Spanish Toasts: Say 'Cheers' and 'To Your Health' in Latin American Spanish
Learn elementary Spanish toast phrases like ¡Salud! and ¡A tu salud! to celebrate with friends, plus when to use them and how to respond.
By MarcusFood & cafés · Yapr Learn
Toasting in Spanish is short, warm, and frequent. The most common toast is ¡Salud!, which literally means 'health' and works like English 'Cheers!' A slightly more personal version is ¡A tu salud!, meaning 'To your health!' This lesson teaches five useful toast phrases for everyday celebrations: meals, birthdays, casual drinks, and group toasts. You will also learn the difference between a toast and a compliment, and how to respond when someone toasts you. All phrases use broadly useful Latin American Spanish, with regional notes where they matter.
By the end, you can…
- say 'Cheers!' and 'To your health!' in Spanish.
- choose an appropriate toast for meals, birthdays, and group celebrations.
- respond politely when someone toasts me.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
¡Salud!
Cheers! / To your health!
sah-LOOTH
The default toast across Latin America. Use it when glasses touch at meals, parties, or casual drinks. In most of Latin America the final d is pronounced as a soft th sound (like English 'th' in 'the'), while in Spain it is a clear d.
¡A tu salud!
To your health!
ah too sah-LOOTH
A warmer, personal toast to one person. Use it when you want to honor a specific friend, host, or guest. For a group, say ¡A su salud! (to your health, formal/plural).
¡A tu salud y a la mía!
To your health and to mine!
ah too sah-LOOTH ee ah lah MEE-ah
A playful, friendly toast used among close friends. It adds humor by including yourself. Common in Mexico and Central America at casual gatherings.
¡Felicidades!
Congratulations! / Best wishes!
feh-lee-see-DAH-thes
Used for birthdays, graduations, weddings, and achievements. It is not a drink toast by itself, but people often say it while raising a glass. For a birthday specifically, ¡Feliz cumpleaños! is more precise.
¡Que cumplas muchos más!
May you have many more (birthdays)!
keh KOOM-plahs MOO-chohs mahs
A birthday toast. Say it while raising your glass to the birthday person. In some regions you may hear ¡Que los cumplas feliz! instead.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
Many Spanish toasts start with '¡A ...!' meaning 'To ...!' Add a person or thing: ¡A tu salud! (To your health!), ¡A la novia! (To the bride!), ¡Al amor! (To love!). For a group, use su: ¡A su salud! This pattern lets you build toasts for almost any occasion.
When to use it
Use ¡Salud! for everyday meals and casual drinks. Use ¡A tu salud! when toasting one person directly. Use ¡Felicidades! for life events, not just drinks. Use ¡Que cumplas muchos más! only for birthdays. A toast is a short spoken wish; a compliment describes a person's quality, like 'Eres muy amable' (You are very kind). Do not mix them: you toast with ¡Salud!, you compliment with eres or estás.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
¡Salud! Por tu nuevo trabajo.
Cheers! To your new job.sah-LOOTH. por too NWEH-voh trah-BAH-hoh¡Gracias! ¡A tu salud también!
Thanks! To your health too!GRAH-see-ahs. ah too sah-LOOTH tahm-BYEN¿Quieres otra copa?
Do you want another drink?kee-EH-res OH-trah KOH-pahNo, gracias. ¡Pero brindemos otra vez!
No, thanks. But let's toast again!noh GRAH-see-ahs. PEH-roh breen-DEH-mohs OH-trah bethA little context goes a long way
In much of Latin America, people say ¡Salud! before the first sip and often clink glasses while making eye contact. At formal meals, the host may offer a short toast; guests respond with ¡Salud! or ¡A su salud! In Spain, ¡Salud! is also standard, but you may hear ¡Chin chín! for the sound of clinking glasses. Avoid toasting with water in some Andean and Mexican contexts if others are drinking alcohol; it can be seen as bad luck. When unsure, a simple ¡Salud! is always safe.
One thing to watch for
Using '¡Salud!' as a compliment, for example saying '¡Salud!' to mean 'You look great.'
Try this instead: ¡Salud! is only a toast, not a compliment. To compliment someone, say 'Te ves muy bien' (You look very good) or 'Eres muy amable' (You are very kind). Use ¡Salud! when raising a glass, and save compliments for describing people.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1You are at a friend's birthday dinner and want to toast the birthday person. What do you say?
Show a sample answer
¡Que cumplas muchos más!
This is a birthday-specific toast. ¡Feliz cumpleaños! also works as a greeting, and ¡Salud! is acceptable, but ¡Que cumplas muchos más! is the most natural toast for this moment.
2Someone says ¡A tu salud! to you. What is a polite response?
Show a sample answer
¡Gracias! ¡A tu salud también!
Thanking them and returning the toast is warm and natural. You could also say ¡Salud! or ¡Igualmente! (Likewise!). All are polite.
3Which phrase is a toast and which is a compliment: '¡Salud!' or 'Eres muy amable'?
Show a sample answer
¡Salud! is a toast; 'Eres muy amable' is a compliment.
¡Salud! is said while raising a glass. 'Eres muy amable' describes a person's character. Remember: toasts are short wishes, compliments describe qualities.
Use ¡Salud! for almost any toast, ¡A tu salud! to honor one person, and ¡Felicidades! or ¡Que cumplas muchos más! for life events. Keep toasts short, make eye contact, and respond with ¡Gracias! or ¡Salud!
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