنًا it doesn't mean that I'm ok with someone who stole from me, specially with the rest of the sentence that clarifies that "well"/7asanan is far from approving or encouraging. 
As for جدير it does mean "worthy" but in a positive meaning. Like شخص جدير بالثقة someone trustworthy (worth being trusted).
I think that يستحق is the best translation for "worth it" in this context and, so far, most opinions agreed on that.



Michaeladara said:


> many thanks Cherine - I've always wondered exactly how to use that - could you give a sentence with that phrase - تمنه في
> thanks again
> Michaela


You're welcome, Michaela.

Regarding tamano fiih, let's say that most phones cost $50, and someone buys a $100 phone. I tell him: but why did you pay so much for a phone? 
He says: بس تمنه فيه، دا فيه كاميرتين وبيدخل على النت وبيشغل راديو وتلفزيون وإم بي ثري ....
bass(e) tamano fiih, da fih kamerteen we'byodkhol 3an-net we beyshaghghal radio we televezioon we MP3... (yes, but it's worth it; it has 2 cameras, connects to the Internet, has radio, tv and MP3 players...)
(so he enumerates why the phone was worth so much).

Usually, using "tamano fiih" is a kind of explanation (and sometimes justification  ) of why something is more expensive than similar products.


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## hc_ha

cherine said:


> As for جدير it does mean "worthy" but in a positive meaning. Like شخص جدير بالثقة someone trustworthy (worth being trusted).
> I think that يستحق is the best translation for "worth it" in this context and, so far, most opinions agreed on that.


 
أولا، أشكرك على ترحيبك لي ، و لك تقديري و احترامي
ثم..بالنسبة لتعليقك فاسمحي لي أن أقول
يجدر فعله
it is worth doing that 
لا يجدر فعله
it is not worth doing that

النص الأصلي في السؤال هو
I hope it was worth it
it does mean the speaker is really hoping "it was worth it", but he is saying that in a sarcastic way. 

جدير بكذا أو يجدر الأمر
ليس فقط أن يستخدم للأمر المستحسن

أي لا يشترط على الكلمة التي تأتي بعد --- جدير ب / يجدر --- أن تكون كلمة تدل على الأمر المستحسن
شيوع استخدام كلامة "جدير" في جديربالذكر و جدير بالثقة إلخ ، هذا لا ينافي ارتباطها بالكلمة تدل على الأمر غير المستحسن
إليك بعض أمثلة استخدام هذا التعبير في الأمور غير المستحسنة
*************
جدير بالنقد
جدير بالقتل
جدير بالموت
جدير بالاعتقال
جدير بالضرب
***************** 
و هذا...شكرا لك مرة أخرى على تعليقك و أتمنى أننا نستفيد من خلال المناقشة


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## Ghabi

Does it sound natural in Egyptian if I say:

_sara2t khamsiin dollar men ma7faZti ... Tab, inshalla dah 7ayenfa3ak, le2ennak khesert seqti fek!_


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## cherine

hc_ha said:


> يجدر فعله
> it is worth doing that
> لا يجدر فعله
> it is not worth doing that


This may be correct in some contexts, but not in other.
I thought about this some more, and I think يجدر can be translated as "should" or "better be done". This is why it doesn't sound right -at least to me- in the context we have here.


> النص الأصلي في السؤال هو
> I hope it was worth it
> it does mean the speaker is really hoping "it was worth it", but he is saying that in a sarcastic way.


True. And the same goes for the Arabic translation. The sarcasme/irony is still there, but we need to find the word the fits best. And I don't think جدير is that word.


> إليك بعض أمثلة استخدام هذا التعبير في الأمور غير المستحسنة
> *************
> جدير بالنقد
> جدير بالقتل
> جدير بالموت
> جدير بالاعتقال
> جدير بالضرب
> *****************
> و هذا...شكرا لك مرة أخرى على تعليقك و أتمنى أننا نستفيد من خلال المناقشة


All these expressions are correct, but not all of them are translated with "worthy":
جدير بالنقد = worthy of criticism
جدير بالقتل = deserves to/should be killed
جدير بالموت = deserves to/should die
جدير بالاعتقال = deserves to/should be arrested
جدير بالضرب = beatable/deserves to be beaten

So, as I said, it's the context -as usual- that determines which translation to choose. 



Ghabi said:


> Does it sound natural in Egyptian if I say:
> 
> _sara2t khamsiin dollar men ma7faZti ... Tab, inshalla dah 7ayenfa3ak, le2ennak khesert seqti fek!_


Sorry, no.
I suggest:
Tab ya reit el mawDuu3 yestaahel, 3ashan enta keda khasart seqati fiik/khasarteni.
Or maybe something like: enta shayef enn el 50 dolar yestahlo tekhsarni?

I'm sure there can be many other ways to express this same idea, but I could only this of these.


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## hc_ha

cherine said:


> All these expressions are correct, but not all of them are translated with "worthy":
> جدير بالنقد = worthy of criticism
> جدير بالقتل = deserves to/should be killed
> جدير بالموت = deserves to/should die
> جدير بالاعتقال = deserves to/should be arrested
> جدير بالضرب = beatable/deserves to be beaten


 
The reason I qouted those expressions, is not to justify my suggested translation, but to point out the fact that "جدير ب " this phrase is not only associated with "positive" words/or context as you claimed previously. 
Since you mentioned the difference between "deserve" and "be worth doing/ be worthy of", Please allow me to show you more (but not limited to) examples of the use of "جدير ب " with the meaning of "be worth doing/ be worthy of".
Kind reminder: again, by showing these examples, I am not to use them to justify my suggested translation is correct, but to point out the fact that "جدير ب “ this phrase is not only associated with "positive" words/context. 

لا شيء في دنيانا جدير بالحسد​Nothing in this world is worthy of jealousy ​ ​جدير بالتباهي / بالتفاخر به​ be worth showing off​ ​جدير بالبكاء عليه​ be worth crying over​ ​جدير بالتأسف عليه​be worth being sorry about​ ​جدير بالندم عليه​be worthy of regret​ ​جدير بالحزن​be worth being sad​


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## cherine

I take back what I said about it being positive. But I still insist that it is not the right word for this context.
For some of your examples, I wouldn't use جدير either. But I'm not saying they're wrong. Just that in some contexts, يستحق fits better.


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## hc_ha

cherine said:


> I take back what I said about it being positive..


 
Thanks! sister. 

I hope all of us, including our readers can benefit from this discussion. 

Now we have cleared the confusion about the use of جدير ب ,let's come back to the text in the question.

هل ترين أن هذه المناقشة جديرة بالتواصل بها ؟
***********************
please allow me to use a live example to present what I am trying to say. 
would you please answer ( in English) the above question written in Arabic?

Note: please include the word " جدير ب " in your answer, in other words, please answer that question in full, not just with a "yes" or "no".


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## Modest-boy

You stole $50 dollars from my wallet.  Well, I hope it was worth it, because I will never trust you again

سرقت من محفظتي 50 دولارا . حسنا , آمل أنها كانت تستحق كل ذلك العناء , لأنني لن أجعلك مصدر ثقة بعد الآن / لن تنطلي علي حيلك من الآن فصاعدا


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