Prost, Zum Wohl and Gesundheit: German Toasts and Everyday Wishes
The everyday German toast to your health is Prost! (or the older Prosit!). With wine or at a formal dinner, people often say Zum Wohl! instead. To toast one person, say Auf dein Wohl! (informal) or Auf Ihr Wohl! (formal). Gesundheit! is not a toast: Germans say it when someone sneezes, and the reply is Danke!
Below you find all the short wishes that come up around drinks, meals, illness and birthdays, with the grammar you need to use them correctly and a ready-made toast for a work party.
German toasts at a glance
| German | Literal meaning | Typical situation | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prost! | (may it) do you good | beer, friends, parties, almost any drink | casual to neutral |
| Prosit! | may it be beneficial | festive, songs, older speakers | traditional |
| Zum Wohl! | to (your) well-being | wine, sparkling wine, dinners, formal events | polite |
| Auf dein Wohl! | to your well-being | toasting one friend (du) | warm |
| Auf Ihr Wohl! | to your well-being | toasting one person formally (Sie) | polite, formal |
| Auf euer Wohl! | to your well-being | toasting a group you say ihr to | warm |
| Auf die Gesundheit! | to health | older speakers, family celebrations | traditional |
| Auf uns! | to us | friends, team, couples | casual, warm |
| Prost Neujahr! / Prosit Neujahr! | cheers, New Year | midnight on New Year’s Eve | festive |
Prosit comes from Latin and means roughly “may it be of benefit”; Prost is the shortened everyday form. Both are correct, but Prost is what you will hear in a bar, at a barbecue or at a family party.
Prost vs Zum Wohl: what is the difference?
The difference is mostly about the drink and the mood, and it is a tendency, not a strict rule.
- Prost is the all-purpose toast. It fits beer, cocktails, juice and almost every informal occasion. At a beer festival you may hear the song line Ein Prosit der Gemütlichkeit!
- Zum Wohl sounds a little more elegant. Many people use it with wine and Sekt (German sparkling wine), at dinners with guests, at weddings and at formal receptions.
If someone says Zum Wohl! to you, you can answer Zum Wohl! or Prost!. Nobody will correct you either way. The only combination that can sound slightly off is a loud Prost! at a very formal dinner where the host has just said Zum Wohl.
Toasting a person or an occasion: auf + accusative
To say what or whom you are drinking to, use auf + accusative:
- Auf dich! (To you!) / Auf Sie! (formal)
- Auf das Geburtstagskind! (To the birthday girl/boy!)
- Auf die Gastgeber! (To the hosts!)
- Auf die neue Wohnung! (To the new flat!)
- Auf ein gutes neues Jahr! (To a good new year!)
- Auf eine gute Zusammenarbeit! (To working well together!)
The verbs around toasting are also useful: anstoßen (to clink glasses), zuprosten (to raise your glass to someone), auf jemanden trinken (to drink to someone).
- Lasst uns anstoßen! (Let’s clink glasses!) to a group you say ihr to
- Darauf müssen wir anstoßen! (We have to drink to that!)
- Wir trinken auf Paula! (We’re drinking to Paula!)
How to toast in German: the customs
Saying a German toast to your health is only half of it; the gestures matter too. These are widely known customs in Germany. Not every group follows them strictly, but knowing them prevents awkward moments.
- Wait for the first toast. At dinners, people usually wait until the host or the person who invited raises the glass before drinking.
- Look the other person in the eye. Eye contact while clinking glasses is considered important. Looking at the glass or the ceiling can come across as impolite.
- Clink with everyone you can reach. In a small group, people clink glasses with each person. At a long table, raising your glass and nodding to those further away is enough.
- Any drink is fine. You don’t need to drink alcohol to join a toast. Raise your water or juice and say Prost with everyone else. Für mich nur Wasser, bitte (Just water for me, please) is a normal sentence. A few people follow an old superstition that clinking with water brings bad luck, but nobody expects you to drink alcohol.
- Say the person’s name in a small group. Prost, Jonas! sounds friendly, especially if you have just met.
Gesundheit! What Germans say when someone sneezes
When someone sneezes, the traditional reaction is Gesundheit! (literally “health”). The person who sneezed answers Danke! or Danke schön!.
Colleague: (sneezes)
You: Gesundheit!
Colleague: Danke!
In formal settings, many etiquette advisers now recommend not commenting on a sneeze at all, so you may notice that some people stay quiet. In that case the person who sneezed may say Entschuldigung (Excuse me). In everyday life, among friends, flatmates and many colleagues, Gesundheit! is still completely normal. If someone sneezes several times in a row, a friendly Gesundheit! after the first is enough.
Do not say Gesundheit after a cough. If someone is clearly ill, the right wish is Gute Besserung! (see below).
Meals: Guten Appetit and Mahlzeit
| German | Meaning | When | Reply |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guten Appetit! | enjoy your meal | before eating, everywhere | Danke, gleichfalls! / Danke, ebenfalls! |
| Lass es dir schmecken! | enjoy your food | to one friend (du) | Danke, dir auch! |
| Lassen Sie es sich schmecken! | enjoy your food | formal (Sie) | Danke, Ihnen auch! |
| Mahlzeit! | (greeting at midday) | at work around lunchtime | Mahlzeit! |
| Prost Mahlzeit! | (ironic) well, that’s just great | something has gone wrong | (no reply needed) |
Mahlzeit! as a greeting is colloquial and typical of workplaces: you meet a colleague in the corridor around noon and you both say Mahlzeit!. Some people find it old-fashioned, but you will hear it in many offices, hospitals and factories. More workplace phrases are in German small talk at work.
