Order a glass of vinho verde on a terrace in Porto or a round of Super Bock at a tasca in Lisbon, and you’ll notice the toast changes depending on who’s raising the glass and why.
In Portuguese, there’s more than one way to say cheers, and each one carries a slightly different mood: formal, communal, personal, or just plain playful. Here’s how to tell them apart, and when to use each.
Saúde! — To Your Health
This is the one you’ll hear everywhere, from a family dinner table to a crowded fado bar.
It translates simply to “health,” and it works in every setting: with strangers, with your waiter, with your own travel group before the first sip of the trip. If you only learn one Portuguese toast before you land, make it this one.
À Nossa! — To Us
Where Saúde is universal, À Nossa is communal. It’s the toast for a table that already feels like it belongs together: old friends, a group that’s been traveling for a week, a family reunited over dinner.
Raise your glass with this one, and you’re toasting the group itself, not just the occasion.
À Tua! / À Sua! — To You
This is where Portuguese does something English doesn’t: it makes you choose your level of formality mid-toast.
À Tua uses the informal tú, the form for friends and anyone you’re already on a first-name basis with.
À Sua uses the polite você, reserved for someone you’re meeting for the first time, or simply showing a bit more respect. Get this one right and a Portuguese host will notice.
Tchim-Tchin! — The Playful One
Say it out loud, and you’ll hear exactly what it’s imitating: the clink of glasses.
Tchim-Tchin is the toast with no gravity to it at all, the one you use with friends, at a casual lunch, or the moment a trip officially starts to feel like a vacation instead of an itinerary. It’s less a phrase than a sound effect, and it’s impossible to say without smiling.
Four toasts, four moods, and every one of them a small entry point into how the Portuguese actually socialize. Next time we’re raising a glass together in Lisbon or Porto, we’ll let you pick which one fits the moment.