| Language
|
Usual responses and notes
|
Response meaning in English
|
Sneezer reply and pronunciation
|
Reply meaning in English
|
| Albanian
|
Shëndet (shuhn-det)
|
"Health!"
|
Faleminderit
|
"Thank you"
|
| Shëndet paç
|
"May you have health"
|
| Amharic
|
ይማርሽ (yimarish) for a female
ይማርህ (yimarih) for a male
|
"May God forgive you!"
|
ያኑሪሽ (yanurish) for female
ያኑርህ (yanurih) for male
|
"May you live for long"
|
| Afrikaans
|
Gesondheid
|
"Health!"
|
Dankie
|
"Thank you"
|
| Arabic
|
صحة (ṣaḥḥa), فرج (faraj), or الله فرجك (allāh farajak (m.), allāh farajik (f.))
نشوة (nashwa)
يرحمكم الله (yarḥamukum ullāh) if the sneezer says الحمدلله (al‐ḥamdulila̅h), as an alternative/religious interaction
|
"Well-being!" or "Health!"
"Elation!" or "Thrill!"
"God have mercy on you" if the sneezer says "All praise is for God"
|
علينا و عليك (ʿalayna̅ wa‐ʿalayk)
شكراً (shukran) or
يهديكم الله و يصلح بالكم (yahdīkum alla̅h wa‐yuṣlaḥ ba̅lakum) after the alternative interaction
|
"For you and me"
"Thank you!"
"God guide you and set your affairs aright"
|
| Armenian
|
առողջություն (aroghjutyun)
|
"Health"
|
շնորհակալություն (shnorhakalutyun)
|
"Thank you"
|
| Assamese
|
মঙ্গল হওক (môngôl hôwk)
|
"May good happen"
|
Unknown
|
| Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
|
shemed alaha
brakhmeh
|
"In God's name"
"Bless you"
|
baseema raba
|
"Thank you (very much)"
|
| Azeri
|
Sağlam ol
|
"Be healthy"
|
Sən də Sağ ol
|
"You too"
|
| Bangla
|
Alhamdulillah (আল্লাহ তোমার উপর রহম দান করুন) (Bangladesh)
|
"May God have mercy on you"
|
"Silence"[clarification needed]
|
| Jibah Jibah (জীবঃ জীবঃ) (India)
|
"May you live long"
|
| Basque
|
Doministiku (from the Latin dominus tecum)
Ehun urtez!
Jainkoak lagun!
|
"The Lord be with you"
"For a hundred years!"
"May God help you!"
|
No answer
Eta zu kondatzaile
|
No answer
"And you there to narrate"
|
| Belarusian
|
будзь здаровы (Budz zdarovy) for any gender
|
"Be healthy"
|
дзякуй (dziakuj)
|
"Thank you"
|
| будзь здароў (budz zdarou) for a male
|
| будзь здаровая (Budz zdarovaja) for a female
|
| Bosnian
|
Nazdravlje
|
"To your good health"
|
Hvala
|
"Thank you"
|
| Breton
|
Doue d'ho pennigo
|
"God will bless you"
|
|
|
| Bulgarian
|
Наздраве (Nazdrave)
|
"To your health" or "Cheers"
|
Благодаря (Blagodarya)
|
"Thank you"
|
| Catalan
|
Jesús or Salut
|
"Jesus" or "Health!"
|
Gràcies
|
"Thank you"
|
| Cantonese
|
大吉利事 (daai6 gat1 lei6 si6) or 好嘅 (hou2 ge3).
