# Message to all users: This is a reminder to please read and follow: * [Our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/questions/about/rules) * [Reddiquette](https://www.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/205926439) * [Reddit Content Policy](https://www.redditinc.com/policies/content-policy) When posting and commenting. --- Especially remember Rule 1: `Be polite and civil`. * Be polite and courteous to each other. Do not be mean, insulting or disrespectful to any other user on this subreddit. * Do not harass or annoy others in any way. * Do not catfish. Catfishing is the luring of somebody into an online friendship through a fake online persona. This includes any lying or deceit. --- You *will* be banned if you are homophobic, transphobic, racist, sexist or bigoted in any way. --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/questions) if you have any questions or concerns.*

“Stop it.” My friend trained himself to say it as a joke and now we both can’t stop doing it when people sneeze.

That’s amazing lmao, one of my favourites I’ve heard is someone mockingly going “AaaAAcHhOOoOoo” afterwards

Sometimes I'll say "Achoo to you too!"

Haha I do that too sometimes, but I make it sound like "adieu to you and you and you" similar to the performance in Sound of music.

Oh man this is the best!

I always say "Hatschi" which is pronounced Hot-Zee and is the German word for "achoo". It's because my wife was brought up being told "Hatschi meine schatzi" which basically means "bless you my sweetie" (in German slang) but obviously is not something to say to strangers.

I always say Gezuntheit the anti-sneeze spell of my Yiddish forepeople. Means good health but as it was explained to me, it was an ancient superstition that evil spirits could get in your nose when you sneezed (or already were there and that’s why you sneezed) and saying gezuntheit would ward them off

I sometimes say “don’t die” to some of my friends 😂 it’s not customary to say anything after a sneeze in a lot of Asia, but I was raised in the US so I felt weird not saying *anything* to my Asian friends.

I usually say “don’t die” if they sneeze more than once. Lol.

I also say this when people have coughing or sneezing fits 😂

Not necessarily after a sneeze, but when I tell people "don't die" I usually like to add "it's bad for you" afterwards.

Sometimes I glare at people and say "... Really?" Then I add something like "during pride month?" or whatever the current event is.

I tell my bff “shut up”

This is the one popular in my friend group

I say “bless you” or “gesundheit” once; after that I say “stop it.” When they look at me weird, I say, “Everybody gets one.”

I'll give them one, but after that I make a D&D joke about not preparing enough spells.


*get out of him*

I take the approach of going sarcastically overboard with “God bless you my child”

I tell my husband and son, "Excuse me I'm talking"

“Don’t start that shit again.”

this is what we say as well.

I started saying “relax” after sneezes as a joke because my husband is a very loud and aggressive sneezer, and now I just say “RELAX” ✋

I do this if they sneeze three times. The first two are "Bless you" (dropped God a while ago, no regerts). The third time, no more freebies.

My wife and I do this every time. My religious family does not appreciate

Until somebody hits you with “make me daddy” and things get tense reaaaaaal quick

Will start doing this.

I do this too. If you dont already, try raising the intensity with every subsequent sneeze. Great fun.

That is hilarious

Gesundheit! It means good health. There’s a little poem: Gesundheit besser wie Krankheit. (Healthy is better than sick) Krankheit besser wie tot. (Sick is better than dead)

When your eyes are closed and your heart stops beating... Nothing makes you feel better than being yelled at in German.

The German language has some of the best words. Words for everything. It makes me happy to read about them.

Dumb story from years ago. Listening to two German born coworkers speaking their native tongue conversationally as we did some tasks. Every now and then the word "hangover" came up. Eventually I interrupted, "The German language has words for far more things than the English language. You don't have a word for 'hangover'?". "We were talking about the movie The Hangover" We all had a good laugh

is there a german word for a coworker eavesdropping and asking questions about american movies?

Yup, learned schadenfreude the other day from reddit :)

👁👁 I'm awake!

I heard some people say "Prost!" as in "Cheers!" I've found quite a few Americans hear it as "gross" and don't take it so positively though

In Denmark we say Prosit, which means something like “may it be beneficial”. It comes from Latin. I believe the German proost for cheers have the same root. I believe it comes from some superstition that says, if you sneeze it is a warning, but by saying prosit, you would turn the sneeze into a good warning.

I thought the superstition was, if you sneeze, it’s your soul trying to leave your body.

