Some toasts have been raised so many times that half the room can say them with you. This page collects the famous toasts worth knowing: classic and witty drinking toasts, short lines from the movies, toasts that made history and how to say cheers around the world. Old folk toasts are labeled "Traditional," quotes name their source, and the last group is our own modern twist on the classics.
45 toasts. Tap copy, then swap in a name or a real detail.
Old toasts with no known author, passed from table to table for generations. Wording varies a little, so use the version that sounds natural to you.
To absent friends. Short and old, it's usually raised near the end of a reunion, a wedding or a holiday dinner to remember the people who can't be there.
Here's mud in your eye! Nobody agrees on where it started, but it's been a friendly, slightly cheeky way to say cheers for generations.
Here's to health, wealth, love and the time to enjoy them. An old Spanish toast says much the same, and it fits almost any occasion.
May your joys be as deep as the ocean, and your sorrows as light as its foam.
May we be happy, and our enemies know it. A classic for a reunion, a comeback year or any night when life is going well.
Lang may yer lum reek! It's Scots for "long may your chimney smoke," a wish for a long life with a warm home and plenty to burn.
May you grow old on one pillow. A short wedding wish, often described as Armenian, for a couple to share a long life side by side.
The famous funny toasts, the ones with a twist in the last line. Pause just before the punchline and let it land.
May we get what we want, may we get what we need, but may we never get what we deserve.
Here's champagne to our real friends, and real pain to our sham friends. Say it slowly so the pun lands.
Here's to cheating, stealing, fighting and drinking. If you cheat, may you cheat death. If you steal, may you steal a heart. If you fight, may you fight for a friend. And if you drink, may you drink with me.
May you live to be a hundred years, with one extra year to repent.
May you have the hindsight to know where you've been, the foresight to know where you're going, and the insight to know when you've gone too far.
Here's to those who wish us well. As for the rest, they can go to hell. Best saved for old friends at the bar, not the wedding reception.
Classic friendship toasts for a reunion, a birthday or a night out with the people who've known you longest.
There are good ships and wood ships, ships that sail the sea. But the best ships are friendships, and may they always be.
Here's to you, here's to me, friends forever we shall be. And if we ever disagree, forget you, here's to me!
May the friends of our youth be the companions of our old age. A good one for a group that has known each other since school.
May we never want a friend to cheer us, or a bottle to cheer him.
Here's tae us! Wha's like us? Damn few, and they're a' deid! In plain English: here's to us, who's like us? Hardly anyone, and they're all dead. A proud Scottish classic.
Old wood to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust and old authors to read. Francis Bacon recorded this saying of Alonso of Aragon in the 1620s, and it still makes a lovely toast to old friends.
Some of these are real toasts on screen. Others are famous lines people love to borrow when they raise a glass. Say them in your own voice, not a movie impression.
"Here's looking at you, kid." (Rick, Casablanca, 1942) The most famous toast in film. Use it for a partner, an old friend or anyone who just did something brave.
"A toast to my big brother George: the richest man in town." (Harry Bailey, It's a Wonderful Life, 1946) Swap in a name to honor someone who is rich in friends, not money.
"Here's to swimmin' with bow-legged women." (Quint, Jaws, 1975) A famous toast for a fishing trip, a beach weekend or a bachelor party with a sense of humor.
"May the Force be with you." (Han Solo, Star Wars, 1977) Not a toast in the film, but a fun send-off for a graduate, a new job or a big move.
"Live long and prosper." (Spock, Star Trek, 1967) Spock's Vulcan farewell works as a birthday or retirement toast, especially if you can manage the hand sign too.
Toasts and toast customs with a real place in history. Where the exact source is debated, we say so.
"Go fetch me a quart of sack; put a toast in't." (Falstaff, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Shakespeare) People really did drop spiced toast into wine, which is how a toast got its name.
"Drink to me only with thine eyes, and I will pledge with mine." (Ben Jonson, "Song: To Celia," 1616) An old poem about a toast with no glass at all. Lovely to quote at a wedding.
"May you live all the days of your life." This short, wise toast is usually credited to Jonathan Swift, the author of Gulliver's Travels. It suits a birthday or a retirement.
"Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong." (Stephen Decatur, 1816) A naval hero's dinner toast that became one of the most quoted lines in American history.
"Our Federal Union: it must be preserved." (Andrew Jackson, 1830) Jackson raised it at a Jefferson Day dinner, and Vice President John C. Calhoun answered with a toast that put liberty first. Few toasts have caused more trouble.
