How to Say Cheers in Irish: Sláinte, Meaning and Pronunciation

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You visit Ireland for the first time, stop into a pub, and the glasses go up. Then the question hits you: just how do I say cheers in Irish?

Don’t worry. You are not the first person to Google this.

So here it is: the word, how to say it, what to say back, and a few longer toasts for showing off.

Jump to:

• How to say cheers in Irish
• How to pronounce sláinte
• What sláinte means
• Cheers in Irish: quick table
• What to say back
• Hear it said: a short video lesson
• 8 more toasts in Irish
• Irish sláinte vs Scottish slàinte mhath
• How to toast in an Irish pub
• Common mistakes
• Sláinte FAQ
• More Irish toasts and phrases

How to say cheers in Irish

The word you want is sláinte. It’s the standard toast in Irish, and you’ll hear it in pubs from Cork to Donegal.

Ó Dónaill’s Irish-English Dictionary, on teanglann.ie, gives sláinte as health and also as a toast. The New English-Irish Dictionary on focloir.ie lists it first under “cheers”.

If you want a little more, say sláinte mhaith. That’s “good health”. Most people say the second word WAH, though in Munster you’ll often hear VAH.

Truth be told, plenty of Irish people just say “cheers” in English. But a sláinte from a visitor always goes down well.

How to pronounce sláinte

The quick version is SLAWN-cha.

• Slá rhymes roughly with “lawn”. The fada (the accent on the á) makes it a long vowel.
• inte sounds like “cha”. The t before an e is a soft, slender t, close to the English “ch”.

Irish has three main dialects, and the vowel shifts a little between them. As a rough guide:

• Munster (Cork, Kerry, Waterford): a deep “aw”, so SLAWN-cha.
• Connacht (Galway, Mayo): close to SLAWN-cha.
• Ulster (Donegal): a flatter “ah”, closer to SLAAN-cha.

Better still, hear a native speaker.

Two free tools help. On abair.ie, Trinity College Dublin’s speech technology project, you can type sláinte and hear a computer voice say it in a choice of dialects. And teanglann.ie has recordings of sláinte mheabhrach (mental health) in all three dialects. The first word is the one you want.

What does sláinte mean?

Sláinte means “health”. So when you raise a glass and say it, you’re wishing everyone good health.

It’s related to the word slán, which the dictionary gives as “sound, healthy”. You’ll know slán from “slán abhaile”, safe home, or plain “slán” for goodbye. For more like it, see my Irish greetings with pronunciation.

There’s an old proverb that uses it too: Is fearr an tsláinte ná na táinte. That’s “health is better than wealth”, and it’s in Ó Dónaill’s dictionary.

Cheers in Irish: quick table

Irish	Say it	Meaning	When to use it
Sláinte	SLAWN-cha	Health	Any toast, any time
Sláinte mhaith	SLAWN-cha WAH	Good health	A slightly fuller toast
Sláinte agatsa	SLAWN-cha AG-ut-sa	Health to you too	Replying to a toast
Seo do shláinte	shuh duh HLAWN-cha	Here’s to your health	Toasting one person
Sláinte agus saol chugat	SLAWN-cha AG-us sayl HUG-ut	Health and long life to you	Birthdays, big occasions
Go raibh maith agat	guh rev MAH AG-ut	Thank you	“Cheers” meaning thanks
Slán	SLAWN	Bye	“Cheers” meaning goodbye

In Ireland and Britain, “cheers” also means thanks or bye. Focloir.ie gives go raibh maith agat for thanks and slán for bye. Talking to a group? Make it go raibh maith agaibh (AG-iv).

What to say back when someone says sláinte

The simplest reply is to say sláinte straight back. Nobody will think less of you.

If you want to go one better, sláinte agatsa means “health to you too”. You’ll also see sláinte chugat, “health to you”, said roughly SLAWN-cha HUG-ut.

The men and women toast

There’s a two-part toast you might hear at a wedding or a party. The men toast first:

Sláinte na bhfear (SLAWN-cha nuh VAR), “health to the men”.

The women answer:

Go maire na mná go deo (guh MAH-ra nuh MNAW guh JOE), “may the women live forever”.

Daltaí na Gaeilge, the North American Irish language group, calls it a popular toast. Their main version starts sláinte chuig na fir, and they give sláinte na bhfear as the Munster way of saying it. You’ll see “go mairfidh” online too, but “go maire” is the proper wish form.

Daltaí also notes a cheeky reply. Go mbeire na mná go deo sounds almost the same but means “may the women give birth forever”. Use with care.

Fun as the toast is, don’t expect it with every round.

Hear it said: a short video lesson

This beginner lesson from Coffee Break Languages runs under four minutes and covers sláinte plus four other handy phrases.

Besides sláinte, the video teaches:

• Lá breithe sona duit: happy birthday
• Ádh mór ort: good luck (literally “big luck on you”)
• Nollaig shona duit: Happy Christmas
• Tá mé i ngrá leat: I’m in love with you

8 more toasts in Irish

Want to really impress the table? These all come from the standard Irish dictionaries unless I say otherwise.