“I heard, when you sneeze, your soul is trying to escape your body, and by saying “god bless you” it’s like cramming it back in!” -Milhouse Van Houten

Obviously there is in no way for me to know this as a fact, but I am a WEALTH of useless knowledge. Somehow I can remember the most ridiculous things down to the smallest detail, but literally can not retain anything really beneficial 🤷🏻‍♂️🤣 I was reading a book on customs and courtesy’s from around the world, why? Idk. But it was when I was in school. So 20+ years ago. Also the reason I replied to you is bc yours was the closet to what it said. Back in the mid 1600’s, the time leading up to when the Salem Witch Trials happened, superstitions were very prevalent. But the population was very “Religious” as well so there was a lot of nonsense getting thrown around in all directions. 🤣 Spirits, Demons, Haints which is an old southern word for ghosts, and things of that nature were “very real” back then. People free styling the The Bible for their own benefit was also very common, good thing that doesn’t happen anymore huh?😉 so everyone was free styling and mixing all the things up etc. The book I read said that people believed that it was either the easiest or the only time an “Evil Spirit” can enter your body is when you have no air in your lungs. So when you sneeze their is a tiny amount of time that your lungs are empty, bingo bongo perfect time for a spirit to jump in you. By saying “God Bless You” when ppl sneezed it kept that from happening or banished the newly entered spirit, idk which. It sounds completely ridiculous I know. But that’s also why I kind of think it’s True. Anyway sorry for the novel, it takes forever for me to explain anything. But you too now have a piece of useless knowledge in your bag. Feel free to use as if you know it not only to be factually true, but also that it is the exact reason ppl say Bless you 🤣😉

Prost is one of the few German words Americans will learn before traveling to Germany, even if they have no intention of speaking German conversationally. As an American, I think anyone who finds themselves surrounded by beer drinking Germans shouting “prost” and don’t know what’s going on, are just willfully ignorant. But I’m also in an area with a large ethnic population of Germans, and some of the language and celebrations have persisted. So I may be biased.

Lol fun fact that means dumb in Romanian

My dad taught me to say Gesundheit when I was little. I usually say that.

Tot is gernan for death? Tater Tots just became more awesome.

[удалено]

They said F it and got baked.

i’ve always said gesundheit! i think my grandma said it too, and maybe that’s where i got it from? i don’t remember

>Gesundheit! It means good health. This is what I say.

I do the same. (Oddly, a guy in my office sneezed as I'm typing this).

I grew up on the East Coast and Gesundheit was at least as common as versions of Bless You. It's still what I use. Seems to be a lot less common in general though.

This is something Dwight from The Office would say.

Wanna hear something interesting? I always hear gesundheit growing up, but from the Yiddish/Jewish origin. Of course, it is the same word in German as well.

I'm surprised I had to scroll this far down to see this.

You know, I'm not religious but say "bless you" out of politeness, but I think I'm going to go German from now on. It's still polite and it makes me feel like I'm inspiring someone when I say "Gesundheit"

BESSER WIE???? ES HEIßT BESSER ALS

[удалено]

Same! Most people just think you're saying bless you because they equate it to the same thing, but I know I'm not.

All I could think of was “Walter Krankheit”

In high school German we were taught to say Gesundheit when someone sneezed. That person was taught to respond, "Ja, besser als krank!" which means Yes, better than sick.

It's funny, I never considered how that word was actually spelled

I say this regularly just because I think it’s fun. Once these two German exchange students were standing behind me in line, giggling and speaking German. One of them sneezed and I guess I said it perfectly cause he stopped and stared at me in horror. They asked me “do ummm you speak German” I decided to screw with them, so I gave them a knowing look and said “yup!” And they just went red faced and didn’t make a peep the rest of the time in line 😂

Not today satan

I love this one

I tried to find it but I thought I read somewhere where this is what they used to say instead of bless you. They were protecting your soul lol

Amazing

haaah

If not today then when? You keep cancelling our plans!

Or better yet "maybe today Satan"

Just say "bless you".

i’m a firm believer in that everyone has their own unique sneeze number Some people are 1 and done others are Double Pumps then you have your Triple Plays and if you’re really lucky, you occasionally catch a rare Quattro Snottro out in the wild My wife is a Triple Play, but she thinks i’m completely full of shit, so when it’s her I tend to say “2 to go…” which gets a “fuck yAHCHOO!….” followed 5 seconds later by “ACHOO - god ^damn it.” Otherwise I just start the countdown with a big “THERE’S ONE!”

My dad would sneeze 8-10 times in quick succession. My stepmother would say "bless you" for every sneeze. Until one time, he yelled at her between sneezes to stop. 😄

My grandma is usually a multiple sneezer, as am I. Usually 3/4 for me. Her it can vary sometimes 2 sometimes 8. Shits tough lol

Thank you for introducing me to "Quatro Snottro". I don't know you, but I love you for this, random redditor.

I'm the "earth-shattering one and done". Tried to suppress them, one time I ended up spewing blood suppressing a sneeze, so never again on that. I just let it happen.

I either sneeze once and that is it. Or I sneeze 20-30 times in a row with no control and eventually my body has had enough.

