Russian · At the Bar
На посошок!
na pososhok
nah pah-sah-SHOK · /nə pəsɐˈʂok/
One for the road!
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"For the little walking staff"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
The last drink before you leave — named for the pilgrim's staff you'd lean on walking home. A beautiful bit of drinking ritual: refusing the pososhok is almost rude. Expect at least two more "last ones" after it. Warm and clean.
Heard in the wild
Ну, на посошок — и по домам.
Alright, one for the road — then home we go.
Where it lands
Russia (universal)
Quick answers
- What does "На посошок!" mean?
- In Russian, "На посошок!" means "One for the road!". Literally it's "For the little walking staff". The last drink before you leave — named for the pilgrim's staff you'd lean on walking home. A beautiful bit of drinking ritual: refusing the pososhok is almost rude. Expect at least two more "last ones" after it. Warm and clean.
- Is "На посошок!" 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 "На посошок!"?
- Say it "nah pah-sah-SHOK" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: nə pəsɐˈʂok.
Related in Russian
Наливай! nalivay nah-lee-VYE Fill 'em up! / Pour the drinks! За здоровье! za zdorov'e zah zdah-ROH-vye Cheers! / To your health! Бухать bukhat' boo-KHAHT To drink (heavily) / to get wasted В стельку v stel'ku f STYEL-koo Blind drunk / hammered / plastered Давай-давай! davai-davai dah-VYE dah-VYE Come on! Let's go! Push! Щелчок по горлу shchelchok po gorlu gesture Let's drink / he's drunk / booze
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.
- Italian Cin cin! Cheers!
- 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
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.