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  What it means

  Literally “to the honour of,” this phrase is used as a toast — “cheers!” — when raising a glass to someone or something. It expresses celebration, tribute, or good wishes and is the standard toast heard at Polish birthday parties, weddings, and informal gatherings. It can also appear in more formal contexts when honouring a person or occasion.

  Vocabulary

  • cześć — honour, glory (also used informally as 'hi')
  • na — to, for (preposition)
  • na cześć — in honour of, to the health of

  Grammar note

  'Cześć' here is in the accusative case governed by the preposition 'na' (na + accusative = for/to). Note that 'cześć' has two very different uses in Polish: as a toast/tribute word and as an informal greeting ('hi/bye'). In the toast context it always appears with 'na'.

  Cultural context

  This is the all-purpose toast in Polish, equivalent to 'cheers' in English or 'santé' in French. The more elaborate toast 'Na zdrowie!' ('To health!') is equally common. 'Na cześć' specifically implies honouring someone, so it is often paired with a name: 'Na cześć Marka!' ('To Mark!').

  Beginner

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