---
title: "How to Say \"Cheers\" in Russian: За здоровье & Будем"
description: "How to say \"cheers\" in Russian: за здоровье! (za zdoróvye) and будем здоровы! Why it is not \"на здоровье\", with pronunciation and audio."
canonical: "https://dailycyrillic.com/learn/how-to-say/cheers"
lang: "en"
published: "2026-06-13T18:41:48.000Z"
modified: "2026-10-27T07:33:03.000Z"
author: "Daily Cyrillic"
---

# How to Say "Cheers" in Russian

By [Daily Cyrillic](/about) · Updated 27 Oct 2026

“Cheers” in Russian is за здоровье (za zdoróvye). Use this expression as your starting point, then check the examples for tone, formality and context. Listen to the pronunciation, notice the stressed syllable and compare the common variants before choosing the wording that fits your conversation.

Reading time: about 2 min.

Russian

за здоровье

Transliteration

za zdoróvye

Meaning

cheers / to your health

## Turn this guide into words you can use

Build a free Russian set for this topic, with examples and ElevenLabs AI audio.

In Russian

за здоровье

za zdoróvye - cheers / to your health

## Variants & registers

-   будем здоровы!búdem zdoróvy
    
    cheers - literally "let's be healthy"
    
    neutral
-   за тебя!za tebyá
    
    to you! - a personal toast
    
    informal
-   за нас!za nas
    
    to us!
    
    informal
-   за встречу!za vstréchu
    
    to our meeting / reunion!
    
    neutral

## Breakdown & pronunciation

### Word by word

-   заza
    
    to / for (a toast: "to ...")
-   здоровьеzdoróvye
    
    health

### Pronunciation

Say za zda-ROV-ye. The о in за is unstressed (za), and здоровье is stressed in the middle: zda-ROV-ye. Keep the final -вье soft and quick.

## Example sentences

-   За здоровье!
    
    Za zdoróvye!
    
    Cheers! (to health)
    
-   Давайте выпьем за дружбу!
    
    Daváyte výpyem za drúzhbu!
    
    Let's drink to friendship!
    
-   Будем здоровы!
    
    Búdem zdoróvy!
    
    Cheers! (let's be healthy)
    
-   За тебя!
    
    Za tebyá!
    
    To you!
    

## Usage & etiquette

A Russian toast is built with за + the accusative case: за здоровье ("to health"), за тебя ("to you"), за любовь ("to love"). You can toast to almost anything this way.

Do not confuse за здоровье with на здоровье. на здоровье is what you say like "you're welcome" or "enjoy your meal" - never a drinking toast. The toast always uses за.

## Practice

### Practice deck

1 / 5

## FAQ

### How do you say "cheers" in Russian?

Say за здоровье! (za zdoróvye, "to health") or будем здоровы! ("let's be healthy"). For a personal toast, за тебя! ("to you!").

### Is "cheers" in Russian на здоровье?

No - that is a common mistake. на здоровье means "you're welcome" or "enjoy". The toast is за здоровье, with за ("to").

## Turn this guide into words you can use

Build a free Russian set for this topic, with examples and ElevenLabs AI audio.

[All Russian phrases](/learn/russian-phrases)

## More phrases to say

-   [
    
    How to Say "Where Is"
    
    где...? (gde...?)
    
    ](/learn/how-to-say/where-is)
-   [
    
    How to Say "Thank You"
    
    спасибо (spasíbo)
    
    ](/learn/how-to-say/thank-you)
-   [
    
    How to Say "Hello"
    
    здравствуйте (zdrávstvuyte)
    
    ](/learn/how-to-say/hello)
-   [
    
    How to Say "Yes"
    
    да (da)
    
    ](/learn/how-to-say/yes)
-   [
    
    How to Say "No"
    
    нет (net)
    
    ](/learn/how-to-say/no)
-   [
    
    How to Say "Please"
    
    пожалуйста (pozháluysta)
    
    ](/learn/how-to-say/please)
-   [
    
    Common Russian Phrases
    
    The phrases hub: greetings, courtesy, questions and more.
    
    ](/learn/russian-phrases)
-   [
    
    Russian Greetings
    
    Hello, times of day, goodbye and how are you - with audio.
    
    ](/learn/russian-greetings)

Source: https://dailycyrillic.com/learn/how-to-say/cheers