Feature photo by joeshlabotnik Photo above by tavallai
“Cheers!” is the most important word to learn before you travel to a new country. With Matador’s definitive list, you’ll be toasting new friends in no time.
The ancient Egyptians did it. The ancient Chinese did it. And so did the Greeks.
People around the world have been getting drunk for thousands of years. The act of ‘toasting’ and clinking glasses together has been taking place for so long that the origins of the ritual are quite blurry.
There are many debated theories —the most popular being the noise of ‘clinking’ was to ward off evil spirits. Another tale claims that by crashing glasses together, the libations in each glass would slosh into the other person’s cup, proving that neither was poisoned.
Most commonly the toast translates to ‘good health,’ something we all need after one too many shots.
Candy Is Dandy But liquor Is quicker.- Ogden Nash
When traveling, the act of sharing a libation with a local can help foster international good will. Learning how to say “cheers!” in the local language is important!
Here is an international “cheers!” cheat sheet for you to print out, laminate, tuck into your passport, or copy to your cell phone. Enjoy!
Afrikaans : Gesondheid! : (Ge-sund-hide)
Albanian : Gëzuar! : (Géschuar)
Arabic (Egyptian) : في صحتكم! : (Fee-sa-ha-tak)
Armenian : Armenia : (Gen-ots-it)
Azerbaijani : Afiyët oslun! : (Afeeyet Ohs-lun)
Basque : On egin! : (On egín)
Photo by tatianasapateiro
Bosnian : Živjeli! : (Zhee-vi-lee)
Bulgarian : Наздраве! : (NAZ-dra-vey)
Chinese (Mandarin) : 乾杯! [干杯!] : (Gan BAY)
Chinese : (Cantonese) : (Gom bui)
Czech : Na zdravi : (NAZ-drah vi)
Croatian : Živjeli! : (ZHEE-vi-lee)
Danish : Skål! : (Skol)
Here’s to you and here’s to me, the best of friends we’ll ever be, but if we ever disagree, to hell with you and here’s to me
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Dutch : Prosit! : (Prowst)
Photo by hzeller
English : Cheers! Bottoms up! Down the hatch! Here’s mud in your eye!
Esperanto : Je via sano! Toston! : (YEH VEE-ah SAH-no/Tóston)
Estonian : Terviseks! : (Ter-vi-seks)
Ethiopian (Amharic) : Letenachin : (L’-TAY-nah-chin)
Farsi : (Ba-sal-a-ma-TEE)
Finnish : Kippis! : (KEEP-us)
Drink is the feast of reason and the flow of soul.–Alexander Pope
French : A Votre Sante! : (Ah Vot-ruh Sahn-tay)
Photo by fihu
Gaelic (Irish) : Sláinte! : (Slawn-che)
German : Prost! : (Prohst)
Greek : στην υγειά σας! : (Stin Eyiassou/Stin Eye-ee-yass-ooh)
Eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart. —Ecclesiastes 9:10
Hawaiian : Okole Maluna! : (Å’kålè ma’luna)
Hebrew : לְחַיִּים!/L’Chaim! : (Le Chy-em)
Hungarian : Egeszsegere! : (Egg-esh Ay-ged-reh)
Italian : Salute! : Cin cin! (Salu-tay/Chin Chin)
Japanese : /Kampai! : (Kam-pie)
Payday came and with it beer. -Rudyard Kipling
Korean : 위하여 (Chukbae) : (Sheet seki yah)
Latvian : Prieka! : (Pree-eh-ka)
Lithuanian i : sveikata! : (Ee sweh-kata)
Luxembourgish : Prost! : (Prohst)
Maltese : Evviva! : (A-vee-va)
The problem with some people is that when they aren’t drunk they’re sober. -William Butler Yeats
Mongolian : Эрүүл мэндийн төлөө! : (Erüül mehdiin tölöö)
Norwegian : Skål! : (Skoal)
Persian : به سلامتی! : (beh salamati)
Photo by janthemanson
Polish Na : zdrowie! : (Naz-droh-vee-ay)
Portuguese : Saúde! : (Sow-ooh-jee)
Romanian : Noroc! : (No-roak)
Russian : Будем здоровы! : (Boo-dem Zdo-ro-vee-eh)
Serbian : Ziveli! : (ZHEE-vi-lee)
Slovak : Na zdravie! : (Naz-drah-vee-ay)
Work is the curse of the drinking class. -Oscar Wilde
Spanish : ¡Salud!/Salut! : (Sah-lud/Sah-lute)
Swedish : Skål! : (Skol)
Thai : ไชโย! : (Chuc-dee)
Turkish : Şerefe! : (Sher-i-feh)
Vietnamese : Chúc sức khoẻ! : (chook-sa-koi-ah)
Yiddish : געזונטערהייט! Zei Gazunt! : (Zye GAH-zoont)
Zulu : Oogy wawa! : (oogee-wawa)
Undoubtedly you will be downing many more drinks in your lifetime – and making many toasts to international friends. Cheers!
