For those that really suck at French this means “Hi”. 🙂
So just a very quick note to tell you that I’m back from Paris.
I guess that’s pretty much it for today (I returned yesterday, but I’m still a little tired for walking all day everyday for 5 days). We can safely assume that normal posts on this blog will resume as early as tomorrow (ok, let’s say Saturday so that you don’t get disappointed if I’m too busy to post anything tomorrow). 🙂
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Welcome back! “Salut”, is that what you guys say as a drinking toast as well?
Actually no. I know that many foreigners believe so, but I have no idea why.
“Salut” only means “hi” and “bye” (as well as “a salute” after all the English term comes from the French one).
To toast, the most common expression is “tchin tchin.” It’s origin is uncertain. It has been said to come from “tsing tsing” in Chinese, but it’s unlikely. The other common origin is supposedly to mimic the noise that glasses and cups make when they touch each other.
Some people say “santé” or the longer version “à votre santé” (“to your health”) but it’s a bit old fashioned and/or formal.
I seem to think it the same too. I think I watched a few TV programs with hosts saying that when drinking.
yeah, I really don’t know where it comes from. I tend to know about the origins of most of stereotypes – true or false – about France, but this one has stumped me.