¡salud!
In Spanish, "bless you" is expressed as ¡salud! Wiktionary also lists ¡Jesús! and ¡santinos!
Meaning: said to somebody who has sneezed (intj)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | Note |
|---|---|
| ¡salud! | |
| ¡Jesús! | Spain |
| ¡santinos! | Asturias, Northern, Spain |
These phrases are used as an interjection when someone sneezes.
What does it mean word for word?
The term salud literally means health.
Which one should you use?
While ¡salud! is the most common way to say "bless you" after a sneeze, it functions as a wish for the person's well-being by literally translating to "health".
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico, ¡salud! is the most common way to respond to a sneeze in both formal and informal situations. In Spain, people commonly use ¡Jesús! informally. In the Asturias region of Northern Spain, ¡santinos! is used specifically.
When do people say it?
When someone says ¡salud! to you after you sneeze, the standard response is gracias.
Did you know?
- In some Spanish-speaking cultures, people follow a three-sneeze pattern: salud for the first, dinero for the second and amor for the third.
- Some traditional beliefs suggest that saying ¡salud! prevents a person's soul from escaping the body during the force of a sneeze.
- While salud refers to health, the word comes from the Latin salus, which also meant 'salvation' or 'safety'.
Examples in context
- ¡Jesús!Bless you!This example shows the use of ¡Jesús!Tatoeba #928545 by Shishir, translation #434328 by lukaszpp
- ¿Estás bien? ¡Salud!Are you okay? Bless you!
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Elena and Javier are sitting in a quiet library.
- Elena*achoo**Achoo*
- Javier¡Salud!, Elena.Bless you, Elena.
- ElenaGracias, Javier.Thanks, Javier.
- JavierNo hay de qué.You're welcome.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “bless you” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
