German Phrase
Ja, ich hab's bestanden.
Meaning
Literally: “Yes, I have passed it.” It is a short, confident reply indicating that the speaker succeeded in an exam, test, or any challenge that required a pass/fail outcome.
When to use
Use this sentence right after you receive a positive result – after a school exam, a driving test, a language certification, or even a job interview where you were told you succeeded. It’s informal and works best in spoken conversation or casual written messages.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Jaichhab'sbestanden
Ja (affirmation)
Used to confirm or agree with a statement, similar to English “yes”.
ich (personal pronoun)
The first‑person singular subject pronoun; always in the nominative case.
hab's (contraction)
Colloquial contraction of "habe es". The auxiliary verb "haben" forms the present perfect, and "es" is the object pronoun referring to the exam, test, etc.
bestanden (past participle)
Past participle of "bestehen" meaning “to pass (an exam)”. In the perfect tense it follows the auxiliary "haben".
Present perfect (Perfekt)
German often uses the Perfekt for recent past events: "ich habe bestanden" → "ich hab's bestanden" in spoken language.
🗨In Conversation
Wie war die Prüfung?
How was the exam?
Ja, ich hab's bestanden.
Yes, I passed it.
✕Common Mistakes
Ja, ich hab bestanden.
Missing the apostrophe and the object pronoun; the correct colloquial form is "hab's" (short for "habe es").
Ja, ich bin bestanden.
Using the wrong auxiliary verb – "bestehen" forms the perfect with "haben", never with "sein".
Ja, ich habe bestanden.
While grammatically correct, native speakers usually add the object pronoun "es" or specify what was passed; otherwise it sounds incomplete.
↔Alternatives
Ja, ich habe bestanden.
Yes, I passed.
Ja, ich habe die Prüfung bestanden.
Yes, I passed the exam.
Ja, ich habe es geschafft.
Yes, I made it.
Cultural Tip
In everyday German, especially among younger speakers, the contraction "hab's" is very common. In formal writing or official statements you should keep the full form "ich habe es bestanden". Also note that Germans often answer with a short "Ja" or "Doch" depending on the preceding negative question – e.g., "War die Prüfung schwer? – Doch, ich hab's bestanden!"