How to say cheers in Farsi

The Persian toast is a wish for health, and it stretches far beyond the dinner table.

Cheers in Farsi is be salamati به سلامتی, literally "to health". Salamati means health, from the same root as salam, the greeting. Shortened to just salamati, it does the same job. Glasses are raised, sometimes clinked, and the word is said around the table exactly as cheers is in English.

Dedicating a toast

Persian toasts often name what they are for. Be salamatie... plus a person or idea means "to the health of...": be salamatie madar, to mothers, be salamatie doostan, to friends. At diaspora gatherings someone will often stand and offer a longer dedication, and the table answers with salamati.

Not only for drinks

Salamati also works as a warm response in daily life. Ask an Iranian how they are and you may hear salamati, meaning "healthy, all good". Someone sneezes? The Persian bless-you is afiat bashe عافیت باشه, may it be wellness, a close cousin of the same idea. Health wishes run right through the language.

Nooshe jan and noosh

Alongside the toast, Persian has nooshe jan نوش جان, "may it nourish your soul", said about food, the Persian bon appetit. The short form noosh sometimes answers a toast too, the way "salud" and "santé" float between languages. If someone raises a glass at you, either salamati or noosh back is natural.

A note on where you will hear it

Alcohol is prohibited in Iran, so inside the country you will hear be salamati over tea, doogh, or sharbat at celebrations, and constantly in songs and films. Across the diaspora, from Los Angeles to London, it is the standard toast at any table. The phrase belongs to the wish, not the drink.

Replying to a toast

Echo it back: salamati! If the toast was dedicated to you, add mersi or a modest ghorbanet, you're too kind. Then drink, sip, or simply smile; the moment is about the company.

Be salamati for the toast, nooshe jan for the food, afiat bashe for the sneeze. Three health wishes, and a very Persian evening.