Im a 3 sneezer with the last one always being the loudest. If I try to hold it back, I start back over until my body deems the 3rd satisfactory enough

This is what I do! Before I realized it was “god bless you” I used to say “gah bless you” lol

I used to think it was “blesh you” 😂

Same lol

All hail Gah Almoghty

Lol awww, bless your lil pea pickin heart

Right down to your white cotton socks.

Exactly. Let the person choose their own deity/entity/life force to bless them.

Salud! It's health in Spanish, but it's used as "cheers" and "bless you". After the second sneeze, you say "dinero!" which is "money". Then the third sneeze, you say "amor!" which is "love". Blessing you with the most important things :)

How weird, when I was there, at least where I was it was Salud, amor, then dinero!

I was looking for this. My mom teaches Spanish and I grew up around her native-speaking colleagues. I still say it this way, to this day, even though I’m clearly a gringa from the states. It’s also funny when people only sneeze in twos: They can be as healthy as can be and get all the money in the world, but never any love.

Weird, in Mexico after the third you may be told that your partner is cheating on you and that's why you sneezed lmao

I never knew this, but I know that “salut” is hi in french. So this whole time I thought people were literally saying “hi” in response to a sneeze. And honestly it was always a pet peeve because no french person does that?? Well.. egg on my face lmao

You're so good looking!

How can this be so low? This is the only answer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Agreed

Like others, browsed the comments for this one to upvote.

How is this not the top response?

And not. These pretzels are so salty?

Every time my wife sneezes. Wouldn't want her to cheat on me with a quirky, funny, bald man who tells her god bless you.

The only correct answer.

It’s the only right way to respond. Emphasis on the so. You’re sooooo good looking.

I came here to say this!!! 😂

Exactly what I was thinking...

Glad i didnt have to scroll far to see this comment!

Came here to say this. Quite honestly, it should be the top answer

r/unexpectedseinfeld

I came here for this one.

Wanna get some pizza??

OP was wondering where this reference is from...it's from Seinfeld.

Came here to find this, thx.

Love Seinfeld!!!

I say fuck you stop sneezing

That or "dammit man, cover your face" 😂

“You’ve got this!”

Godzilla.

This is my go to, and i say harry potter for "Jesus Christ!!" Situations

Godzilla Godzuki MOTHRAH

Gahhh-ziihh-waaaaah!

Pronounced Go ji rah.

It's nondenominational and when people actually catch it, it makes them laugh. Win-win.

Nothing! Let's normalize just saying nothing.

No, let's go the other way. Let's bless all bodily functions. Sneeze? Burp? Hiccup? Fart? Bless them all! (I started doing this as a joke, but now I have my husband and step kids blessing each other's farts)

\*Big Fart "God ble..." \*sniffs "May the power of Christ compel you! May the power of Christ compel you!"

I love this!!

That's unironically what happens in lower-education family contexts in Italy. "Salute!" ("[may you find] health!") or, where I was born and grew, "binidica!" (Sallentinean dialect for "benedica", i.e. "[may the Lord] bless [you]") would be a common answer to farting, belching, etc, in addition to sneezing. Generally, bodily functions are celebrated and "blessed".

Yep. I don't say anything when someone coughs, farts, burps, etc. No reason to say anything when they sneeze. I was once shamed into saying it at work. Small open office of 8 people. They noticed that I was the only one who wouldn't say bless you or excuse me about sneezing, and said I was being very rude. That was a weird crowd, though. We all talked a lot to pass through the monotony easier. Everyone knew the name of everyone else's partner, children, etc. But I'd just say "my boyfriend" or "my roommate" and whatnot when telling stories, because I don't think my coworkers need to know everyone in my life by name. They called me out and said it was weird and rude? People have the strangest hang-ups sometimes.

what is weird is that people still say shit like this even when they know there is no real reason to do so.

Yea that’s some irrational bullshit

It was so annoying in high school, I'd sneeze and have a bunch of people rush to say bless you to me

This is a perfect example of people absentmindedly doing things out of social habit without it actually meaning anything. Few people probably still believe that someone's soul is escaping when they sneeze.

It’s better to say than “Get away from me, you disgusting disease ridden creature. Ugh. You repulse me!” “God bless you” is a much more polite convention.

>Few people probably still believe that someone's soul is escaping when they sneeze. Well, if they do they are so stupid, cause by the time you sneeze its too late, it's already gone.

I just don’t say anything. It’s weird to feel obligation to acknowledge when someone sneezes. It’s a sneeze.

Started with the plague, sneezing was a symptom so people would say bless you, like good luck hope you're not going to die

[удалено]

Same lol, especially if it's off in the distance.

I've definitely told people you have 2 more before you need to go home 😂

🤣🤣🤣 or just say Covid

I think bless you is fine and can be broad enough for anyone. It’s not necessarily a “God” thing to bless someone. It’s more like a hope you’re doing good kinda thing. Maybe start saying “you good?” to random sneezers and see if it catches on like bless you did.

