![]() | |
Share / Tweet / Pin Me! |
Polite French Expression
Meaning | bless you (after a sneeze) | |
Literally | to your wishes | |
Register | informal | |
Pronunciation | [ah tay sweh] | |
IPA | [a tɛ swɛ] |
Usage notes: When someone sneezes, it may be polite* to say à tes souhaits (to someone you tutoie) or à vos souhaits (to someone you vouvoie).* The English equivalents are "bless you" and, oddly, "Gesundheit" (which means "health" in German but is commonly used in English). While "bless you" clearly has a religious connotation, à tes souhaits (like Gesundheit) does not, though they’re all used in response to the same trigger.
* There’s some debate about how polite it really is to respond to a sneeze with one of these phrases as it interrupts whatever is being said at that moment, so do be a bit careful with it. It’s probably ok while sitting in a restaurant (if no one is talking right then) but probably not during a class or business meeting.
When someone sneezes more than once, the potential responses get more elaborate:
- À tes souhaits / À vos souhaits – "To your health"
- À tes amours / À vos amours – "To your loves"
- (several options)
– et qu’elles durent toujours – "and may they last forever"
– que les tiennes durent toujours / que les vôtres … – "may yours last forever"
– avec un grand A et beaucoup de s – "with a capital A and lots of s’s"
– et à tes enfants / et à vos enfants – "and to your children"
– et à ton argent / et à votre argent – "and to your money"
The noun un souhait comes from the verb souhaiter (to wish).
Related lessons
- * Verb conjugations: tutoyer | vouvoyer
- Tu vs vous
- Tes, ton, vos, votre: possessive adjectives
- Les tiennes, les vôtres: possessive pronouns
- At the doctor’s office
- Politeness
- Social niceties
Share / Tweet / Pin Me!
You must log in to post a comment.