Response to sneezing: Difference between revisions

Content deleted Content added

Inline

Revision as of 16:43, 8 July 2010

Main article: Sneeze

In English-speaking countries, the common verbal response to another person's sneeze is "(God) Bless You" or the less common "Gesundheit" (the German word for "healthiness"). There are several proposed origins for the use "Bless you" in the context of sneezing:

Various alleged but conflicting superstitions relating the sneeze to evil spirits. This includes beliefs that a sneeze could release one's soul, thus leading to its possible capture by lurking evil spirits (as explained in the "Historic instances and practices" section above), or that the evil spirits could enter the body though the open mouth of a sneezing individual, or that the individual is sneezing out sins or evil spirits which had taken residence within the body and is thus in need of the blessing to prevent the exorcised spirits from re-entering the body. Some proponents of this last theory have further suggested that it was bad luck to open the mouth again to thank the person who uttered "Bless you" for fear of circumventing the original purpose of the blessing.
Some say it came into use during the plague pandemics of the fourteenth century. Blessing the individual after showing such a symptom was thought to prevent possible impending death due to the lethal disease.
In Renaissance times a superstition was formed claiming one's heart stopped for a very brief moment during the sneeze, saying bless you was a sign of prayer that the heart wouldn't fail possibly the devil's doing by sending demons to clasp the heart in the body's moment of shock from the sneeze.
A polite way of congratulating the sneezer for his or her impending good luck as signaled by the sneeze.

In non-English-speaking cultures, words referencing good health or a long life are used instead of "Bless you":

