Cheers in Spanish: From Salud to Chinchín and more

When celebrating life and extraordinary moments, or simply meeting up with friends over a round of drinks, raising a glass and saying cheers in Spanish can both reinforce connections with locals and add a delightful touch to gatherings.

It’s always fun to learn to say cheers in different languages, so many foreigners are already familiar with salud. This is definitely the most common option for saying cheers in Spanish, with its roots in wishing good health to those present. This simple yet meaningful expression encapsulates the essence of friendship and well-wishing, making it a staple at parties, family dinners, and festive occasions.

Moving on from the basics, do you know how to say cheers in Spanish aside from salud? In fact, many Spanish-speaking regions have unique expressions and slang options for making Spanish toasts.

In today’s lesson, we’ll explore a bunch of different ways to say cheers in Spanish. From salud to other options for saying cheers in Spanish slang, knowing these variations can make each toast feel even more authentic.

So, grab a glass and get ready to learn the most common phrases for any drinking toast in Spanish!

Toasts in Spanish

Before we dive into the words and phrases we might use in a Spanish toast before drinking, let’s learn the words relating to the Spanish toast itself. Brindar is the verb meaning to toast, while the noun for a toast is el brindis.

Now let’s look at each of these words we use for Spanish toasts.

Brindar – To toast

The verb brindar, meaning to toast or to offer a toast, is commonly used in social settings when raising a glass to celebrate an occasion or to express good wishes. It’s frequently used in social gatherings such as weddings, birthdays, and holidays, often involving a short speech or expressing good wishes before clinking glasses.

Without a speech, we can also use brindar to describe the simple act of cheersing, like the English verb to cheers.

Brindar follows regular -ar verb conjugations. Let’s see the brindar conjugations in the simple present tense.

Subject	Brindar conjugation present tense
Yo	Brindo
Tú	Brindas
El, Ella, Usted	Brinda
Nosotros, Nosotras	Brindamos
Vosotros, Vosotras	Brindáis
Ellos, Ellas, Ustedes	Brindan

• Nosotros siempre brindamos con nuestra familia en año nuevo. – We always toast with our family on New Year’s.

• Mi tía brinda con champaña en sus cumpleaños. – My aunt toasts with champagne on her birthdays.

El brindis – A toast

El brindis, meaning a toast, is a Spanish noun that refers to both the action of raising glasses to celebrate, and the words spoken during that moment. Thus, un brindis normally expresses good wishes or congratulations as everyone else listens along and then takes a sip.

El brindis is more than just a word, since it evokes the spirit of celebration and connection at social gatherings. This word is commonly used at weddings, birthdays, and even casual meet-ups.

• Después del brindis, comenzó el baile de los recién casados. – After the toast, the dancing of the newlyweds began.

• El brindis por el ascenso de mi jefe fue muy emotivo. – The toast to my boss’s promotion was very emotional.

How to say Cheers in Spanish

Learning how to say cheers in different languages is a great way to enhance social interactions and build better connections with other cultures. From santé and tchin tchin in French to salud and chinchin in Spanish, these phrases serve as a bridge to engage with locals and travelers alike.

Raising a glass and saying salud is more than just participating in a ritual; it symbolizes a tradition that promotes connection and joy among those gathered. From classic terms to modern slang, knowing different ways to say cheers in Spanish can make toasts feel even more authentic.

If you’re just wishing someone to enjoy their meal in Spanish, perhaps you can do with a simple buen provecho. But if you’re meeting up with friends to enjoy a bottle of wine or a round of beers together, then read on to see how to say cheers in Spanish when drinking!

Salud

As we’ve already mentioned, salud is by far the most common way to say cheers in Spanish.

The literal translation of salud in English is health, though in the sense of cheers, salud may be better translated as to your health. Traditionally, salud was used to express good health to guests when serving them food and drink, to the point that it’s now ubiquitous across all Spanish-speaking countries for wishing happiness and good health to everyone in the group.

Salud in Spanish is also used as a response when a person sneezes, in the same way as bless you in English. So among our primary translations of salud, cheers, health, and bless you are all suitable, depending on the context.

• Después de tanto tiempo, aquí estamos juntos de nuevo. ¡Salud! – After so much time, here we are together again. Cheers!

• ¡Salud! Has estornudado mucho hoy. Deberías ir al médico. – Bless you! You sneezed a lot today. You should go to the doctor.

Por los aquí presentes

Por los aquí presentes translates as to those present here or to everyone here. This phrase can be used as an introduction to longer Spanish toasts in formal gatherings, or simply as a somewhat formal Spanish cheers phrase on its own.

Grammatically, los is a direct object pronoun referring generally to those people in plural, which explains why presentes, the associated adjective, is also in plural. Our best translation of Por here is the preposition for, while aquí is the Spanish word for Here.

Whether it’s a wedding, a birthday party, or a casual night out, por los aquí presentes wishes everyone well and helps create a warm, friendly vibe that brings people closer together.

• Por los aquí presentes y los que nos cuidan desde lejos, ¡salud! – To those present here, and those watching over us from afar, cheers!

• Por los aquí presentes y por los nuevos esposos. ¡Salud! – To everyone here, and to the newlyweds, cheers!

Por nosotros

Translating directly as for us, por nosotros is commonly used in toasts to celebrate the group and to strengthen the sense of unity. Por nosotros celebrates camaraderie and shared experiences among friends, family, or colleagues, emphasizing the importance of mutual support and being together.

