page_title: Toast (honor)
section_title: Toasts worldwide
hierarchical_section_title: Toast (honor) / Toasts worldwide
caption_attribution_description: English: Group of people at a bar in Lisbon Image from a Withlocals tour
context_page_description: A toast is a ritual in which a drink is taken as an expression of honor or goodwill. The term may be applied to the person or thing so honored, the drink taken, or the verbal expression accompanying the drink. Thus, a person could be "the toast of the evening", for whom someone "proposes a toast" to congratulate and for whom a third person "toasts" in agreement. The ritual forms the basis of the literary and performance genre, of which Mark Twain's "To the Babies" is a well-known example.
  The toast as described in this article is rooted in Western culture, but certain cultures outside that sphere have their own traditions in which consuming a drink is connected with ideas of celebration and honor. While the physical and verbal ritual of the toast may be elaborate and formal, merely raising one's glass towards someone or something and then drinking is essentially a toast as well, the message being one of goodwill towards the person or thing indicated.
context_section_description: In various cultures worldwide, toasting is common and to not do so may be a breach of etiquette. The general theme of a toast is "good luck" or "good health". At formal meals in certain countries of the Commonwealth of Nations, the first toast to be proposed is traditionally the Loyal Toast ("The Queen"). This may be adapted in other countries to give a loyal toast to the appropriate Head of State.
  Selected examples of toasts worldwide:
  Albanian: "Gëzuar" (enjoy)
  Afrikaans: “Gesondheid”, "Tjorts", or “Tjeers” (to good health, cheers, or bottoms up!)
  Amharic language (Ethiopia): "Le'tenachin!" (to our health)
  Arabic: "بصحتك" (be ṣaḥtak, for your health)
  Armenian: "Կենաց" or "Կենացդ" (kenats/genats or kenatst/genatst, "to life" or "to your life")
  Australian English: Cheers mate! (to your happiness my friend)
  Basque: "Topa!" (toast)
  Belarusian: "Будзьма!" (budzma, may we live!)
  Bosnian: "Nazdravlje" (to health) or "Živjeli" (live!)
  Bulgarian: "Наздраве" (nazdrave, to health)
  Catalan: "Salut!" (to health), "Brindem" (to toast), "Xin-xin" (as emulating the sound of the glasses), "Salut i força al canut!" (traditional phallic rhyme, meaning "health and strength to the dick"), "Brindem, brindem, brindola, pels nostres pits i la vostra titola" (variation including tits and dick), "Salut i peles!" (health and money, as popularized by the translation in Catalan of the British series Bottom).
  Cornish: "Yeghes da!" (Cheers!)
  Croatian: "Živjeli" (live!), "Nazdravlje" (to health)
  Czech: "Na zdraví" (to health)
   
  Danish: "Skål" (lit. "bowl", refers to older drinking vessels)
  Dutch: "Proost" (from Latin prosit "may it be good" (i.e., for you)),  or "(op je) gezondheid" ((to your) health); in Belgium: schol (from Scandinavian) or santé (from the French).
  East Asian:
  Chinese:
  Mandarin: "乾杯" (gānbēi, lit. "Empty the glass", similar to "bottoms up" in English), "請請" (qing qing, lit. "Please, please," said by host when inviting guests to drink, fig. as emulating the sound of the glasses)
  Cantonese: "飲杯" (yam2 bui1, lit. "Drink the glass", similar to "bottoms up" in English), "飲勝" (yam2 sing3, lit. 'Drink for victory')
  Hokkien/Taiwanese Hokkien: "乾杯" (kanpoe / kanpe, "Empty the glass", similar to "bottoms up" in English) or (lim) hō͘ ta
  Japanese: "乾杯" (kanpai, lit. "Empty the glass", similar to "bottoms up" in English)
  Korean: "건배" ("乾杯", geonbae, lit. "Empty the glass", similar to "bottoms up" in English)
  English: "Cheers", "Bottom's up", "Chin-chin" (dated, from Chinese qing qing).
  Esperanto: "Je via sano!" (to your health)
  Estonian: "Terviseks" (for the health) or "proosit" (from German "Prost")
  Filipino: "Mabuhay" (long live); "Tagay" ([let us] drink); "Kampay" (from Japanese kanpai); the Philippines does not historically have a toast, because social drinking of alcohol traditionally involves the sharing of one cup among participants (a tagayan)
  Finnish: "Kippis", "Skool", "Pohjanmaan kautta", or "Hölökyn kölökyn" (in Savonian dialects)
  French: "Tchin tchin" (from Chinese qing qing), "Santé" (health) or "cul sec" (lit. "dry bottom", to drink the whole glass in one go)
  Galician: "Saude" (Good health)
  Georgian: "გაუმარჯოს!" (Gaumarjos!) (Victory!)
  German: "Prost", "Prosit", from Latin prosit (may it be good (i.e., for you)) or "Zum Wohl" (to health)
  Greek: "Εις υγείαν" (is iyían), "στην υγειά σου/μας", "γειά" (for health) or "Εβίβα" (eviva, from Italian evviva, "long life!")
  Hebrew: "לחיים" ("L'Chayyim") (to life, traditional Jewish toast)
  Hindi: "अच्छी सेहत" (achchee sehat, "good health")
  Hungarian: "Egészségünkre" (for our health), more commonly "Egészségedre" [ˈɛgeːʃːeːgɛdrɛ] (to your health), "Fenékig" (lit. "to the bottom", similar to "bottoms up" in English)
  Icelandic: "Skál" (lit. "bowl", referring to older drinking vessels)
  Irish: "Sláinte" (health)
  Italian: "Prosit" (from the Latin), "Cin Cin" (from Chinese qing qing) or "Salute" (health)
  Latin: "Vives" ("may you live), often in the Greek form ZHCAIC given in Latin letters as ZESES; "Prosit" or "Propino"
  Latvian: "Priekā" (to joy)
  Lithuanian: "Į sveikatą" (to health)
  Macedonian: "Н
caption: a toast in Lisbon, Portugal
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