Post #2763162
2026-05-22 05:22 UTC
This is the first time I translated “bless you”. I never knew it was something religious. In german we simply say “health” (Gesundheit) when someone sneezes.
Replies (3)
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@black0ut@pawb.social 2026-05-22 05:56
That’s interesting. In spanish, we also say “health” (Salud). I wasn’t expecting it to be the same in a language as different as german. The “religious” word we can say when someone sneezes is “Jesus” (Jesús). Which is also a weird thing to say. I’m pretty sure the origin is still christianism, but I can’t see why someone chose specifically that.
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@Godnroc@lemmy.world 2026-05-23 02:28
I say the same despite only speaking English because I once read it was less like blessing someone and more like saying “keep your demons to yourself.” I now believe that is inaccurate, but it does make for a story.
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@Nighed@feddit.uk 2026-05-26 07:20
Its a hold over from the plague I think, plus general religiousnous in the past. theguardian.com/…/why-do-we-say-bless-you-notes-q…