Sneezing in Southern Chinese culture means that someone is speaking ill behind your back.
|
"A great fortunate occurrence" or "A good one"
|
唔好意思 (m4 hou2 ji3 si1)
|
"Excuse me"
|
| Chechen
|
Dukha vekhil for a male
Dukha yekhil for a female
|
"Live for a long time"
|
Dela reze hiyla
|
"Thank you"; literally means "I wish God will bless you"
|
| Croatian
|
Nazdravlje or Istina!
|
"To your health" or "Truth!"
|
Hvala
|
"Thank you"
|
| Czech
|
Na zdraví
Pozdrav Pánbůh or
Je to pravda
|
"To your health"
"Bless God" or
"It is true"
|
Ať slouží or
Dejž to Pánbůh (in reply to Pozdrav Pánbůh)
|
"May it last" or
"May God let it happen (bless you)"
|
| Danish
|
Prosit
|
“May it be good”; “To your health” from Latin prōsit[notes 1]
|
Tak
|
"Thank you"
|
| Dutch
|
Gezondheid
If the person has sneezed three times: Morgen mooi weer
Less commonly used: Proost
|
"Health"
If the person has sneezed three times: "The weather will be nice tomorrow"
From the Latin prōsit meaning "May it be good"; "To your health"[notes 1]
|
Dank u (wel) (formal) or Dank je (wel) (informal)
|
"Thank you"
|
| English
|
God bless you, Bless you, or Gesundheit
|
Thank you
|
| Esperanto
|
Sanon
|
"Health!"
|
Dankon
|
"Thank you"
|
| Estonian
|
Terviseks
|
"For health!"
|
Aitäh
|
"Thank you"
|
| Faroese
|
Jesuspápi vælsigni teg! This can be shortened to Vælsigni teg!
|
"May Jesus bless you!" or "Bless you!"
|
Takk (fyri)!
|
"Thanks (for [it])!"
|
| Finnish
|
Terveydeksi
|
"For health!"
|
Kiitos
|
"Thank you"
|
| French
|
à tes / vos souhaits or Santé
Old-fashioned: à tes / vos amours after the second sneeze, and qu'elles durent toujours or à tes / vos rêves after the third. More archaically, one can say Que Dieu te/vous bénisse.
|
"To your wishes" or "health". Old-fashioned: after the second sneeze, "to your loves", and after the third, "may they last forever". More archaically, the translation is "God bless you".
|
Merci or Merci, que les tiennes durent toujours (old-fashioned) after the second sneeze
|
"Thank you" or "Thanks, may yours last forever" after the second sneeze
|
| Gaelic (Scottish)
|
Dia leat (informal) or Dia leibh (formal)
|
"God with you"
|
Mòran taing (or any other variation of thanks)
|
"Many thanks"
|
| Georgian
|
ჯანმრთელობა (janmrteloba) or იცოცხლე (itsotskhle)
|
"Health" or "Live long"
|
მადლობა (madloba) or გმადლობთ (gmadlobt)
|
"Thank you"
|
| German
|
Gesundheit![notes 2]
|
"Health!" (meaning I wish you good health or I wish that you don't get sick)
|
Danke (schön)
|
"Thank you (very much)"
|
| Helf Gott!, Helfgott!, or Helf dir Gott! (Southern Germany/Austria/Transylvanian-Saxon; archaic/mostly used by more or less religious elderly)[1][2]
Gott helfe[3]
|
"May God help you!"
|
Vergelt's Gott
|
"May God reward it" (i.e. your good wishes)
|
| Großwachsen! (Transylvanian-Saxon; from Romanian "Să creşti mare!"; used solely for children, usually after the usual "Gesundheit" for the first and/or second response)[4]
|
"You shall grow tall!"
|
Danke (schön)
|
"Thank you (very much)"
|
| Zum Wohl! (Southern Germany/Austria)[5]
|
"To your well-being!"
|
| Greek
|
γείτσες (gítses) or με την υγεία σου (me tin igía su)
|
"Healths!" or "With your health!"
|
Ευχαριστώ (Efharistó)
|
"Thank you"
|
| Gujarati
|
Ghanu Jivo
|
"May God bless you with a long life"
|
Aabhar
|
"Thank you"
|
| Hawaiian
|
Kihe, a mauli ola, or simply Ola
|
"Sneeze, and you shall live", or simply "live"
|
Mahalo
|
"Thank you"
|
| Hebrew
|
לבריאות (livri'oot or labri'oot)
|
"To health!"