Grammatically, por nosotros begins with the same preposition we saw above, meaning for. Though you may be familiar with nosotros as a subject pronoun meaning we, in this case it’s acting as a prepositional pronoun meaning us. Remember that nosotros is the masculine version of this pronoun, used for all-male or mixed-gender groups; if the speaker and the others in the group are all female, the toast should use the feminine version as por nosotras.

• Por nosotras y por todos los momentos que compartimos como amigas. – To us, and for all the moments we’ve shared as friends.

• Por nosotros y porque este amor crezca cada día. – To us, and so that this love may grow every day.

Chinchín

Chinchín is one of the most popular cheers in Spanish slang. It’s a playful way to say cheers in Spanish, generally used in casual and informal situations.

Chinchín imitates the sound of glasses clinking together, so it’s also sometimes written out in two words as chin chin. It’s especially popular Chile, Argentina, and Spain, while its homophone is even used in French as tchin tchin. This cheerful expression adds a bit of fun to any gathering, making chinchín perfect for celebrations with friends and family.

• ¡Chinchín! Lo logramos, ganamos el juego. – Cheers! We did it, we won the game.

• ¡Chin chin! Qué bueno reunirnos de nuevo. – Cheers! It’s so good to be meeting up again.

Arriba, abajo, al centro y pa’dentro

Are you ready for a participatory drinking toast in Spanish? Arriba, abajo, al centro y pa’dentro, meaning up, down, to the center and to the inside, is a fun, traditional, and rhythmic toast that’s popular in Mexico and a few other regions of Latin America.

This Spanish toast adds an element of playfulness to any gathering, as everyone often chants it together as they follow the same movements with their glasses. With arriba we lift our glasses up, with abajo we move our glasses back down, with al centro we point our glasses forward to the center, and finally with pa’dentro we aim our glasses inside. And what do we mean here by pa’ dentro, or inside? It’s time to take a sip, so our drinks go down the hatch!

Many Spanish learners will probably recognize the first three Spanish prepositions in this expression, since arriba, abajo, and al centro are fairly common directional words. Pa’dentro, however, is an informal Spanish contraction that’s short for para adentro, so it won’t necessarily even appear in the dictionary. Para indicates movement to or towards, while adentro means inside.

This informal phrase definitely counts as a cheers in Spanish slang, so it’s best not used in formal settings. Among friends in laid-back atmospheres though, arriba, abajo, al centro y pa’dentro is the perfect interactive toast to encourage everyone to participate and enjoy the moment together!

• Vamos, todos juntos… ¡arriba, abajo, al centro y pa’dentro! – Come on, all together… up, down, center and down the hatch!

• ¿Listos? Ahora, ¡arriba, abajo, al centro y pa’dentro, Salud! – Ready? Now up, down, center and down the hatch! Cheers!

Salucita

Salucita, a charming and affectionate way to say cheers in Spanish, is known for its casual and friendly nature. As a way to say cheers in Spanish, Mexico uses salucita the most, though it’s also embraced in many other Latin American cultures.

The root of salucita is indeed our standard salud, but here we create a cute diminutive form by changing the ending to -cita. This lighter version of our salud cheers adds a touch of warmth and intimacy to toasts, making it particularly popular among close friends and family.

To think of how else to translate salucita into English, imagine saying little cheers, or cheers, buddy! In other words, salucita conveys a sweet and friendly feeling of familiarity during celebrations.

• ¡Salucita para todos, feliz año nuevo! – Little cheers for everyone, Happy New Year!

• ¡Salucita por el nuevo bebé, felicidades! – Little cheers for the new baby, congratulations!

Salud, dinero y amor

Meaning health, money, and love in English, salud, dinero y amor is a go-to toast in Spanish-speaking cultures. Since it evokes health, money, and love, this phrase has three things everyone values, making it a fun and meaningful way to celebrate any occasion.

Whether you’re enjoying a birthday, a wedding, or just a casual get-together, this Spanish toast is perfect when raising a glass and sharing good vibes with friends and family. Using salud, dinero y amor is a beautiful way to express good wishes for health, prosperity, and love among those present.

As a fun aside, this phrase is also sometimes used when someone sneezes, just like salud. The difference is that it’s said word by word after each sneeze. In other words, if someone sneezes just once, that person only gets salud, but if they sneeze a second time it’s fun to bless them with dinero instead of a second salud. To receive the full blessing of salud, dinero y amor, be sure to sneeze three times in a row!

• ¡Por nuestra hermosa familia, salud, dinero y amor para todos! – To our beautiful family, health, money, and love for all!

• ¡Brindemos por el cumpleañero! Salud, dinero y amor! – Here’s to the birthday boy! Health, money, and love!

Conclusion: Cheers in Spanish

The party’s over! Before we call it a night, let’s do a quick review of what we learned about how to say cheers in Spanish.

Today we explored the most common Spanish cheers expressions, starting with the words for toasting and a toast: the verb brindar and the noun el brindis. From there, we saw the seven best ways to say cheers in Spanish. Along the way, we provided the necessary explanations of when to use each one, along with English translations and explanations of their grammatical particularities.

From the classic ¡Salud! to the cute ¡Salucita! to the playful ¡Arriba, abajo, al centro, y pa’dentro!, each Spanish cheers expression adds its own unique flavor to the moment.

Embracing the nuances of the different options for cheers in Spanish slang can add authenticity to every gathering. Whether you’re enjoying a casual evening at home or a special occasion with a big group, every brindis is an opportunity to connect with others and their culture. And in case you forget to drink in moderation, check out our related post on describing hangovers in Spanish!

So, por los aquí presentes, raise your glass and say ¡Salud!, because every moment, no matter how big or small, deserves a celebration!