List of responses in various languages

In Albanian, one says Shëndet (shuhn-det), to which typical responses are Faleminderit, meaning "Thank you", or Shëndet paç, meaning literally "May you have health".
In American Sign Language, it would be appropriate to do the Excuse-Me sign.
In Arabic , a response is صحة (Sahha), which likely evolved from the word صحة (Sihha), meaning "health", or نشوة (Nashweh) which means "ecstasy". These responses are generally considered secular in nature. The response is either thank you شكراً (Shukran) or تسلم (Tislam/Taslam) which means "may you be kept safe". Another typical response (generally considered religious in origins) to a sneeze is يرحمكم الله (yarhamkom Allah) (God have mercy on you) and the answer is يهديكم الله و يصلح بالكم (Yahdeekom Allah wa yousleh balakom) (God guide you and make you right) or شكراً (thank you). However, it is also appropriate to say Alhamdo lel lah/Alhamdulillah i.e. "All praise is for Allah (God)".
In Armenian, one says առողջություն (aroghjootyoon), which means "health".
In Azeri, sneezing is usually followed by the response Sağlam ol, which means "be healthy". Sometimes, Afiat is used, similar to the Persian response.
In Bosnian, one says Nazdravlje, meaning "To your good health". The person who sneezed usually responds with Hvala, meaning "Thank you".
In Bulgarian, one says Наздраве (Nazdrave), which means "[to your] health" or "cheers". The person who has sneezed can then say Благодаря (Blagodarya), which means "Thank you".
In Catalan, one says Jesús or Salut, similarly to Spanish and Múse which is exclusive to Catalan. The term Jesús comes from the religious action of giving a blessing. The term Salud literally means heath. The term Múse stems from the relationship with muse and 'ofrena d'amor' an offering of love. The person who has sneezed would then reply Gràcies for thank you.
In Chinese, the sneezer follows up the sneeze with 不好意思 (bù hǎo yì si) (Standard Mandarin) or 唔好意思 (Standard Cantonese), meaning "excuse me" or "sorry". No response is expected from those being apologized to.
In Croatian, Na zdravlje (almost always pronounced nazdravlje) ([to your] "Health") is said after a sneeze. For sneezer it is polite to reply Hvala meaning "thank you."
In Czech, one says Pozdrav Pánbůh, meaning in colloquial Czech "Bless God" or "Greet God", or Na zdraví, which means "To your health" and can be followed by the response Ať slouží ("May it last").
In Dutch, one usually says Gezondheid (literally translated as "health") or Proost (which means "cheers").
In Finnish the usual response is Terveydeksi (literally meaning "For your health")
In French polite speech, after the first sneeze, one says à tes / vos souhaits which means "to your wishes". If the same person sneezes again, the second response is à tes / vos amours, which means "to your loves." Less formally, one says santé ([to your] "health"). A more archaïc response would be Dieu vous bénisse ("God bless you").
In German, Gesundheit ([to your] "Health") is said after a sneeze. This is also common in the United States. The expression arrived in America with early German immigrants, such as the Pennsylvania Dutch, and doubtless passed into local English usage in areas with substantial German-speaking populations.^[1] The expression is first widely attested in American English as of 1910, about the time when large numbers of Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazi Jews immigrated to the United States.
In Greek, γείτσες or στην υγεία σου is said meaning "to your health".
In Hebrew, לבריאות (Labri'oot, "to [your] health") is said after a sneeze. The polite response is תודה (Toda, "thank you").
In Hindi, there are multiple phrases, one says हरी ॐ "'Hari Om'" (the shortest mantra referring to the universality of Om) or सत्यम Satyam (sat'yam), meaning "truth" (also a shortened version of the mantra सत्यम शिवम् सुन्दरम "Satyam Shivam Sundaram" - meaning "Truth (is) God (is) Beautiful"), or colloquially जीते रहो "'Jeete Raho'" (Have a long life).
In Hungarian, one says Egészségedre!, which means "[to your] health".
In Icelandic, one says Guð hjálpi þér! ("God help you!"). There is also an old custom to respond three times to three sneezes like so: Guð hjálpi þér ("God help you"), styrki þig ("strengthen you"), og styðji ("and support").^[2]
In Indonesia the sneezer will utter Alhamdulilah meaning God bless
In Italian, one says Salute! meaning "[to your] health"
In Japanese, a sneezer might apologize for the outburst, by saying すみません (sumimasen) or 失礼しました (shitsurei shimashita), meaning "Excuse me". In formal occasions and less often within the family, after one sneezes, someone else blesses them by saying おだいじに (o-daiji ni), meaning "Take care" in informal contexts and something along the lines of "Get well soon" in a more formal situation.
In Kirundi, one says Kira, meaning be healthy, and the sneezer then says Twese, meaning us all
In Korean, a sneezer might say 누가 내 얘기 했어?(Nuga nae yaegi hatseo), meaning "Did someone talk about me?" after a sneeze.
In Kurdish,the response is kher be inshalla, which means it will be a good thing God willing. Many times when one sneezes they say the thing they are about to do will not happen. So when the person sneezes they say kher be which means a good sign hopefully.
In Kyrgyz, one says Акчуч! [aqˈt͡ʃut͡ʃ] (which may be based on an onomatopœia of the sound of a sneeze, like English "atchoo" discussed above), to which one may respond Ракмат!, meaning "thank you", if the person who said "акчуч" is liked.
In Latvian, one says Uz veselībām, which means "to your health".
In Lithuanian, one says Į sveikatą, which means "to your health". And person which sneezes answer Ačiū that translates as "Thank you".
In Macedonian, one says На здравје(na zdravje), meaning "[To Your] Health". The person who sneezes usually says Здравје да имаш (zdravje da imash) which means "Have Health [yourself]", or just says Благодарам(blagodaram) "Thank You" or Фала(fala) "Thanks".
In Maltese, one says Evviva, which comes from the Latin for "[He/She Is] Alive!".
In Persian, if the sneeze is especially dramatic, Afiat Bahsheh (عافیت باشه) is said, "[May] Cleanliness/Purity be bestowed [upon you]".
In Nepali, one says 'िचरन्िजभी (chiranjivi), meaning may you live long.
In Polish, Na zdrowie ([to your] "Health" - meaning that "may it get you healthier") is said after a sneeze as is Sto lat ([I wish you] a hundred years [of health]).
In European Portuguese one says Santinho, which means "Little Saint".
In Brazilian Portuguese one says Saúde, which means "[To your] Health".
In Romanian, one says Sănătate ("[To your] Health") or Noroc ("[To your] Luck").
In Russian, the appropriate response is будь здоров(а) (BООD' zdah-ROV - to a male sneezer, or BООD' zdah-RO-va - to a female sneezer), which means "be healthy". For the sneezer it is polite to reply спасибо (spah-SEE-bah) meaning "thank you".
In Scandinavia, Norway, Sweden and Denmark one says Prosit, from the Latin meaning "to your benefit". Originally used when toasting, today it is used only when someone sneezes.
In Serbian, Na zdravlje (almost always pronounced nazdravlje) ([to your] "Health") is said after a sneeze. For the sneezer, it is polite to reply Hvala meaning "Thank you."
In Slovak, Na zdravie ([to your] "Health") is said after a sneeze. For the sneezer, it is polite to reply Ďakujem meaning "Thank You."
In Slovenian, Na zdravje (almost always pronounced nazdravje) ([to your] "Health") is a response to someone's sneeze. For the sneezer, it is polite to reply Hvala meaning "Thank You." Nowadays old-fashioned response to a sneeze would be Bog pomagaj, meaning "God help [to you]".
In Spanish, one says Salud, which means "[to your] health" and Jesús (in Spain) referring to Christ (similarly to God bless you in English). It is common in Latin America to follow a second sneeze with Dinero, which means "money," and a third sneeze with Amor, which means "love."
In Telugu, particularly around the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, the phrase is Chiranjeeva, which translates to "(May you be blessed with a) Life without death".
In Turkish, a sneezer is always told to Çok Yaşa, i.e. "Live Long", which in turn receives a response of either Sen De Gör ("[and I hope that] you see it") or Hep Beraber ("all together"). This is to indicate the sneezer's wish that the person wishing them a long life also has a long life so they can "live long" "all together". For more polite circles, one might say Güzel Yaşayın, i.e. "[May You] Live Beautifully", which may be countered with a Siz de Görün ("[And may You] witness it").
In Ukrainian, the appropriate response is будь здоровий (BООD' zdoh-RO-vyy - to a male sneezer, familiar) or its variations: будь здорова (BООD' zdoh-RO-va - to a female sneezer, familiar), будьте здорові (BООD'-te zdoh-RO-vee - to a male or a female sneezer, formal), which means "be healthy". For the sneezer it is polite to reply дякую (DIA-koo-you) meaning "thank you".
In Urdu, the response is traditionally Al-hum-do-lillah, i.e. "All praise is for Allah (God)".
In Uzbek, the response is Sog-buling, i.e. "Be healthy", possibly derived from Russian "Bud zdorov".
In Vietnamese, the response is traditionally Sống lâu, i.e. "Live long" which, like "Bless You", is an abbreviation of "Wish you a long life" or "Lạy Mụ" /layh-moo/, from the culture of Middle Vietnam, meaning "Mother Nature blesses you."
In Yiddish, one says זײַ געזונט (pronounced zay gezunt; meaning "[to] your health") after one sneeze; after subsequent sneezes, צו געזונט (pronounced tzu gezunt) is said.

