Response to sneezing

1912 illustration

In English-speaking countries, the common verbal response to another person's sneeze is "(God) bless you", or less commonly in the United States and more-so in Canada, "Gesundheit", the German word for health (and the response to sneezing in German-speaking countries). There are several proposed origins of the phrase "bless you" for use in the context of sneezing.

In non-English-speaking cultures, words connoting good health or a long life are often used instead of "bless you", though some also use references to God.

In certain languages such as Vietnamese, Japanese or Korean, nothing is generally said after a sneeze except for when expressing concern when the person is sick from a cold or otherwise. Instead, depending on the language, the sneezer may excuse themselves.

List of responses in other languages

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 Flanders old fashioned: God zegent u	"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] "God bless you"	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	In Gujarati, there is no set phrases to acknowledge a sneeze. Most commonly, people would invoke the name of a god, say a phrase meaning "live long"/"good health", or just use the English expression: ગોડ બ્લેસ યુ (goḍ bles yu).	"God!" or "God bless you" (using English)	આભાર (ābhār) or થૅન્ક યુ (thenk yu) (using English)	"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	It is uncommon to acknowledge a sneeze in Japan, and it is customary not to say anything at all. After multiple sneezes, they use: 大丈夫? (Daijoubu?)	"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) يرحمكم الله (yarḥamukum ullāh) if the sneezer says الحمدلله (al‐ḥamdulila̅h), as an alternative/religious interaction	"Patience" "God have mercy on you" if the sneezer says "All praise is for God"	مننه (mah-nah-nah) يهديكم الله و يصلح بالكم (yahdīkum alla̅h wa‐yuṣlaḥ ba̅lakum) after the alternative interaction	"Thank you" "God guide you and set your affairs aright"
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 or "Meharbani"	"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 (Nazdravlje) Пис мацо (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	Afya	"Health"	Asante	"Already feeling better" or "Thank you"
Swedish	Prosit [10] [notes 3]	From Latin, prōsit. "Må det vara till gagn."	Tack	"Thank you"
Tajik	Саломат бошед! (Salomat boshed!)	"Be healthy!"	Раҳмат! (Rahmat!), or more formally Ташаккур! (Tashakkur!)	"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, "Bin yaşa" for a third sneeze.)	"Live long", "Live good," "Live a thousand"	Sen de gör, Hep beraber, or 'Siz de görün	"And I hope that you live to see it [my long life]," "All [of us] together" (for when there are more than two witnesses), or "And may you/ y'all 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"
Urdu	yar-hum-o-kullah (the person who sneezed first says Alhamdulillah)	"May God have mercy on you"	Yah-de-kum-ullah (the person who sneezed first says praise be to God)	"May God guide you to the right path"
Uzbek	Sogʻ boʻling or Salomat boʻling	"Be healthy"	Rahmat	"Thank you"
Vietnamese	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	"Thank you"
Vilamovian	Gȫthyłf or hyłf Gȫt	God help you	Unknown
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"	A sneezer responds to their own sneeze with חיים (chaim)	"Life"
Yoruba	Pẹ̀lẹ́ (kpeh-leh)	"Sorry"	O ṣé (oh shay) (informal) Ẹ ṣé (eh shay) (formal)	"Thank you"

See also

• Photic sneeze reflex
• Snatiation

References

1. Duden (in German), DE/RO
2. helfgott (in German), DE/RO: Duden
3. Ons volksleven - Volume 5. L. Braeckmans. 1893. p. 23. Nu nog hoort men dit leste in Duitschland, ofschoon het Gott helfe dir sterk afgewisseld wordt met het onchristelijk Gesundheit.
4. Ronneberger, Monika (2014). Siebenbürgisches Wörterbuch zwischen Ajuria und Ziweben (in German). DE/RO. ISBN   9783737521291.
5. "zum Wohl – Wiktionary". de.wiktionary.org (in German). Retrieved 2018-09-28.
6. Visindavefur (in Icelandic), IS
7. "Сбер". interesnoe.me. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
8. ThemeFuse (26 April 2012). "Say Cheers in 50 Different Languages" . Retrieved 5 July 2017.
9. dict.leo.org (in German), RO
10. "prosit". Sök i tre ordböcker på en gång (in Swedish). Retrieved 2019-05-30.
11. "Чхати я хотів: чи потрібно казати людям "Будь здоровий"". The Village Україна. 2019-10-11. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
12. Schaechter-Viswanath, Gitl; Glasser, Paul, eds. (2016). Comprehensive English-Yiddish Dictionary. Indiana University Press. ISBN   978-0-253-02282-0.
13. "Sneeze Confirmed the Truth". A Way With Words. Retrieved 10 January 2021.

Explanatory notes

1. From Latin where it means "I wish it will benefit you"
2. It is somewhat known to say Schönheit, "beauty", after a second or third sneeze and Klugheit, "prudence" after another, or the like, though this is somewhat humorous. The sense is to extend the wish from health to yet other personal qualities also ending in -heit.
3. From Latin where it means "May it be good"

Further reading

• Knowlson, T. Sharper (1910). "(19) SNEEZING". The Origins of Popular Superstitions and Customs, pp. 175–179. A book that lists many superstitions and customs that are still common today.
• Mikkelson, Barbara (2001). "Bless You!" Snopes.
• Stollznow, Karen (2014). "'God Bless You!' – A Blessing in Disguise?" Skeptic Magazine (19) 4.

External links

• The dictionary definition of sneeze at Wiktionary