Know how to say “Cheers!” in a language that’s not on the list? Please leave a comment below!
Community Connection!
Check out Matador’s highly scientific rankings of the world’s Top 10 Rooftop Bars, and Top 10 Local Parties for ideas on where to get your international drink on. Flying solo? Read the Gutsy Girl’s Guide to Drinking Alone.
Still not sure where to travel next? Here are our equally scientific calculations on where to find the world’s Sexiest Women and Sexiest Men – and the Practical Guide To Hostel Sex.
Here’s to international relations!
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48 Comments... join the discussion!
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"Sláinte!" Maith thú!!
Very interesting post! I don't drink myself, but I use these to toast whenever the occasion arises! Your phonetic was very well done (although in my lesser-known dialect of Irish it's "SLAHN-tche").
Are you sure about the Spanish one though? The second one (Salut) is most likely Catalan, since the word doesn't exist in Spanish.
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I love the Zulu one! Great list, thanks for putting it together.
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In thai its more like “chok” (chalk) than “chuc”
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“Sláinte!” Maith thú!!
Very interesting post! I don’t drink myself, but I use these to toast whenever the occasion arises! Your phonetic was very well done (although in my lesser-known dialect of Irish it’s “SLAHN-tche”).
Are you sure about the Spanish one though? The second one (Salut) is most likely Catalan, since the word doesn’t exist in Spanish.
(Here’s mud in your eye??? lol!!)↵ -
In Vietnam I learned to say in Vietnamese:
Một hai ba, yo! (Pronounced like it's written: Mo hai ba, yo!)
Wich means "One two three, Yo/Cheers!".
That one must be my favourite!↵ -
In Vietnam I learned to say in Vietnamese:
Một hai ba, yo! (Pronounced like it’s written: Mo hai ba, yo!)
Wich means “One two three, Yo/Cheers!”.
That one must be my favourite!↵ -
Great article! Here's another one: "through the lips, over the gums, look out stomach here it comes! LaChaiyam!
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Great article! Here’s another one: “through the lips, over the gums, look out stomach here it comes! LaChaiyam!
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The last syllable in Afrikaans sounds more like 'hate' than 'hide'. Great list.
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The last syllable in Afrikaans sounds more like ‘hate’ than ‘hide’. Great list.
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Might I point out that in Dutch using "proost" of "gezondheid" is far more common than "prosit", although technically correct?
(Other phrases used include: "santé" and "ad fundum". The origins of those words though are respectively French ("health") and Latin ("to the bottom")).
Overall, great article though!
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To wish someone Good health as we toast in Welsh ( I cannot see it on your list) we say "iechyd da" . yeacheed da' (ch- as in Scottish loch, ch in German etc) is a rough approximation.
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You left out Argentina. They say "ching ching". My girlfriend is from Buenos Aires.
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Might I point out that in Dutch using “proost” of “gezondheid” is far more common than “prosit”, although technically correct?
(Other phrases used include: “santé” and “ad fundum”. The origins of those words though are respectively French (”health”) and Latin (”to the bottom”)).
Overall, great article though!
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"sheep-seki-yah" in Korean means "you are a f***ing bastard", be careful when using the other translations!
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The Dutch is completely wrong. First of all, it's not written "prosit", but "Proost". Second, it's pronounced like pr-oh-st ( oh as in "oh my god")… Other than that, fun list
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To wish someone Good health as we toast in Welsh ( I cannot see it on your list) we say “iechyd da” . yeacheed da’ (ch- as in Scottish loch, ch in German etc) is a rough approximation.
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You left out Argentina. They say “ching ching”. My girlfriend is from Buenos Aires.
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“sheep-seki-yah” in Korean means “you are a f***ing bastard”, be careful when using the other translations!
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The Dutch is completely wrong. First of all, it’s not written “prosit”, but “Proost”. Second, it’s pronounced like pr-oh-st ( oh as in “oh my god”)… Other than that, fun list
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In Afrikaans, they also use "Cheers!" but it isn't pronounced completely like the English one. It's a bit more sharp, like the Afrikaans accent. It's just a bit more traditional to say Gesontheid. And yeah, like mark said, it's more like Gesond"hate".
Nice list
stumbled
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En francais, 'a votre sante' is a bit formal, most people say 'sante'. As to the spanish, those I've been out with say 'saloo', however that's spelled.
