l'chaim
Hebrew drinking salute
L'chaim is a Hebrew toast meaning "to life," used when raising glasses in celebration.
The word appears in Jewish contexts but has spread into broader English usage, especially in areas with significant Jewish populations: L'chaim! To the happy couple!
Sometimes spelled lechaim or l'chayim.
Casual toast or farewell
- saluteGestural sign of honor
- blessingPrayer seeking divine favor
- celebrationFestive event marking occasion
- glassesCorrective eyewear or tumblers
clink · wine · raise · festivity · drink · gathering · occasion · mazel tov
Animate state
- vitalityCapacity for spirited existence
- livingCurrently having breath
- existenceState of being real
- breathAir taken in
survival · perseverance · hope · resilience · endurance · continuity · thriving · renewal
cheers
Casual toast or farewell
- saluteGestural sign of honor
- blessingPrayer seeking divine favor
- celebrationFestive event marking occasion
glasses · clink · wine · raise · festivity · drink · gathering · occasion · mazel tov · simcha
life
Animate state
breath · survival · perseverance · hope · resilience · endurance · continuity · thriving · renewal · longevity
Hebrew
Semitic language of Israel
- YiddishAshkenazi Jewish language
- traditionCustom passed through generations
- JudaismReligion following Mosaic law
synagogue · rabbi · Torah · Israel · diaspora · Ashkenazi · Sephardic · klezmer · Fiddler on the Roof · shtetl
- dining phrasesbon appetit, enjoy your meal, dig in, come and get it, help yourself
- toastscheers, wedding toast, birthday toast, champagne toast, graduation toast
- drinking toastscheers, bottoms up, salud, prost, slainte
- Hebrew Wordsshalom, amen, hallelujah, Adonai, shekel
- JudaismShabbat, kosher, Passover, Torah, Hanukkah
- exclamationsoh, yes, no, wow, hey
l'chaimcurse
Invoked harm through words
to death · malediction · death wish · damnation · anathema
l'chaimto death
To an extreme degree
death · memento mori · death wish · nihilism · despair