| Language |
Usual Responses and Notes |
Meaning in English |
Sneezer Reply and Pronunciation |
Meaning in English |
| Albanian |
Shëndet (shuhn-det) |
"Health!" |
Faleminderit or Shëndet paç |
"Thank you!" and "May you have health," respectively |
| American Sign Language |
Bless you (for hearing users; deaf users typically will not respond) |
"Bless you." |
N/A |
N/A |
| Amharic |
ይማርሽ (yimarish) for female or ይማርህ (yimarih) for male |
"May God forgive you!" |
ያኑሪሽ (yanurish) for female or ያኑርህ (yanurih) for male |
"May you live for long." |
| Afrikaans |
Gesondheid |
"Health!" |
Dankie |
"Thank You" |
| Arabic |
صحة (Sahha) or يرحمكم الله (yarhamkum Allah) if the sneezer says الحمدلله (Alhamdulillah), as an alternative interaction |
"Health!" or "God have mercy on you" if the sneezer says "All praise is for God." |
شكراً (Shukran) or يهديكم الله و يصلح بالكم (Yahdeekum Allah wa youslah balakum) after the alternative interaction |
"Thank you!" or "God guide you and make you right," respectively. |
| Armenian |
առողջություն (aroghjootyoon) |
"Health!" |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Assamese |
মঙ্গল হওক (môngôl hôwk) |
"May good happen." |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Azeri |
Sağlam ol, or sometimes Afiat (see Persian) |
"Be healthy." |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Bangla |
satyi hanchi (সত্যি হাঁচি), |
"Truth" (सत्यम, same as in Hindi) |
Silence |
Silence |
| Basque |
Doministiku', from Latin 'dominus tecum' |
"Lord be with you." |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Belarusian |
будзь здаровы for both genders, orбудзь здароў (Budz zdarovy / budz zdarou) for male and будзь здаровая (Budz zdarovaja) for female |
"Cheers!" or "Be healthy!" for each gender |
дзякуй (dziakuj) |
"Thank you." |
| Bosnian |
Nazdravlje |
"To your good health." |
Hvala |
"Thank you." |
| Bulgarian |
Наздраве (Nazdrave) |
"To your health." or "Cheers." |
Благодаря (Blagodarya) |
"Thank you." |
| Catalan |
Jesús or Salut |
"Jesus." or "Health!" |
Gràcies |
"Thank you." |
| Cantonese |
大吉利事. Sneezing in Southern Chinese culture means that someone is speaking ill behind your back. |
"A great fortunate occurrence." |
唔好意思 |
"Sorry." |
| Chechen |
Dukha vehil for male or Dukha yehil for female |
"Live for a long time." |
Dela reze hiyla |
"Thank you, literally means "I wish God will bless you"." |
| Chinese |
多喝点水 (Duō hē diǎn shuǐ),一百岁 (yì bǎi suì), 保佑你 (bǎo yòu nǐ) or 长命百岁 (chánɡ mìnɡ bǎi suì); frequently, listeners do not comment on the sneeze. |
"Drink more water","May you live for a hundred years.", "bless you." or "May you live to one hundred years." |
呵呵,不好意思 (bù hǎo yì si) |
"He he (No meaning, just smile politely)","Excuse me." |
| Croatian |
Na zdravlje |
"To your health." |
Hvala |
"Thank you." |
| Czech |
Na zdraví or Pozdrav Pánbůh or Je to pravda |
"To your health." or "Bless God" or "It is true." |
Ať slouží |
"May it last." |
| Danish |
Prosit |
"May it help." |
Tak |
"Thank you." |
| Dutch |
Gezondheid, or if the person has sneezed three times, (Drie keer) morgen mooi weer |
"Health!", the equivalent of 'Gesundheit' said in English, or if the person has sneezed three times, "(Three times) the weather will be nice tomorrow." |
Dank u (wel) formally, or Dank je (wel) |
"Thank you." |
| English |
(God) bless you, |
"(God) bless you" |
Thank you |
"Thank you" |
| Esperanto |
Sanon |
"Health!" |
Dankon |
"Thank you" |
| Estonian |
Terviseks |
"For your health." |
Aitäh |
"Thank you" |
| Faroese |
Jesuspápi vælsigni teg! |
"May Jesus bless you." |
Takk (fyri)! |
"Thanks (for [it])!" |
| Finnish |
Terveydeksi |
"For health!" |
Kiitos |
"Thank you" |
| French |
à tes / vos souhaits after the first sneeze, à tes / vos amours after the second sneeze, and qu'elles durent toujours after the third. More archaically, one can say Dieu te/vous bénisse or Santé. |
"To your wishes." after the first sneeze, "To your loves." after the second, and "that they last forever" after the third. More archaically, the translations are "God bless you" and "Health," in that order. |
Merci or Merci, que les tiennes durent toujours after the second sneeze |
"Thank you" or "Thanks, may yours last forever" after the second sneeze |