Jacobites in 18th-century Britain drank secretly to "the king over the water." They passed their glasses over a jug or bowl of water as they toasted, honoring the exiled Stuart king while seeming loyal to the crown.
In the Royal Navy, officers kept a toast for each day of the week. Saturday was "sweethearts and wives," with the cheeky reply "may they never meet," and Sunday was "absent friends."
Short, easy toasts from other languages, with a rough English pronunciation. Accents vary, so treat these as a friendly guide.
Salud! (sah-LOOD) Spanish for "health." You'll hear it across Spain and Latin America, and it's the one most English speakers already know.
Prost! (prohst) German for cheers, from the Latin "prosit," meaning "may it do you good." Look each person in the eye as your glasses clink.
Santé! (sahn-TAY) French for "health." For a group or someone you don't know well, say the fuller "À votre santé" (ah VOH-truh sahn-TAY).
Kanpai! (kahn-PIE) Japanese for "dry the cup." Wait until everyone's glass is filled and the toast is made before anyone takes a sip.
Gānbēi! (gahn-BAY) Mandarin Chinese for "dry the cup." At a formal dinner it can mean you're expected to finish your glass, so pace yourself.
Na zdrowie! (nah ZDROH-vyeh) Polish for "to health." It's the toast you'll hear at Polish weddings, name days and family dinners.
Skål! (skohl) Swedish, Danish and Norwegian for cheers. It means "bowl," and the story about Vikings drinking from skulls is a myth. Make eye contact before and after you drink.
L'chaim! (luh-KHAH-yim) Hebrew for "to life." It's raised at Jewish weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs and holidays, and the musical Fiddler on the Roof made it famous worldwide.
Our own new twists on the famous toasts above. Fill in the blanks and they'll sound like you wrote them yourself.
There are good ships and wood ships and ships that sail the sea, but the best ship in this room belongs to [NAME] and [NAME]. Here's to a relationship built to last. To the couple!
Of all the bars in all the towns in all the world, [NAME] walked into ours [NUMBER] years ago. We've been lucky ever since. Here's looking at you, kid. Happy birthday!
Here's to health, wealth, love and the time to enjoy them. Time is the hardest one to find, so thank you for spending some of yours with us tonight. Cheers.
May the roof above us never leak, the Wi-Fi never drop and the friends gathered below it never fall out. To [NAME] and [NAME], and to the new house!
May we get the jobs we want, the sleep we need and never the haircuts we deserve. Here's to another year of getting away with it, friends. Cheers!
To absent friends: the ones stuck at work, the ones stuck in traffic and the ones we'll never sit beside again. Save us a seat, all of you. Cheers.
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There's no single winner, but the most widely used toast is a simple wish for good health: "Cheers," "To your health," "Salud" or "Prost." For something longer, many people's favorite is the traditional "Here's to cheating, stealing, fighting and drinking," which turns every vice into something sweet. The best toast for your night is a classic plus one personal line about the people in the room.
The best known is the traditional Irish blessing that begins "May the road rise up to meet you," often read at weddings and farewells. For a quick drink, the famous Irish toast is "Sláinte" (SLAWN-cha), which means "health." Our Irish toasts page has more traditional blessings, pub toasts and an easy pronunciation guide.
Short classics work best. Try "Here's to health, wealth, love and the time to enjoy them," "May we get what we want, may we get what we need, but may we never get what we deserve," or "Here's looking at you, kid" from Casablanca. For friends, the old "best ships are friendships" toast is hard to beat. Pick one that matches the mood of the room.
Stand up, get the room's attention and thank the host if there is one. Say one or two sentences about the person or the occasion, then ask everyone to raise their glasses. Finish with a short line, such as a famous toast, the person's name or simply "Cheers." Wait until you've said the last word before you drink, and clink only with people close to you.
A quick toast should take 30 seconds to a minute, which is about 75 to 150 words. That leaves room for a personal line or two and a famous toast to finish. If you're giving a full wedding speech, such as a best man or maid of honor speech, aim for three to five minutes and end with the toast.
Most people would pick "Here's looking at you, kid," said by Rick (Humphrey Bogart) in Casablanca (1942). Others that come up often are Harry Bailey's "To my big brother George, the richest man in town" from It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and Quint's "Here's to swimmin' with bow-legged women" from Jaws (1975). Keep movie lines short, and add a sentence of your own.
Yes. The free toast generator on this page writes a short toast from a few details, with a few free uses per day, and you can ask it to end on a classic line. For a full speech, Toastful's AI writer turns your answers and stories into a personal draft in about a minute. The preview is free, and unlocking starts at $9.95, one-time, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.