|
תודה (todah)
|
"Thank you!"
|
| Hungarian
|
Egészségedre! / Egészségére!
|
"To your health! (True)"
|
Köszönöm
|
"Thank you"
|
| Igbo
|
Ndo
|
"Sorry"
|
Daalu
|
"Thank you"
|
| Icelandic
|
Guð hjálpi þér! or Guð blessi þig
There is also a custom to respond three times to three sneezes: Guð hjálpi þér ("God help you"), styrki þig ("strengthen you"), og styðji ("and support").[6]
|
"God help you!" or "God bless you"
|
Takk fyrir, Takk, Ég þakka, or Afsakið
|
"Thank you", "Thanks", "I thank", or "excuse me"
|
| Indonesian
|
Tuhan berkati
|
"God bless"
|
Terima kasih
|
"Thank you"
|
| Irish
|
Dia linn or Dia leat or Deiseal, which may be a form of Dia seal
|
The first response means “God be with us”. The second response means "God be with you". The last means "May it go right", but might be a form of "God with us for a while".
|
Gabh mo leithscéal
|
"Excuse me"
|
| Italian
|
Salute!
|
"Health!"
|
Grazie
|
"Thank you"
|
| (ironic) Che se ne va
|
"That is going away"
|
| Japanese
|
大丈夫? (Daijoubu?)
It is uncommon to acknowledge a sneeze in Japan, and it is customary not to say anything at all. After multiple sneezes, they use:
|
"Are you all right?"
|
すみません (sumimasen) or 失礼しました (shitsurei shimashita)
|
"Sorry" or "Excuse me"
|
| Kannada
|
ಶತಾಯುಸ್ಸು if the sneezer is young. Otherwise the sneezer takes the name of the lord.
|
"Long life"; literally "A hundred years"
|
It is uncommon to acknowledge an adult sneezing, and it is customary not to say anything at all.
|
|
| Kashubian
|
Na zdar or na zdrowié
|
"Health"
|
Dzãkujã
|
"Thank you"
|
| Prost
|
From Latin, prōsit, meaning "may it be good"
|
| Kazakh[7]
|
Сау болыңыз (Saw Bolıñız) (formal), Сау бол (Saw Bol) (informal)
|
"Be healthy." Widespread in cities. A calque of Russian "Будьте здоровы" and "Будь здоров".
|
Рақмет!
|
"Thank you!" From Persian رحمت (rahmat, “mercy”), which is itself from Arabic رَحْمَة (raḥma, “compassion, mercy”).
|
| Жарақымалда (North)
Жәрекімалда (West)
|
"May God have mercy on you", from Arabic يرحمكم الله (yarḥamukum ullāh). Pronunciation differs by region. Most common in western and northern regions.
|
| Ақ күш бер тәңір.
Short forms: Бер тәңір (East), Ақ күш (North)
|
"May Tengri give you pure strength." Of Tengrist origin. Most common in central, northern, and eastern regions.
|
| Аққас
|
Possibly, shortened form of "Ақ күш бер тәңір". Most common in southern regions.
|
| Бер тәңірім бес жүз жылқы
|
"May Tengri give me five hundred horses." Of Tengrist origin. More common among Kazakhs in Mongolia.
|
Жартысы менікі, жартысы сенікі
|
"Half mine, half yours"
|
| Khmer
|
ស្បើយ (S'baoi)
|
"Fast recovery"
|
សាធុ (Satu)
|
"Amen"
|
| Kikuyu
|
"Wimūrūarū?" (A conversation starter - mostly, one hints abouts the other's wellbeing in a sarcastic way)
|
"Are you sick?"
|
Aasha!
|
"Not really!"
|
| Kirundi
|
Kira
|
"Be healthy"
|
Twese
|
"Us all"
|
| Kinyarwanda
|
Urakire
|
"May you be healthy"
|
Twese
|
"Us all"
|
| Korean
|
The practice of responding to someone's sneeze is rare.
