5 Ways To Say Cheers In French

Do you want to learn how to say cheers in French in less than ten minutes?

“Cheers!” isn’t simply an expression among the French. More than raising and clinking glasses, how they do it and what they say have a fascinating background and tradition behind it. 

To begin with, instead of toasting with ‘cheers,’ the French greet each other with good health, or ‘santé.’ This word is usually accompanied by a clink of drink glasses.

As a result, instead of hearing santé, you might hear ‘chin chin’ (this is the sound you hear as glasses touch each other).

Other words that relate to wishing the other person well may be heard in addition to these two typical expressions.

5 Ways To Say Cheers In French

Let’s start by learning about some of the practices that go along with these well-wishes when friends, relatives, or coworkers lift their glasses.

The Body Language

The first and most important step is to always look the person you’re toasting in the eyes.

There is a superstition that anyone who does not share this glance during a toast will be cursed with seven years of lousy sex or bad luck. 

Remember to be careful and do not let your glass cross anyone else’s. This implies you should never try to toast someone across the table by placing your glass above or below theirs.

It is also considered rude if you place your glass on the table until you have toasted everyone.

You must toast everyone at your table, no exclusions. As for your glass, simply take your initial sip while holding your glass in your hand.

After that, you are free to set your glass on the table and continue conversing and eating.

Ways to say “Cheers!” in French

Now that we’ve established some context, here are several simple ways to express cheers in French while sounding like a natural speaker.

À ta santé / À Votre santé – This is the standard French way of saying cheers, and it translates to “to your health.”

À la tienne / À la votre – This experience offers a different take on à ta santé. It literally means “to yours.” In English, this doesn’t make much sense, but the “santé” is presumed (to refer to someone’s well-being,)

Santé – This is essentially a shorter version of à ta santé, as the French love to simplify their words and phrases. This is what you say if you’re not sure whether to say cheers in a formal or informal manner.

On trinque ? / Trinquons –This one is a casual way of saying “Cheers” or toasting someone which means  “Should we drink?” or “Let’s drink,”.  This could be used in a discussion about accomplishments.

Tchin-tchin – This phrase stems from the classic Chinese saying “qing qing,” and is a very informal way to toast in French. This means “please, please.”

Want to learn more French phrases? Check out our language guides below:

• Good Night In French
• Good Morning In French
• Congratulations in French
• Goodbye In French