Phrases to use when someone sneezes, and what the sneezer says in reply (if anything). In some countries, nothing is generally said after a sneeze, although the sneezer might say excuse me or something similar.
Click on any of the phrases that are links to hear them spoken. If you can provide recordings, corrections or additional translations, please contact me.
To see more phrases in each language click on the language names. If you'd like to see these phrases in any combination of two languages, try the Phrase Finder.
| Language | Bless you! |
|---|---|
| Albanian (Tosk) | Shëndet! (Health!) Faleminderit (Thank you - reply) Shëndet paç (Good health - reply) |
| Amharic | ይማርሽ (yimarish) - f May God forgive you! ይማርህ (yimarih) - m May God forgive you! ያኑሪሽ (yanurish) - f May you live for long! - reply ያኑርህ (yanurih) - m May you live for long! - reply |
| Afrikaans | Gesondheid! (Health!) Dankie! (Thank you (reply)) |
| Armenian | առողջություն! (aroghjutyun) - Health! շնորհակալություն! (shnorhakalutyun) - Thank you - reply |
| Assamese | মঙ্গল হওক (môngôl hôwk) - May good happen! |
| Azerbaijani | Sağlam ol! (Be healthy!) |
| Bengali | আল্লাহ তোমার উপর রহম দান করুন (allaho tomoro uporo rohomo dano koruno) - May God have mercy on you!- used in Bangladesh জীবঃ জীবঃ (jiboh jiboh) - May you live long! - used in India |
| Basque | Doministiku! (The Lord be with you!) Ehun urtez! (For a hundred years!) Jainkoak lagun! (May God help you!) Eta zu kondatzaile (And you the narrator - reply) |
| Belarusian | Будзь здаровы! (Budz zdarovy!) - Be healthy! Дзякуй (dziakuj) - Thank you - reply |
| Bosnian | Nazdravlje! (To your good health!) Hvala! (Thank you! - reply) |
| Breton | Doue d'ho pennigo! (God will bless you!) |
| Bulgarian | Наздраве! (Nazdrave - To your health!) Благодаря! (Blagodarya - Thank you! - reply) |
| Catalan | Jesús! (Jesus!) Salut! (Health!) Gràcies! (Thank you! - reply) |
| Chechen | Dukha vekhil! (Live for a long time >m) Dukha yekhil! (Live for a long time >f) Dela reze hiyla ("I wish God will bless you" - reply) |
| Chinese (Cantonese) |
大吉利事 (daaih gāt leih sih Great auspicious event) 好嘅 (hóu ge A good one!) 唔好意思 (m̀h hóu yi sī Excuse me - reply) |
| Chinese (Mandarin) |
百岁 [百歲] (bǎisuì) - (live to) 100 years old - rarely used 不好意思 (bùhǎoyìsi) - Excuse me - reply |
| Croatian | Nazdravlje! (To your health!) Istina! (Truth!) Hvala (Thank you - reply) |
| Czech | Na zdraví! (To your health!) Pozdrav Pánbůh! (Bless god!) Ať slouží (May it last - reply) Dejž to Pánbůh (God willing - reply) |
| Danish | Prosit! (To your health!) Tak (Thank you - reply) |
| Dutch | Gezondheid! (Health!) Dank je (wel) (Thank you - reply) |
| English | Bless you! God bless you! Gesundheit! Thank you (reply) |
| Estonian | Terviseks! (For health!) Aitäh (Thank you - reply) |
| Faroese | Jesuspápi vælsigni teg! (May Jesus bless you!) Vælsigni teg! (Bless you!) Takk (fyri) (Thanks - reply) |
| Finnish | Terveydeksi! (For health!) Kiitos (Thank you - reply) |
| French | À tes souhaits ! (To your wishes!) À vos souhaits ! (To your wishes!) Santé ! (Health!) Merci (Thank you - reply) |
| Galician | Saúde! (Health!) |
| Georgian | ჯანმრთელობა! (janmrteloba!) - Health! იცოცხლე! (itsotskhle!) - Live long! მადლობა (madloba) - Thank you - reply გმადლობთ (gmadlobt) - Thank you - reply |
| German | Gesundheit! (Health!) Danke (schön) (Thank you (very much) - reply) Helf Gott! (May God help you!) Helf dir Gott! (May God help you!) Gott helfe[! (May God help you!) Vergelt's Gott (May God reward it - reply) Großwachsen! (You shall grow tall!) Zum Wohl! (To your well-being!) Danke (schön) (Thank you (very much) - reply) |
| Greek (Modern) | Γείτσες! (gítses!) - Healths Με την υγεία σου! (Me tin igía su!) - Health! Ευχαριστώ (Efharistó) - Thank you - reply |
| Hawaiian | Kihe, a mauli ola (Sneeze, and you shall live) Ola (Live) Mahalo (Thank you - reply) |
| Hebrew | (livri'oot! / labri'oot!) לבריאות! reply - (todah) תודה |