|
|
| Kurdish
|
Kher be inshalla. Many times when one sneezes, they say that the thing they are about to do will not happen. So, a listener says Kher be.
|
"It will be a good thing, God willing", or the shorter version, "A good sign hopefully".
|
| Têr bijî.
|
”May you live long”
|
| Kusaal
|
Win yɛl sida!
|
"God speaks truth." Sneezing means that someone elsewhere is praising you.
|
Ami!
|
"Amen!"
|
| Kyrgyz
|
Ак чүч! [aqˈt͡ʃut͡ʃ].
|
This may be based on an onomatopœia of the sound of a sneeze, like the English "Atchoo".
|
Рахмат, if the person who spoke after the sneeze is liked
|
"Thank you"
|
| Ladino
|
בֿיבֿאס (vivas), קריזקאס (crezcas) after a second sneeze, and אינפֿלוריזקאס (enflorezcas) after a third sneeze
|
"May you live", "May you grow" after a second sneeze, and "May you flourish" after a third sneeze
|
מירסי (merci)
|
"Thank you"
|
| Latgalian
|
Veseleibā
|
"To your health"
|
Paldis
|
"Thank you"
|
| Latin
|
Salve
|
"Be healthy" (also used for salutation).
|
|
|
| Latvian
|
Uz veselību
|
"To your health"
|
Paldies
|
"Thank you"
|
| Lithuanian
|
Į sveikatą (pronounced 'EE–sweh–kata')[8]
|
"To your health"
|
Atsiprašau, then directly to the responder: Ačiū
|
"Excuse me", then directly to the responder: "Thank you"
|
| Lojban
|
No set phrase, but one commonly says kanro .a'o (kanro aho) or .a'o do kanro
|
"(hopefully) Health!" or "(said with hope) You are healthy"
|
Unknown
|
| Luganda
|
Bbuka
|
"Recover"
|
Unknown
|
| Luxembourgish
|
Gesondheet
|
"Health!"
|
Merci
|
"Thank you"
|
| Macedonian
|
На здравје (na zdravye)
|
"To your health"
|
Здравје да имаш (zdravye da imash) or Благодарам (blagodaram) or Фала (fala)
|
"Have health yourself", "Thank you", or "Thanks"
|
| Malagasy
|
Velona!
|
"Be healthy"
|
Misaotra anao
|
"Thank you"
|
| Malayalam
|
Depending on the religion, one would say ഹരി കൃഷ്ണാ (Hari Krishna) or ഈശോ രക്ഷിക്ക (Eesho rakshikka)
|
"Let Lord Krishna bless you" or "Jesus save you"
|
നന്ദി
|
"Thanks"
|
| Maltese
|
Evviva
|
"May they live." An alternate translation is "Long live _____".
|
Grazzi
|
"Thank you"
|
| Mandarin
|
Mandarin speakers do not typically comment on another person's sneeze. When someone does give a response, they might say 百岁 (bǎisuì).
More rarely there are the expressions 多保重 (duōbǎozhòng) and 多喝点水 (duō he dian shui)[original research?]