1. Here’s to you

Siúd ort! (SHOOD urt). De Bhaldraithe’s English-Irish Dictionary gives it for “cheers”.

2. Health and long life to you

Sláinte agus saol chugat (SLAWN-cha AG-us sayl HUG-ut). A good one for a birthday.

3. Health and wealth

Sláinte agus táinte (SLAWN-cha AG-us TAWN-cha), often shortened to sláinte is táinte. Táinte were once herds of cattle, which was wealth in old Ireland. It’s popular as a toast, though the dictionary only has the proverb form.

4. May you live to be a hundred

Go maire tú an céad (guh MAH-ra too un KAYD). Short and warm, and it’s in Ó Dónaill’s dictionary.

5. May we live to see this time next year

Go mbeirimid beo ar an am seo arís (guh MER-ih-mid byoh er un OM shuh uh-REESH). It’s a favourite toast at New Year, and Ó Dónaill gives it as “may we live to see this time next year”.

You’ll also hear go mbeire muid beo ar an am seo arís, which means the same thing.

Not the easiest thing to say after a few pints of Guinness, but I am sure your Irish friends will appreciate it.

6. May you live to wear it

Go maire tú is go gcaithe tú é (guh MAH-ra too iss guh GAH-ha too AY). The dictionary gives it as “may you live to wear it”. It’s said to someone with something new, like a coat or a car. Think congratulations, not a wedding toast.

7. Happy St Patrick’s Day

Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona duit (law AY-leh PAW-rig SUN-a dit). To a group, make it sona daoibh (SUN-a DEEV).

8. One last Irish toast: more power to you

Nár lagaí Dia thú (nawr LOG-ee JEE-a hoo). Ó Dónaill gives it as “more power to you”. You’ll also hear a version ending do lámh, “your hand”, meaning may God not weaken your hand. It’s praise for a job well done.

For dozens more in English, see my full list of Irish toasts for every occasion.

Irish sláinte vs Scottish slàinte mhath

	Irish	Scottish Gaelic
Good health	sláinte mhaith	slàinte mhath
Accent	á (leans right)	à (leans left)
Usual reply	sláinte (or sláinte agatsa)	do dheagh shlàinte (your good health)

The Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh gives the Scottish toast as roughly “Slanj-a-va”. The Isle of Man has its own cousin too: slaynt vie in Manx.

So if a bottle of Scotch says slàinte mhath, it’s not a typo. It’s just not Irish.

How to toast in an Irish pub

Wait for everyone

Hold off on the first sip until the whole group has a drink. Then glasses up, sláinte, and away you go.

Look people in the eye

Making eye contact as you clink is the done thing in many countries. Some say skipping it brings bad luck. That’s folklore, but why chance it?

Stand your round

In a round, one person buys drinks for the whole group, then the next person buys the next round.

Take a drink in a round and you’re expected to buy one back. If you can only stay for one or two, say so early. Nobody minds that. Slipping off before your turn is another story.

For the pint’s own poem, see Flann O’Brien’s A Pint of Plain Is Your Only Man.

Toasting with water

You may hear that toasting with water is bad luck. It’s an old navy superstition that the person toasted will end up in a watery grave. It’s not an Irish custom. If you’re off the drink, raise whatever you have.

Common mistakes with sláinte

• Dropping the fada. “Slainte” without the accent is the English spelling. In Irish it’s sláinte. On most phones, hold down the a to find á.
• Saying “slan-tay” or “slain-tee”. The end sounds like “cha”, not “tay” or “tee”.
• Mixing up Irish and Scottish. Irish is sláinte mhaith. Scottish Gaelic is slàinte mhath. Don’t blend them.
• Using it for thanks. Sláinte is for drinking. If you mean “cheers, thanks”, say go raibh maith agat.

Sláinte FAQ

How do you say cheers in Irish?

Say sláinte, roughly SLAWN-cha. It means “health” and is the standard toast in Irish. For “good health”, say sláinte mhaith.

How do you pronounce sláinte?

Roughly SLAWN-cha in Munster and Connacht, and a flatter SLAAN-cha in Ulster. Hear native speakers on teanglann.ie, or try the computer voices on abair.ie.

What does sláinte mean in English?

It means “health”. Ó Dónaill’s Irish-English Dictionary also gives it as a toast. Sláinte mhaith means “good health”.

What do you say back when someone says sláinte?

Just say sláinte back. If you want more, sláinte agatsa means “health to you too”.

Do Irish people actually say sláinte?

Yes, though plenty just say “cheers” in English. You’ll hear sláinte more at weddings, parties and anywhere Irish is spoken.

Is it bad luck to toast with water?

Only in folklore. It’s an old navy superstition, not an Irish custom.

What other ways of saying cheers in Irish do you know? Comment below and let us know, and thank you for stopping by.

More Irish toasts and phrases

• 63 Irish Toasts: Funny, Wedding, Wake and in Irish
• Irish New Year Blessings and Toasts (Happy New Year in Irish)
• Easy Irish Greetings, With Pronunciation
• 125 Irish Sayings, Blessings and Proverbs
• A Pint of Plain Is Your Only Man: The Workman’s Friend
• Irish Coffee Recipe: How to Make It and Float the Cream

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