Prost Mahlzeit! is the opposite of a good wish. It is said when something unpleasant happens: the train is cancelled, the printer breaks before a deadline. Use it only when the situation is clearly not serious.
Danke, gleichfalls and the other replies to wishes are covered in detail in how to reply to danke.
Wishes for illness, birthdays and big moments
| German | English | Typical situation |
|---|---|---|
| Gute Besserung! | Get well soon! | someone is ill or injured |
| Alles Gute! | All the best! | goodbyes, birthdays, new job, moving away |
| Alles Gute zum Geburtstag! | Happy birthday! | birthdays |
| Herzlichen Glückwunsch! | Congratulations! | any success or celebration |
| Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag! | Happy birthday! | birthdays, cards |
| Herzlichen Glückwunsch zur bestandenen Prüfung! | Congratulations on passing the exam! | exams |
| Herzlichen Glückwunsch zur Hochzeit! | Congratulations on your wedding! | weddings |
| Viel Glück! | Good luck! | before an exam or interview |
| Viel Erfolg! | Every success! | before an exam, a new job, a project |
What does Gute Besserung mean?
Gute Besserung means “get well soon”, literally “good improvement”. You say it to someone who is ill, on the phone, in a message or in person, and the reply is Danke!. With friends you can add Werd schnell wieder gesund!. How to describe your own symptoms is in how to say I’m sick in German.
zum or zur? The small grammar trap
Glückwunsch and Alles Gute are followed by zu + dative, which merges with the article:
- masculine and neuter nouns: zu dem = zum: zum Geburtstag, zum Jubiläum, zum neuen Job
- feminine nouns: zu der = zur: zur Hochzeit, zur Geburt, zur neuen Stelle
Many Germans consider it unlucky to congratulate someone before their birthday, so wait until the day itself, or say Ich wünsche dir für morgen einen schönen Tag! instead.
Short wishes are easy to understand and surprisingly hard to produce at the right moment, with the right intonation and the right zum or zur. SipLingo lets you practise everyday situations, from a team lunch to a birthday at work, in voice conversations with an AI partner, and scores your intonation and grammar with corrections in your own language. Practise these phrases out loud.
A sample toast for a work party
At a team dinner or the end-of-year party (Weihnachtsfeier), you may want to say a few words, especially if you are new. This short toast works with colleagues you say ihr to:
Liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen, ich möchte nur kurz etwas sagen. Ich bin erst seit März im Team, und ihr habt mir den Start sehr leicht gemacht. Danke für eure Hilfe und eure Geduld mit meinem Deutsch! Also: Auf ein tolles Team und auf ein gutes neues Jahr. Prost!
(Dear colleagues, I just want to say something briefly. I’ve only been on the team since March, and you’ve made the start very easy for me. Thank you for your help and your patience with my German! So: to a great team and to a good new year. Cheers!)
For a more formal event with Sie, change two phrases: Sie haben mir den Start sehr leicht gemacht and Danke für Ihre Hilfe und Ihre Geduld. The traditional formal opener is Ich möchte mein Glas auf … erheben (I would like to raise my glass to …).
Mini-dialogues
At a friend’s birthday
Host: Habt ihr alle was zu trinken? Dann: Auf Sophie! (Does everyone have something to drink? Then: to Sophie!)
Everyone: Auf Sophie! Prost!
You: Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, Sophie! (Happy birthday, Sophie!)
Sophie: Danke, das ist lieb! (Thanks, that’s sweet!)
At a formal dinner
Host: Schön, dass Sie alle gekommen sind. Zum Wohl! (Lovely that you all came. Cheers!)
You: Zum Wohl! Und vielen Dank für die Einladung. (Cheers! And thank you very much for the invitation.)
At work, around noon
Colleague: Mahlzeit!
You: Mahlzeit! Gehst du auch in die Kantine? (Are you going to the canteen too?)
These little rituals are a big part of sounding more German. If you want more short reactions like Prost Mahlzeit, see German exclamations.
Exercise: which phrase fits?
Choose the best phrase: Gesundheit!, Gute Besserung!, Zum Wohl!, Guten Appetit!, Herzlichen Glückwunsch!, Mahlzeit!
- Your neighbour sneezes in the stairwell.
- A colleague tells you she has the flu and will stay at home.
- Your host raises a glass of white wine at a formal dinner.
- You meet a colleague in the corridor at 12:15.
- Your friend tells you he passed his B1 exam.
- The food has just been served and everyone is about to start.
Answers: 1. Gesundheit! 2. Gute Besserung! 3. Zum Wohl! 4. Mahlzeit! 5. Herzlichen Glückwunsch! 6. Guten Appetit!
Meanings and origins checked in October 2026 against the Duden and DWDS dictionaries; toasting and sneezing etiquette varies between groups and regions, so treat the customs above as common practice, not fixed rules.
Frequently asked questions
What is the German phrase for “to your health”?
The usual German toast to your health is Prost! or Zum Wohl!. To toast one person directly, say Auf dein Wohl! (informal) or Auf Ihr Wohl! (formal).
What do Germans say when someone sneezes?
They say Gesundheit!, and the person who sneezed replies Danke!. In very formal situations some people say nothing, and the person who sneezed says Entschuldigung.
What is the difference between Prost and Zum Wohl?
Prost is the casual all-purpose toast, typical with beer and among friends. Zum Wohl sounds more elegant and is common with wine and at formal dinners, but both are understood everywhere.
How do you toast in German?
Raise your glass, look the other person in the eye, clink glasses and say Prost! or Zum Wohl!. To name the occasion, use auf: Auf das Geburtstagskind!
What does “Gute Besserung” mean?
It means “get well soon”. You say it to someone who is ill, and the reply is simply Danke!
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