Notes

^ "Random House Word of the Day". 1997-09-23.
^ Visindavefur.is (Icelandic): http://visindavefur.is/svar.php?id=6044

References

Ancient Sneezing: A Gift from the Gods - Elaine Fantham, Professor of Classics at Princeton on NPR Radio.
Why do my eyes close every time I sneeze? M.G., Sherborn The Boston Globe

External links

The Origins of Popular Superstitions and Customs - T. Sharper Knowlson (1910), a book that listed many superstitions and customs that are still common today.
Cold and flu advice (NHS Direct)

[1] "Random House Word of the Day". 1997-09-23.

[2] Visindavefur.is (Icelandic): http://visindavefur.is/svar.php?id=6044

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 51: / Line 51: @@
 * In [[Russian language|Russian]], the appropriate response is '''будь здоров(а)''' (BООD' zdah-ROV - to a male sneezer, or BООD' zdah-RO-va - to a female sneezer), which means "be healthy". For the sneezer it is polite to reply '''спасибо''' (spah-SEE-bah) meaning "thank you".
 * In [[Scandinavia]], [[Norway]], [[Sweden]] and [[Denmark]] one says '''Prosit''', from the Latin meaning "to your benefit". Originally used when toasting, today it is used only when someone sneezes.
-* In [[Seinfeld]], "You are so good looking"
 * In [[Serbian language|Serbian]], '''Na zdravlje''' (almost always pronounced '''nazdravlje''') ([to your] "Health") is said after a sneeze. For the sneezer, it is polite to reply '''Hvala''' meaning "Thank you."
 * In [[Slovak language|Slovak]], '''Na zdravie''' ([to your] "Health") is said after a sneeze. For the sneezer, it is polite to reply '''Ďakujem''' meaning "Thank You."

v t e Common cold
Viruses	Adenovirus Coronavirus Enterovirus Rhinovirus
Symptoms	Cough Fatigue Fever Headache Loss of appetite Malaise Muscle aches Nasal congestion Rhinorrhea Sneezing Sore throat Weakness
Complications	Acute bronchitis Bronchiolitis Croup Otitis media Pharyngitis Pneumonia Sinusitis Strep throat
Drugs	Antiviral drugs