Do we say "congratulations on" or "congratulations for"?
When a friend gets a promotion or a colleague finishes a big project, you want your message to sound right. Most of the time, that means "congratulations on." But "for" shows up too, and German speakers often add a third option that doesn't work at all. Let's go through them.
"Congratulations on" is the one you'll use most. It works for events, milestones, and achievements, and it's followed by a noun or an -ing form.
If you're not sure which one to use, go with "on." It's always correct.
"Congratulations for" is less common. You'll mostly hear it when someone is praising effort or something a person did, rather than an event.
Even in these sentences, plenty of native speakers would say "on," so you can't go wrong with it.
This is where German speakers often slip. Because German says Glückwunsch zu, it's tempting to write "Congratulations to your new job!" In English, "to" is only for the person you're congratulating. The reason comes after, with "on."
One more thing: it's always "congratulations," with an "s." "Congratulation" on its own sounds wrong in English. With friends, you can just say "Congrats!"
Congratulations on making it this far! Now that you've got this down, go ahead and put it into practice.
For a more interactive experience in learning these phrases, check out our Daily Dose of Denglisch Docs series.
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