|
"(live to) 100 years old"
"Take care" and "Drink more water"
|
不好意思 (bùhǎoyìsi)
|
"Excuse me"
|
| Māori
|
manaakitia koe
|
"Bless you"
|
mihi koe
|
"Thank you"
|
| Marathi
|
सत्य आहे
|
"It's the truth"
|
Unknown
|
| Mongolian
|
Бурхан өршөө (Burkhan örshöö)
|
"May God forgive you"
|
Unknown
|
| Navajo
|
T'áá bí ání
or Háíshį́į́ naa ntsékees / naa yáłti'
|
"That/the one said it" (lit. "They in particular said it") or "Someone is thinking of you / talking about you"
|
'Aoo' t'áá bí ání (in response to "Someone is thinking / talking about you")
|
"Yes, that/the one said it"
|
| Nepali
|
चिरञ्जीवी भव (chiranjeevi bhawa)
|
"May you live long"
|
धन्यवाद (dhan-ya-bad)
|
"Thank you"
|
| Norwegian
|
Prosit
|
From Latin, prōsit. “Måtte det gagne deg” ("may it be good [to your health]")[notes 3]
|
(Tusen) takk
|
"Thank you"
|
| Afaan Oromo
|
Gudadhu Huddu Sarre Dhungadhu
|
"Progress"
|
Galatoomi
|
"Thank you"
|
| Pashto
|
صبر (sah-bur)
|
"Patience"
|
مننه (mah-nah-nah)
|
"Thank you"
|
| Persian
|
عافیت باشه (afiat basheh)
|
"May cleanliness/purity be bestowed upon you" or "may it be for your health"
|
سلامت باشید (salaamat bashid)
|
"Be healthy"
|
| Polish
|
Na zdrowie!, Sto lat!, or Zdrówko! (a diminutive form of "zdrowie") Sometimes Prawda!
|
"To your health!", "Live a hundred years!", or "[To your] health!" Sometimes "Truth!", indicating the sneeze means something the sneezer had said before is true.
|
Dziękuję or Dzięki
|
"Thank you" or "Thanks"
|
| Portuguese / Galician
|
Saúde, Deus te crie, Deus te guarde, or Santinho!
|
These mean, in order: "Health", "May God raise you", "May God keep you covered" (as in warm and covered), or "Little Saint!"
|
obrigado/a or Amém
|
"Thank you" or "Amen"
|
| Punjabi
|
ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ (Waheguru) or ਤੇਰਾ ਭਲਾ ਹੋਵੇ!
|
"Glorious Lord" or "May you be blessed"
|
Thanvaad
|
"Thank you"
|
| Romanian
|
Sănătate/Să fii sănătos/Să fii sănătoasă or Noroc
Să crești mare! (for children; usually "Noroc" comes first, then "Sănătate" and as a third option, "Să crești mare!")[9]
|
"Health/Be healthy" or "To your luck"
"May you grow up!"
|
Mulțumesc
|
"Thank you"
|
| Russian
|
Будь здоров/а! (Bud' zdorov/a), or more formally Будьте здоровы (Bud'te zdorovy)
|
"(May you) be healthy!"
|
Спасибо, буду (spasibo, budu) or Спасибо (spasibo)
|
"Thank you, I will" or "Thank you"
|
| Serbian
|
Наздравље (Nazdravie)
Pis Maco, which is mostly used with children
|
"To your health"
"Go away kitten" (as the sound of sneezing is said to sound like a cat's cough)
|
Хвала
Less frequently: Истина or Здравље да имаш
|
"Thank you"
Less frequently: "It is true" or "Health you have"
|
| Silesian
|
Pyrsk!
|
"Cheers"
|
Unknown
|
| Sinhala
|
ආයුබෝවන් (Ayubowan)
|
"Have a long life"
|
Thank you
|
"Thank you"
|
| Slovak
|
Na zdravie
|
"To your health"
|
Ďakujem
|
"Thank you"
|
| Slovenian
|
Na zdravje, Res je, or the old-fashioned Bog pomagaj
|
"To your health", "it is true", or "God help to you". Folk belief has it that a sneeze, which is involuntary, proves the truth of whatever was said just prior to it.
|
Hvala
|
"Thank you"
|
| Spanish
|
In Latin America, Salud or Dios te bendiga. In Spain, it can also be Jesús after the first, María after the second, and y José after the third, while in Latin America, particularly in Venezuela and Colombia, it's replaced by salud after the first, dinero after the second, and amor after the third.
|
"To your health" or "God bless you". "Jesus" after the first, "Mary" after the second, and "and Joseph" after the third in Spain, while in Latin America, "health", "money", and "love".
|
Gracias
|
"Thank you"
|
| Kiswahili
|
Pole
|
"I am sorry"
|
Nishapoa or Asante
|
"Already feeling better" or "Thank you"
|
| Swedish
|
Prosit[10][notes 3]
|
From Latin, prōsit. "Må det vara till gagn."
|
Tack
|
"Thank you"
|
| Tamil
|
ஆயுசு நூறு (aa-yu-su noo-ru) / ஆயுள் நூறு (aa-yul noo-ru) or நீடு வாழ்க (nee-du vaal-ka).
