Japanese word

乾杯

Pronunciation

Romajikanpai

Meaning

  • interjectioncheers

Example

友達と一緒に「乾杯」と言います。tomo dachi to is sho ni kan pai to i i ma su

I say cheers with my friends.

Illustration for 乾杯 (cheers)

More examples

新年会の始まりに、参加者全員が乾杯と声をそろえます。shin nen kai no haji ma ri ni san ka sha zen in ga kan pai to koe o so ro e ma su

At the start of the New Year's party, all the participants say "Cheers!" together.

Core concept

Creates a shared moment in which people raise their drinks together to celebrate or mark an occasion.

Common phrases

  • では、乾杯de wa kan pai

    Well, cheers

Definition in Japanese

飲み物を口にする前に、皆で杯を掲げて祝意を表すために言う言葉。no mi mono o kuchi ni su ru mae ni mina de sakazuki o kaka ge te shuku i o arawa su ta me ni i u koto ba

Word origin

The Japanese compound 乾杯 (kanpai, "dry cup") joins 乾 (kan, "dry") and 杯 (hai, "cup"), referring to the traditional idea of draining a cup during a toast.

Usage tips

  • In Japanese, 乾杯 (kanpai) can accompany beer, wine, sake, or a nonalcoholic drink, so it marks the shared toast rather than the type of drink.

Related words

  • 乾杯するkanpaisurutoastverb

Word lists with this word