| Hindi | हरि ॐ (harī om - Hindu mantra) |
| Icelandic | Guð hjálpi þér! (God help you!) Guð blessi þig! (God bless you!) Takk (fyrir) (Thank you - reply) Afsakið (Excuse me - reply) |
| Indonesian | Tuhan berkati! (God bless!) Terima kasih (Thank you - reply) |
| Irish (Gaelic) | Dia linn! (God be with us!) Dia leat! (God be with you!) Deiseal! (May it go right!) Gabh mo leithscéal! (Excuse me - reply) |
| Italian | Salute! (Health!) Grazie (Thank you - reply) Che se ne va! (That is going away - reply) |
| Kannada | ಶತಾಯುಸ್ಸು! (Śatāyus’su!) - A hundred years! - said to young people Nothing is usually said to adults |
| Kashubian | Na zdar! (Health!) Na zdrowié! (To health!) Prost! (May it be good!) Dzãkujã (Thank you - reply) |
| Kazakh | Сау болыңыз! (Saw Bolıñız!) - Be healthy! - frm Сау бол! (Saw Bol!) - Be healthy! - inf Жарақымалда! (Jaraqımalda) - May God have mercy on you! Рақмет (Raqmet) Thank you - reply |
| Khmer | ស្បើយ! (S'baoi!) - Fast recovery! សាធុ (Satu) Amen - reply |
| Kikuyu | Wimūrūarū? (Are you sick?) Aasha! (Not really! - reply) |
| Kirundi | Kira! (Be healthy!) Twese (Us all - reply) |
| Kinyarwanda | Urakire! (May you be healthy!) Twese (Us all - reply) |
| Kyrgyz | Ак чүч! (Ak çüç!) Рахмат (Rahmat - reply) |
| Ladino | (after 1st sneeze) May you live! - (vivas!) בֿיבֿאס! (after 2nd sneeze) May you grow! - (crezcas!) קריזקאס! (after 3rd sneeze) May you flourish! - (enflorezcas!) אינפֿלוריזקאס ! reply - (merci) מירסי |
| Latgalian | Veseleibā! (To your health!) Paldis (Thank you - reply) |
| Latin | Salve! (Be healthy!) |
| Latvian | Uz veselību! (To your health!) Paldies (Thank you) |
| Lithuanian | Į sveikatą! (To your health!) Atsiprašau (Excuse me - reply) Ačiū (Thank you - reply) |
| Luganda | Bbuka! (Recover!) |
| Luxembourgish | Gesondheet! (Health!) Merci (Thank you - reply) |
| Macedonian | На здравје! (Na zdravye!) To your health! Здравје да имаш! (Zdravye da imash!) Have health yourself! - reply Благодарам (Blagodaram) Thank you - reply Фала (Fala) Thanks - reply |
| Malagasy | Velona! (Be healthy!) Misaotra anao (Thank you - reply) |
| Malayalam | ഹരി കൃഷ്ണാ! (Hari Krishna) - Let Lord Krishna bless you! ഈശോ രക്ഷിക്ക! (Eesho rakshikka) - Jesus save you! നന്ദി (nandi) - Thank you - reply |
| Maltese | Evviva! (May they live!) Grazzi (Thank you - reply) |
| Māori | Manaakitia koe! (Bless you!) Mihi koe (Thank you - reply) |
| Marathi | सत्य आहे! (Satya āhē!) - It is true! |
| Mongolian | Бурхан өршөө! (Burkhan örshöö!) - May God forgive you! |
| Navajo | T'áá bí ání! (That/the one said it) Háíshį́į́ naa ntsékees! (Someone is thinking of you) Háíshį́į́ naa yáłti'! (Someone is talking about you) 'Aoo' t'áá bí ání (Yes, that/the one said it - reply) |
| Nepali | चिरञ्जीवी भव! (chiranjeevi bhawa) - May you live long धन्यवाद (dhanyabad) - Thank you - reply |
| Norwegian | Prosit! (To your health!) (Tusen) takk (Thank you - reply) |
| Okinawan | くすくえ (kusakue) |
| Pashto | Patience - (sabar) صبر reply - Thank you - (manana) مننه |
| Persian (Farsi) | May it be for your health - (afiat basheh) عافیت باشه reply - Be healthy - (salaamat bashid) سلامت باشید |
| Polish | Na zdrowie! (To your health!) Sto lat! ([Live] a hundred years!) Zdrówko! ([To your] health!) Prawda! (Truth!) Dziękuję (Thank you - reply) Dzięki (Thanks - reply) |
| Portuguese | Saúde! (Health!) Deus te crie! (God bless you!) Deus te guarde! (God keep you!) Santinho! (Little Saint!) Obrigado/a(Thank you - reply) Amém (Amen - reply) |
| Punjabi | ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ! (waheguru) - Glorious Lord! ਤੇਰਾ ਭਲਾ ਹੋਵੇ! (tōrā bhalā hōvē) May you be blessed! ਧਨਵਾਦ (tànvād) Thank you - reply |
| Romanian | Sănătate! (Health!) Să fii sănătos! (Be healthy!) Să fii sănătoasă! (Be healthy!) Noroc! (Luck!) Să crești mare! (May you grow up! - said to children) Mulțumesc! (Thank you! - reply) |