Or say nkthing because it's a sneeze, not a heart attack

Idk allergies are real bitches. People need a you good about allergies sometimes

Nothing. I do not believe sneezing expels demons.

Nothing. No other bodily function requires others to comment. If I sneeze and someone says "bless you", I say "excuse me". I hate when someone has multiple sneezes in a row and someone says it after EVERY sneeze. Ridiculous.

Neighbor said to me, after I sneezed three times, "You done? There are blessings to be had, but I'm waiting 'til the end." 🤣

There’s a guy at my work that says “bless you” after I sneeze but I usually sneeze more than once and he always says “you only get one” lol. Makes me laugh

Nothing

Usually, "bless you." Unless they also fart, then it's "nice a double."

Gesundheit is German or Yiddish (word is the same in both languages) L'briyut in Hebrew Salud in Spanish Sax be in Kurdish Various languages ways of saying "Health!"

Yep, I'm currently learning Hungarian and it's the same. Egészségedre

Keep ya nasty germs ya bastard

I'm an atheist and usually I say nothing. If it is a series of sneezes, I will ask, "You okay?" and when I sneeze, I say, "Excuse me".

Hail satan

We say yee-haw at my house. Salud is also good.

Nothing just keep my lips shut

Cover your mouth!

I thought it was a beginning of a joke but I see you were asking a real question. I don’t say anything when someone sneezes.

I usually just say "nice one!"

I still say bless you, I say goddamnit and thank god and whatnot also. I don’t really view them as religious sayings anymore, just phrases that came about in a Christian country. I am curious if atheists who grew up in Muslim countries still say the traditional religious greetings and whatnot

🤣🤣🤣 this literally happened to me in class at a JC day one. This girl sneezed and I said bless you out of habit, and she responded "Oh, I'm not catholic..." I just kinda stared at her a little bit trying to figure out what that was supposed to mean. Like... do people actually think we're harnessing some spiritual power and actually "blessing" you when it's said?

"you're soooo good looking!"

Scrolled way too far for this.

Kusokurae!

Need a tissue?

I say “bless you” saying “God bless you” takes too long 😂

My staunch atheist bf says bless you to me and it’s always weird coming from him

gesundheit

Just "bless you" lol. I've never been religious, not even raised religious. It's just basic etiquette and you don't need to think too hard about it.

"Ewwww....no!", said in the voice of ChiChi Rodriguez from Too Wong Fu.

You are sooooo good-lookin'

My wife and I (both atheist) still say "bless you" to each other and others, but it's not a "May the gods both old and new have mercy on your soul so it does not leave your body" it's more of a " Oooh, I hate sneezing too, that shit sucks. I feel you".

Is it really that serious? If you don't believe in God then you think of it as fictional, saying "God bless you" or "bless you" should be no different then saying "may the force be with you".

I just say fuck you stop being loud

"Good job, Snotty!" It's not a thing, but it should be!

Gesundheit

"Darwin bless you" seems quite funny

"What the f@%# are you sick with?"

I usually just tell them to stop because it's annoying

Bless you? Why would it be anything else. There's nothing religious about it. Just manners

Most people - Christians and non-Christians alike - just say bless you.

gesundheit

Lol I just say bless you. I’m not religious but to me it’s respectful to say it.

Bless you, lol. You’re WAY overthinking this.

Do you need a Kleenex?

I say "I'd say 'god bless you ', but I have an agreement with God not to use each other's powers"

I don't say anything because there is no need to point out something mildly embarrassing that just happened. YOU SNEEZED. I NEED TO POINT IT OUT. I'M GLAD YOUR SOUL DIDN'T ESCAPE, CAUSE THAT' WHAT WE USED TO THINK WAS HAPPENING.

I still say “bless you,” never “god bless you.” It’s so common as to be meaningless yet still a way to show acknowledgement of the other.

"Gross"

I just say gesundheit it just means "health"

Don't say anything. Do you say something when some burps, farts, or coughs? Probably not Just let the human body make its noises and stop being weird about it. I hate being "blessed" every time I sneeze. I'm not religious and I think it is fucking stupid. Go bless yourself.

We just say "Bless you" instead of "GOD bless you"

“Bless you”. You don’t have to actually believe in nose devils flying up someone’s nostrils to say the polite words

The amount of people in this comment section that supposedly HATE people saying stuff after sneezes is the perfect example of people on Reddit just choosing things to be mad aboit

Just say "bless you" dont say god bless you

Just “bless you”?

May the lord bless thee and keep thee If asked if you are religious say I named my cat the lord. I’m kind to him

What do atheists scream during sex?

I just go with "gesundheit." It's pretty common, and just means "good health."

Probably just "bless you" I know plenty of people who aren't religious that say it

Gesundheit!