| Georgian |
იცოცხლე (itsotkhle) |
"Live long." |
გმადლობთ (gmadlobt) |
"Thank you." |
| German |
Gesundheit |
"Health!" |
Danke (schön) |
"Thank you (very much)." |
| Greek |
στην υγεία σου (steen ygeia su) or γείτσες (geitses) |
"To your health!" or "Healths!" |
Ευχαριστώ (Efharisto) |
"Thank You" |
| Gujarati |
Ghanu Jivo |
"May God bless you with a long life." |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Hawaiian |
Kihe, a mauli ola, or simply Ola |
"Sneeze, and you shall live", or simply "live" |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Hebrew |
לבריאות (livri'oot or labri'oot) |
"To your health!" |
תודה (todah) |
"Thank you!" |
| Hindi |
हरी ॐ (Hari Om) or सत्यम (sat'yam), which is a shortened version of सत्यम शिवम् सुन्दरम (sat'yam shivam sundaram) |
The first is the shortest mantra referring to the universality of Om; the second is "Truth," a shortened version of "Truth is God is beautiful." |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Hungarian |
Egészségedre! |
"To your health!" |
Köszönöm |
"Thank you." |
| Igbo |
Ndo |
"Sorry." |
Daalu |
"Thank you." |
| Icelandic |
Guð hjálpi þér! to first sneeze, styrki þig to second sneeze, og styðji to third sneeze.[1] This can be shortened to Hjálpi þér. |
"God help you!" to first sneeze, "strengthen you" to second sneeze, "and support." to third sneeze. This can be shortened to "Bless you." |
"Takk fyrir" |
"Thank you" |
| Indonesian |
Alhamdulillah |
"God bless." |
"Suk'sma." |
"Thank you." |
| Irish |
Dia linn or Dia leat or Deiseal which may be a form of Dia seal |
The first two both mean "God be with us." The last means "May it go right," but might be a form of "God with us for a while." |
gabh mo leithscéal |
"Excuse me." |
| Italian |
Salute! |
"Health!" |
Grazie or (ironic) Che se ne va |
The former meaning "Thank you", the latter (ironic) meaning "Which is going away" |
| Japanese |
お大事に (Odaiji-ni) as assuming one got cold. Or, a Japanese superstition says that if one sneezes, they are being talked about by someone, somewhere. Note, however, that it is very rare for anyone to acknowledge a sneeze in Japan and it is customary not to say anything at all. |
"Take care of yourself." |
すみません (sumimasen) or 失礼しました (shitsurei shimashita) |
"Sorry." or "Excuse me." |
| Kannada |
ದೇವರು ಕಾಪಾಡಲಿ (devaru kaapadali) |
"Let God save you" |
'ಧನ್ಯವಾದಗಳು' |
"Thanks!" |
| Kazakh |
Сау Болыңыз (Saw Bolıñız) |
"Be healthy." |
Рахмет! |
"God Bless you!" |
| Khmer |
ស្បើយ (S'baoi) |
"Fast recovery." |
សាធុ (Satu) |
"Amen" |
| Kirundi |
Kira |
"Be healthy." |
Twese |
"Us all." |
| Korean |
|
|
|
|
| Kurdish |
Kher be inshalla. Many times when one sneezes, they say that the thing they are about to do will not happen. So, a listener says Kher be. |
"It will be a good thing, God willing," or the shorter version, "A good sign hopefully." |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Kyrgyz |
Ак чүч! [aqˈt͡ʃut͡ʃ]. |
This may be based on an onomatopœia of the sound of a sneeze, like the English "Atchoo." |
Рахмат!, if the person who spoke after the sneeze is liked. |
"Thank you." |
| Ladino |
Vivas, or Crescas after a second sneeze. |
"May you live," or "May you grow" after a second sneeze. |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Latgalian |
Veseleibā |
"To your health." |
Paldis |
"Thank you." |
| Latvian |
Uz veselību |
"To your health." |
Paldies |
"Thank you." |
| Lithuanian |
Į sveikatą {pronounced 'EE sweh kata'} [2] |
"To your health." |
Says Atsiprašau immediately; responds to a responder with Ačiū. |
Says "Excuse me" immediately; responds to a responder with "Thank you." |
| Lojban |
No set phrase, but one commonly says kanro .a'o (kanro aho) or .a'o do kanro. |
"[hopefully] Health!" or "[said with hope] You are healthy," respectively. |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Luganda |
Bbuka |
"Recover." |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Lufumbira |
Urakire |
"May you be healthy." |
Twese |
"Us all." |
| Macedonian |
Hа здравје (na zdravye) |
"To your health." |
Здравје да имаш (zdravye da imash) or Благодарам(blagodaram) or Фала(fala) |
"Have health yourself." or "Thank you." or "Thanks." |
| Malayalam |
