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Polish · Vodka & Toasts

na zdrowie!

nah ZDROH-vyeh · /na ˈzdrɔ.vʲɛ/

Cheers! — the standard toast (and also 'bless you' after a sneeze).

1/5 Grandma-safe

mild, playful; fine on daytime TV

Literally

"to health!"

Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.

How to use it

The one toast you must know, doing double duty for sneezes. The protocol matters more than the words: eye contact on the clink, and in traditional company the shot — usually vodka, usually cold, ideally Żubrówka or a clean Wyborowa — goes down in one. Sipping your vodka marks you as an amateur; refusing a round entirely requires a medical excuse or genuine firmness, because Polish hospitality is a siege. Grandma-safe, obviously. The elaborated version: "zdrowie pięknych pań!" — to the health of the beautiful ladies.

Heard in the wild

No to za spotkanie — na zdrowie!

Well then, to us meeting — cheers!

Where it lands

Poland (universal)

Quick answers

What does "na zdrowie!" mean?
In Polish, "na zdrowie!" means "Cheers! — the standard toast (and also 'bless you' after a sneeze).". Literally it's "to health!". The one toast you must know, doing double duty for sneezes. The protocol matters more than the words: eye contact on the clink, and in traditional company the shot — usually vodka, usually cold, ideally Żubrówka or a clean Wyborowa — goes down in one. Sipping your vodka marks you as an amateur; refusing a round entirely requires a medical excuse or genuine firmness, because Polish hospitality is a siege. Grandma-safe, obviously. The elaborated version: "zdrowie pięknych pań!" — to the health of the beautiful ladies.
Is "na zdrowie!" 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 "na zdrowie!"?
Say it "nah ZDROH-vyeh" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: na ˈzdrɔ.vʲɛ.

Related in Polish

no to cyk noh toh TSIK Down the hatch / here we go — the onomatopoeic pre-shot toast. chluśniem, bo uśniem KHLOOSH-nyem boh OOSH-nyem Drink up or we'll doze off — the rhyming folk toast. setka SEHT-kah A double shot of vodka — the standard Polish unit of serious drinking. najebany nah-yeh-BAH-nih Hammered / shitfaced. napierdolić się nah-pyehr-DOH-leech sheh To get absolutely wrecked. opierdolić oh-pyehr-DOH-leech To chew someone out — 'opierdol' is the bollocking itself; also, to wolf food down.

The same idea, elsewhere

Via concepts like "A rude toast".

how to say "A rude toast" →

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