Russian word for Cheers: what Russians say before drinking

Hello guys! This time I am going to tell you about the Russian word for Cheers. When do we say ‘Cheers’? When our glasses are full and we are eager to make them empty. ‘Cheers’ sounds like a command and takes its place at the table. You can hear Cheers whatever drinking company you join. But in Russian there is no one specific word for such occasions.

When we pour our glasses full and are ready to say something, we may say lots of different things. As I said, there is no specific Russian word for Cheers, but there are 3 unspecific. Let’s have a look at them.

1. «Ваше здоровье!» — literally means ‘Your health’. It’s ironic to say that while drinking alcohol, isn’t it? Russian people are full of irony, I tell you. When people say it they don’t actually mean they are wishing you good health, it simply means that it’s not a pretty idea to drink in silence so at least something should be said.

Thailand. Pretty cat protecting the alcohol from Russian tourists.

There are some variations of this most common Russian word for Cheers: «Будем здоровы!» (literally means ‘Shall we be healthy!’), «За ваше здоровье!» (‘Cheers for your health!’) and «Твое здоровье!» (when you can address somebody with «ты» — Check out the article about Three Russian forms of you).

2. «За нас!». This is another so called Russian word for Cheers. It can be translated as ‘Here we are – nicest people in the neighborhood / company / world, smartest and cutest, and is there anything else worth drinking for but us?’ Well, nothing of the kind is said out loud but you may hear that from the intonation :). If you don’t hear it in the intonation, just look everybody in the face – the expression will tell you everything.

3. «Ну, давайте выпьем!» That’s the most primitive Russian word for Cheers and can be translated as ‘Well, let’s drink finally’. That’s a good option when you are not too cheerful for the traditional ‘Cheers!’ or «За нас!».

Ok, so if you are ever to drink with Russians (and if you are learning Russian I hope you are), surprise your fellows with one of this Russian word for Cheers. I bet they will give you an extra glass of Vodka or Vodochka for that!

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