| Russian | Будь здоров(а)! (Bud' zdorov(a)!) - Be healthly! Будьте здоровы! (Bud'te zdorovy!) - Be healthly! - frm Спасибо, буду (Spasibo, budu) - Thank you, I will Спасибо (Spasibo) - Thank you |
| Scottish Gaelic | Dia leat! (God with you! - sg) Dia leibh! (God with you! - pl/frm) Mòran taing (Many thanks - reply) |
| Serbian | Наздравље! (Nazdravlje!) - To your health! Пис мацо! (Pis maco!) - Go away kitten! Хвала (Hvala) - Thank you Истина (Istina) - Truth Здравље да имаш (Zdravlje da imaš) - Good health to you |
| Silesian | Pyrsk! (Cheers!) |
| Sinhala | ආයුබෝවන්! (Ayubowan) - Have a long life |
| Slovak | Na zdravie! (To your health!) Ďakujem (Thank you - reply) |
| Slovenian | Na zdravje! (To your health!) Res je! (It's true!) Hvala (Thank you - reply) |
| Spanish | ¡Salud! (Health!) ¡Dios te bendiga! (God bless you!) ¡Jesús! (Jesus! - after 1st sneeze) ¡María! / ¡Dinero! (Mary! / Money! - after 2nd sneeze) ¡y José! ¡Amor! (and Joseph! / Love! - after 3rd sneeze) Gracias (Thank you - reply) |
| Swahili | Afya! (Health!) Asante (Thank you - reply) |
| Swedish | Prosit! (Good health!) Tack (Thank you - reply) |
| Tajik | Саломат бошед! (Be healthy!) - Good health! Раҳмат! (Rahmat!) - Thank you - reply |
| Tatar | Исән булыгыз! (Isän bulygyz!) - Stay healthy! - frm Исән бул! (Isän bul!) - Stay healthy! - inf Рәхмәт! (Rähmät!) - Thank you - reply |
| Turkish | Çok yaşa! (Life long! - 1st sneeze) İyi yaşa! (Life well! - 2nd sneeze) Sen de gör (And I hope that you live to see it - reply) Hep beraber (All [of us] together - reply) Siz de görün (See for yourself - reply) |
| Ukrainian | Будь здоровий! (Bud' zdorovyy!) - Be healthy - >m/inf Будь здорова! (Bud' zdorova!) - Be healthy - >f/inf Будьте здорові! (Bud'te zdorovi!) - Be healthy - frm Дякую (Dyakuyu) Thank you - reply |
| Welsh | Bendith! (Blessing - inf/sg) Bendith arnat ti! (Blessing on you - inf/sg) Bendith Duw arnat ti! (God's blessing on you - inf/sg) Bendith arnoch chi! (Blessing on you - frm/pl) Bendith Duw arnoch chi! (God's blessing on you - frm/pl) Diolch (Thank you - reply) |
| Yiddish | Be healthy! - (zay gezunt!) זײַ געזונט! To health! - (tsu gezunt!) צו געזונט! Health! - (asuse!) אסותא! (after 2nd sneeze) To life! - (tsu lebn!) צו לעבן! (after 2nd sneeze) For many years! - (tsu lange yor!) צו לאַנגע יאָר! reply - (Life) חיים |
| Yoruba |
| Auxiliary and constructed languages | |
|---|---|
| Esperanto | Sanon! (Health!) Dankon (Thank you - reply) |
| Lojban | kanro .a'o ((hopefully) Health!) .a'o do kanro (You are healthy!) |
If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.
How to say Bless you in various languages
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Response_to_sneezing
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bless_you
Origins of saying Bless you! in English
https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/bless-you.html
Welcome | Hello | How are you? | Long time no see | What's your name? | Where are you from? | Pleased to meet you | Good morning | Good afternoon | Good evening | Good night | Goodbye | Good luck | Cheers! | Have a nice day | Have a nice weekend | Bon appetit | Bon voyage | Yes, No | Maybe | I don't know | Do you understand? | I understand | I don't understand | Please speak more slowly | Please say that again | Please write it down | Do you speak English? | Do you speak [your language]? | I'm learning [your language] | How do you say ... in [your language]? | Speak to me in [your language] | Excuse me | I would like ... | How much is this? | Sorry | Please | Thank you | Where's the toilet? | This gentleman/lady will pay for everything | Would you like to dance? | Do you come here often? | I miss you | I love you | Get well soon | Bless you! | Go away! | Leave me alone! | Help! | Fire! | Stop! | Call the police! | Merry Christmas | Happy New Year | Happy Easter | Happy Birthday | Congratulations | One language is never enough | My hovercraft is full of eels
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