tsu gezunt

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Pronunciations

tsu gezunt (tzoo guh-ZUUNT) listen
tsi gezunt (tsee geh-ZUUNT) listen

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Definitions

  • interj. 'Bless you', said after someone sneezes.

Example Sentences

  • "In Yiddish, we say tzu gezunt, which means “to health.”" (source)

  • "Achoo!" "Tsu gezunt."

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Languages of Origin

  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • צו געזונט tsu gezunt (in many dialects: tsi gezint) 'to health'

      • Who Uses This

      • Older: Jews who are middle-aged and older
      • Ashkenazim: Jews with Ashkenazi heritage
      • Ethnic: Jews whose Jewish identity is primarily ethnic

      Regions

      • Great Britain
      • South Africa

      Dictionaries

      • The New Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten and Lawrence Bush (New York, 2003[1968]).
      • Yiddish and English: A Century of Yiddish in America, by Sol Steinmetz (Tuscaloosa, 1986).
      • Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).

      Alternative Spellings

      tzi gezint, tsu gesunt, tzu gezunt, tzu gesunt

Notes

  • According to one user, "Zay gezunt is usually used after the first sneeze, and tsu gezunt after each subsequent sneeze." But the editor is more familiar with the practice (borrowed from Yiddish) of saying "tsu gezunt" after the first sneeze, and "tsu(m) lebn" 'to life' after the second, and "tsu lange yorn" 'to long years' after the third, with some variation.

    See also other expressions used after someone has sneezed, a lebn af dir and labriut.

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