Italian · At the Bar
Cin cin!
chin chin · /tʃin tʃin/
Cheers!
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"(onomatopoeia of clinking glasses)"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
The casual toast, mimicking the clink of glasses. Look each person in the eye as you clink — Italians take eye contact at the toast seriously — and never cross arms with someone else's reach. For anything formal, use "salute" instead. Fun fact travelers love: don't say "cin cin" in China; it sounds like something rude.
Heard in the wild
Cin cin, alla nostra!
Cheers, to us!
Where it lands
Universal across Italy
Quick answers
- What does "Cin cin!" mean?
- In Italian, "Cin cin!" means "Cheers!". Literally it's "(onomatopoeia of clinking glasses)". The casual toast, mimicking the clink of glasses. Look each person in the eye as you clink — Italians take eye contact at the toast seriously — and never cross arms with someone else's reach. For anything formal, use "salute" instead. Fun fact travelers love: don't say "cin cin" in China; it sounds like something rude.
- Is "Cin cin!" offensive?
- It's on the mild end — 1/5 (Grandma-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. mild, playful; fine on daytime TV.
- How do you pronounce "Cin cin!"?
- Say it "chin chin" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: tʃin tʃin.
Related in Italian
Salute! sah-LOO-tay Cheers! / To your health! (also: bless you) Offro io! OF-fro EE-oh This round's on me! / My treat! Ci facciamo un goccio? chee faht-CHAH-mo oon GOT-cho Shall we grab a drink? Sono un po' brillo SO-no oon paw BREEL-lo I'm a little tipsy. Ubriaco fradicio oo-BRYAH-ko FRAH-dee-cho Wasted / blackout drunk Che sbronza! kay ZBRON-tsah What a bender! / What a hangover!
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "A rude toast".
- French Cul sec ! Bottoms up! / Down it in one!
- German Prost! Cheers!
- Greek γεια μας Cheers! — the standard toast.
- Japanese 一気 Chug! Chug! / down it in one!
- Korean 짠! Cheers! — the toast is the sound effect itself.
- Polish na zdrowie! Cheers! — the standard toast (and also 'bless you' after a sneeze).
- Portuguese Cachaça Cachaça — Brazilian sugarcane liquor; slang for booze/a drinking habit
- Russian На посошок! One for the road!
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