na zdravie
/nazdravɪ̯e/
The Slovak way to say "bless you" when someone sneezes is na zdravie.
na zdravie is the standard expression used after someone sneezes. While the English "bless you" has religious roots, the Slovak phrase is a secular wish for the person's well-being.
Meaning: said to somebody who has sneezed (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase na zdravie literally translates to "to health".
How do you pronounce it?
/nazdravɪ̯e/
When do people say it?
When someone sneezes, you wish them good health by saying na zdravie.
Did you know?
- The phrase na zdravie is used for both sneezing and as a toast when drinking alcohol, similar to the English 'cheers'.
- The root of zdravie is related to the concept of being 'sound' or 'whole', which is a much broader concept than just being 'not sick'.
- While English speakers say 'bless you' for the first sneeze, Slovak speakers often repeat na zdravie if the person sneezes multiple times.
Examples in context
- Na zdravie!God bless you!This example shows how to use the standard form na zdravie.Tatoeba #7551725 by felvideki, translation #269618 by CM
- Michal kýchne a Kateřina mu povie: Na zdravie.Michal sneezes and Kateřina says to him: Bless you.
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Kateřina and Michal are sitting in a cafe together.
- Kateřina*sneezes**sneezes*
- MichalNa zdravie!Bless you!
- KateřinaĎakujem pekne.Thank you very much.
- MichalNemáš za čo.You're welcome.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “bless you” translations and entries na zdravie, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
