SpeekuHow to say

How to say cheers in European Portuguese

What people say, and how it sounds.

The answer
raising a glass, or after a sneezesaúde/sɐˈudɨ/

The short answer

Saúde, which means health. You say it as the glasses meet, and you say the same word when someone sneezes, where English has bless you.

It is one word doing two jobs, and both wish the other person well.

sa-OO-d

The stress is on the u, and the final e all but vanishes in Portugal, so the word is two syllables with a soft landing. The s is a clean s, not a z.

Hear it in a sentence

Every line is one the course teaches, with its European Portuguese audio.

saúde/sɐˈudɨ/

health

o centro de saúde

health centre

Quero ter saúde na velhice.

I want to be healthy in my old age.

A inatividade faz mal à saúde.

Inactivity is bad for your health.

People also ask

Do people clink glasses in Portugal?

Yes, and they look each other in the eye while saying saúde. Among friends you may also hear à nossa, to us.

What do I say after a sneeze?

Saúde again. The sneezer answers obrigado or obrigada.

Keep going

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