No widely used phrase, but references to God such as ഹരി കൃഷ്ണ are used, especially when a child sneezes. |
Unknown |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Maltese |
Evviva |
"May he/she live." An alternate translation is "Long live _____." |
Grazzi |
"Thank you." |
| Marathi |
सत्य आहे |
"It's the Truth" |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Mongolian |
Бурхан өршөө (Burkhan örshöö) |
"May god forgive you." |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Nepali |
ʼचिरन्जिभी (chiranjivī) |
"May you live long." |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Norwegian |
Prosit |
"To your health." |
Takk |
"Thank you." |
| Persian |
عافیت باشه (Afiat Bahsheh). |
"May Cleanliness/Purity be bestowed upon you or may it be for your health." |
The sneezer will often say سلامت باشید (Salaamat Bashid). |
The sneezer will say "Be healthy." |
| Polish |
Na zdrowie! or Sto lat! |
"To your health!" or "Live a hundred years!" |
Dziękuję. |
Thank you. |
| Portuguese |
Saúde or Deus te crie or Santinho! |
These mean, in order: "Health" or "God brings you up" or "Little Saint" |
obrigado/a or amen |
"Thank you" or "Amen." |
| Punjabi |
ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ (Waheguru) or ਤੇਰਾ ਭਲਾ ਹੋਵੇ! |
"Glorious Lord" or "May you be blessed," respectively. |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Romanian |
Sănătate or Noroc |
"To your health" or "To your luck," respectively. |
Mulţumesc |
Thank you |
| Russian |
будь здоров (bood' zdorov) for male (informal) or будь здорова (bood' zdorova) for female (informal) or будьте здоровы (boot'tye zdorovy) for both genders (formal). |
"Be healthy." |
спасибо (spasiba) |
"Thank you." |
| Serbian |
Наздравље |
"To your health." |
Хвала or less frequently Истина. |
"Thank you," or less frequently "It is true." |
| Sinhala |
Ayubowan |
"Have a long life." |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Slovak |
Na zdravie |
"To your health." |
Ďakujem |
"Thank you." |
| Slovenian |
Na zdravje, Res je or the old-fashioned Bog pomagaj |
"To your health","It is true" or "God help to you." |
Hvala |
"Thank you." |
| Spanish |
Salud, Jesús, or Dios te bendiga, or Salud after the first sneeze, Dinero after the second, and Amor after the third, usually with growing excitement after each |
"To your health", "Jesus", or "God bless you", or "Health" after the first sneeze, "Money" after the second, and "Love" after the third |
Gracias |
"Thank you" |
| Kiswahili |
Afya or often, no response |
"Health" |
Asante |
"Thank you." |
| Swedish |
Prosit |
"To your health." |
Tack |
"Thank you." |
| Tamil |
Needu valgha |
"Live long." |
"Nandri" |
"Thank You" |
| Telugu |
Chiranjeevi bhava or దీర్ఘాయుష్మాన్ భవ |
"May you be blessed with a life without death." or "May you live long." |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Turkish |
Çok yaşa |
"Live long." |
Sen de gör or Hep beraber or 'Siz de görün |
"And I hope that you live to see it [my long life]," or "All together," or "And may you witness it [my long life]," respectively. |
| Ukrainian |
будь здоровий (BООD' zdoh-RO-vyy) to an informal male sneezer, будь здорова (BООD' zdoh-RO-va) to an informal female sneezer, or будьте здорові (BООD'-te zdoh-RO-vee) to a formal sneezer. |
"Be healthy." |
дякую (DIA-koo-you) |
"Thank you." |
| Urdu |
yar-hum-o-kullah (First the person who sneezed says "Alhamdulillah", i.e., praise be to God) |
"May God have mercy on you. |
"Yah-de-kum-ullah." |
"May God guide you to the right path" |
| Uzbek |
Sog' bo'ling or Salomat bo'ling |
"Be healthy." |
Rahmat |
"Thank you." |
| Vietnamese |
Sống lâu or Lạy Mụ /laj˧ˀ˩ mu˧ˀ˩/ or, for a child sneezer, Cơm muối |
"Live long" or "Mother Nature blesses you" or, for a child sneezer, "Rice and salt." |
Unknown |
Unknown |
| Welsh |
Bendith or Bendith [Duw] arnat ti (familiar) or Bendith [Duw] arnoch chi (respectful) |
"God's blessing on you." |
"Diolch" |
"Thank You" |
| Yiddish |
זײַ געזונט (zay gezunt), or צו געזונט (tzu gezunt) after a second sneeze. Another response among Yiddish and Hebrew speaking Jews is אסותא (asute), from Aramaic. |
"Be healthy," "too healthy," and "health," respectively. |
A sneezer responds to his or her own sneeze with חיים (chaim) in another Jewish custom. |
"Life." |
