Turkish · The Rakı Table
Sağlığına!
sah-luh-uh-NAH · /saːɫɯːɯˈna/
To your health! / Cheers (gentle)
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"To your health"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
The warmer, health-centered toast, and also a stand-alone thank-you: after a meal you say "eline sağlık" (health to your hand) to the cook, and "sağlığına" raising a glass. Utterly clean and gracious — the toast you use with elders where "fondip" would be crass. "Sıhhatler olsun" is said to someone fresh from a shower or a haircut.
Heard in the wild
Ellerine sağlık, harika olmuş. Sağlığına!
Bless your hands, it's wonderful. To your health!
Where it lands
Turkey-wide; universal
Quick answers
- What does "Sağlığına!" mean?
- In Turkish, "Sağlığına!" means "To your health! / Cheers (gentle)". Literally it's "To your health". The warmer, health-centered toast, and also a stand-alone thank-you: after a meal you say "eline sağlık" (health to your hand) to the cook, and "sağlığına" raising a glass. Utterly clean and gracious — the toast you use with elders where "fondip" would be crass. "Sıhhatler olsun" is said to someone fresh from a shower or a haircut.
- Is "Sağlığına!" 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 "Sağlığına!"?
- Say it "sah-luh-uh-NAH" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: saːɫɯːɯˈna.
Related in Turkish
Lan LAHN Man / dude / hey — a rough vocative that dials the whole sentence up or down Be BEH Man / geez — punchy emphasis, friendlier and older-school than 'lan' Şerefe! sheh-reh-FEH Cheers! Fondip! fon-DEEP Bottoms up! / Down it in one! Kafam güzel kah-FAHM gew-ZEL I'm tipsy / I've got a nice buzz on Ya YAH Come on / seriously / ugh — a softener-slash-intensifier tacked on for feeling
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.