Also, Dheergayusu, Poornayusu, or Sadayusu.
|
"100 year-long life" or "Live long"
Different variations of long life after consecutive sneezes; "Live long"
|
நன்றி (nan-dri)
|
"Thank you"
|
| Tatar
|
Исән булыгыз (ee-sæn boo-lı-ğız) (formal)
Исән бул (ee-sæn bool) (informal)
|
"Be healthy"
|
Рәхмәт (ɾæχ-mæt)
|
"Thank you"
|
| Telugu
|
Chiranjeevi bhava / Chiranjeeva, Nurella ayusshu, or దీర్ఘాయుష్మాన్ భవ
|
"May you be blessed with a life without death", "may you live long", or “may you have 100 years of whole life”
|
ధన్యవాద or the sneezer smiles
|
"Thank you"
|
| Turkish
|
Çok yaşa (followed by İyi yaşa if a second sneeze occurs)
|
"Live long", "Live good"
|
Sen de gör, Hep beraber, or 'Siz de görün
|
"And I hope that you live to see it [my long life]," "All together", or "And may you witness it [my long life]"
|
| Ukrainian
|
будь здоровий (BООD' zdoh-RO-vyy) to a male sneezer informally
будь здорова (BООD' zdoh-RO-va) to a female sneezer informally
будьте здорові (BООD'-te zdoh-RO-vee) (formal)[11]
На здоров'я! (na zdoh-RO-v-ia)
Правда (pra-vda) if a person sneezes during another person's speech
|
"Be healthy", "To your health!", "It is true"
|
дякую (DIA-koo-you)
|
"Thank you"
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| Urdu
|
yar-hum-o-kullah (the person who sneezed first says Alhamdulillah)
|
"May God have mercy on you"
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Yah-de-kum-ullah (the person who sneezed first says praise be to God)
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"May God guide you to the right path"
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| Uzbek
|
Sogʻ boʻling or Salomat boʻling
|
"Be healthy"
|
Rahmat
|
"Thank you"
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| Vietnamese
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Sometimes when a child sneezes, an adult will say Cơm muối, which means "salt & cooked rice". These words are believed to expel the evil spirit that's possessing their weak phách (yin soul) at that moment.
|
"Be healthy / Live long"
|
Cảm ơn / Cám ơn
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"Thank you"
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| Vilamovian
|
Gȫthyłf or hyłf Gȫt
|
God help you
|
Unknown
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| Welsh
|
Bendith or Bendith (Duw) arnat ti (familiar)
Bendith (Duw) arnoch chi (respectful)
|
"(God's) blessing on you."
|
Diolch
|
"Thank you"
|
| Yiddish
|
זײַ געזונט (zay gezunt), צו געזונט (tsu gezunt), or אסותא (asuse)[12]
After a second and third sneeze, צו לעבן (tsu lebn) and צו לאַנגע יאָר (tsu lange yor)[12]
If someone is speaking when another sneezes, גענאָסן צום אמת (genosn tsum emes)[13]
|
"Be healthy", "to health", or "health" (Aramaic)
"To life" and "for many years"
"Sneezed on truth"
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A sneezer responds to their own sneeze with חיים (chaim)
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"Life"
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| Yoruba
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Pẹ̀lẹ́ (kpeh-leh)
|
"Sorry"
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O ṣé (oh shay) (informal)
Ẹ ṣé (eh shay) (formal)
|
"Thank you"
|
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