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Korean : 위하여 (Chukbae) : (Sheet seki yah)
All three of these say different things. The last one means something like "You're a son of a bitch."
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In Afrikaans, they also use “Cheers!” but it isn’t pronounced completely like the English one. It’s a bit more sharp, like the Afrikaans accent. It’s just a bit more traditional to say Gesontheid. And yeah, like mark said, it’s more like Gesond”hate”.
Nice list
stumbled
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En francais, ‘a votre sante’ is a bit formal, most people say ’sante’. As to the spanish, those I’ve been out with say ’saloo’, however that’s spelled.
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Korean : 위하여 (Chukbae) : (Sheet seki yah)
All three of these say different things. The last one means something like “You’re a son of a bitch.”
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The given pronunciation of the Portuguese "saúde" is Brasilian and would result very strange in Portugal. Here it is more comon to say an expressive "xin-xin" (txin-txin).
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armenian its more like gen-ots-nute
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In Spanish its just "salud" not "saloo" or "salut"-which would be French for "Hello". "salud" meaning "health" its the same thing you say if someone sneezes.
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I agree with that. Koreans usually say ''Gun-Bae!". '위하여' means 'for something/someone' in Korean and is used more specific way. 'chukbae' is literary thing, nobody says that in general. The last one', 'sheet seki yah / sheep seki yah', is a bad slander in KOREA. if you say that, even people throw the glass to you. Never say that word.
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I agree. Normally Koreans don't speak that word. Do Not Use.
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Pronounciations for Danish and Norwegian are mixed uo. Also, "skawl" would be a better English representation of the Norwegian and Swedish words than "skol" is, while "skoal" pretty much nails the Danish word.
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Sweeeeet. Next time i'm in Serbia drinking an alcoholic beverage in others I'll know what to say!
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In Greece, I learned another way to say cheers; "Yamas!" (Yah – Maas!)
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Regarding the quote you displayed next to the Hebrew rendering: "Eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart…" A quote from the Old Testament and one with which I heartily embrace. Two comments, though: first, the quote references "Ecclesiastes 9:10," but it is actually "Ecclesiastes 9:7;" second, and more importantly, is that the end of that quote, which was omitted, says, "for God now accepteth thy works." In other words, God himself approves of us enjoying these simple pleasures, which are blessings given by him and meant to be fully enjoyed with thanksgiving in our hearts, to the one who has provided them. Too often, unfortunately, we esteem the pleasure more than the "Pleasure-giver." God is not opposed to our enjoyment, as many of faith would suggest, but he is adamantly opposed to our adoration of pleasure above Himself. Such is a form of idolatry and is offensive to him. So, eat and drink with joy and wisdom and thank him who gave all things to us and for us.
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Finnish, should be pronounced kip – piss. nice.
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In Russian it is a little different, Za zda-ROV'ye
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As several people mentioned the Korean is wrong: the romanization does not say what the Korean alphabet does, which would be "we hai yo", and the last is something that might get you punched in the mouth is you say it to the wrong person – extremely rude.
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"Будьмо!" – in Ukrainian
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Romanian- fim sanatoshi . Pronounce it the way it’s written. I think. lol Not too big on transcriptions. Means-to be halthy.
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A good way to remember “cheers” in Egyptian Arabic is to think of what you will have the following morning – a “fizzy headache” ..,
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salud is right in my neighborhood. So isn’t Prost and Noroc should be but isnt!
Cheers
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The Yiddish transliteration does not match the actual Yiddish
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The toast “Prost!” in the Germanic languages like German, Dutch. Luxemburgisch etc. does derive from the Latin “Pro sit”, so your one commenter is not 100% on that as it can be written Pro sit or Prost. It derives from Universities in the olden days when Latin was a frequent subject. There is even a German drinking song where it pronounced as in Latin: “Ein pro sit, Ein pro sit der Gemuetlichkeit……..
In Germany you will also hear the toast “Zum Wohle” (tsoom Voh-leh) which means to your well being or health.
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The Chinese gan bei actually means bottoms up. It is frequently heard during banquets when the host is trying to get you drunk. I wouldn’t use it unless your drinking skills are extraordinary. The opens a can of worms.
A simple, cheers will suffice, or he jiu meaning drink wine.
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Thais also use “chai yo” sometimes. I’ve also heard “chon duem” where “duem” means drink but I’m not sure what the chon translates to. But, as the list suggests, “chohk dee” is the most popular (followed by “krup” for men and “ka” for women if you want to be polite).
Great list. I think travelers should try to learn four words/phrases in as many languages as possible; Thank You, Hello, Goodbye and CHEERS!
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In Korean, it is more common to say, “gun bay.”
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