на здоровье

Russian
Russian phrasebook
This entry is part of the phrasebook project, which presents criteria for inclusion based on usefulness, simplicity and commonness.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): [nə‿zdɐˈrov⁽ʲ⁾je]

Interjection

на здоро́вье • (na zdoróvʹje)

  1. to your heart's content
    Ку́шайте, пе́йте на здоро́вье!
    Kúšajte, péjte na zdoróvʹje!
    Eat, drink to your heart's content!
  2. you're welcome (in answer to a thanks for food or refreshments)
    Спаси́бо за чай, тётя Лю́ба!
    Spasíbo za čaj, tjótja Ljúba!
    Thanks for the tea, aunt Lyuba!
    На здоро́вье, Серёжа, переда́й приве́т ма́ме.
    Na zdoróvʹje, Serjóža, peredáj privét máme.
    You're welcome, Seryozha. Say hello to (your) mum.
  3. do as you want at your own risk, be my guest (sarcastically)
    Ты хо́чешь спры́гнуть с кры́ши? На здоро́вье!
    Ty xóčešʹ sprýgnutʹ s krýši? Na zdoróvʹje!
    You want to jump off the roof? Go ahead!

Usage notes

It is commonly believed in America that, "На здоро́вье!" means, "Cheers!" when sharing a drink or proposing a toast in Russian. This is not true. The similar but correct phrase is, "За здоро́вье!" with "za" rather than "na." The difference in prepositions makes the difference between the phrase meaning, "To your health!" (za) and "For your health," (na). Even when used correctly, "За здоро́вье!" is not a particularly widespread toast to the same extent "Cheers!" is in the Anglophone world.

The misconception may have arisen from confusion with Polish - where, "Na zdrowie," actually is used as a toast to mean, "Cheers!"

See also
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