乾杯 – Cheers in Japanese, Kanpai!
Cheers in Japanese is kanpai (乾杯). If that is all you want to know, then great! Next time you are drinking with friends in Japan or outside of Japan, you have a new word Japanese word under your belt. If you are interested in learning more about this custom of saying cheers in Japan, or the origin of the word though keep reading.
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Cheers in Japanese
The word for cheers in Japanese is kanpai (乾杯). It is made from the following two kanji characters.
- 乾 – From the Japanese verb, 乾す (hosu) or to drink dry, to air out, dry out
- 杯 – This character represents the sake cup, sakazuki or is a counter for drinks in general
So, 乾杯 means the following:
杯を乾す
To drink the sake cup dry
Since in ancient times instead of stable sake cups, shells or animal bones would have been used as temporary vessels. From there the custom formed for making sure to drink everything, or drink the cup dry. Since, it would be more inconvenient carrying a shell around in your hand at a party without spilling.
What does Kanpai mean in Japanese?
Kanpai means both cheers and to toast to something in Japanese. So, when someone says kanpai in Japanese depending on the context it can mean either word. More specifically though let’s say you are in a group of people and someone stands up to give a toast. This would be giving a toast and is called 乾杯の音頭 in Japanese.
Origin of the word Kanpai
The word 乾杯 is first seen in the shingishiki (新儀式) text from 963 during the Heian period in Japan. However people were not going around using it to say cheers in Japanese like they do today. Also, because of the complex nature of writing in ancient Japanese, this was probably not read as kanpai but instead two words, like the sentence I provided earlier.
おつまみ – Otsumami are Snacks with Alcohol
That is beyond the scope of this article though. Anyway, that may have been the start of the word kanpai but the history of saying cheers in Japanese continues.
History of Kanpai in Japan
Drinking alcohol obviously was something that was around long before the custom of saying cheers or kanpai. Originally, in religious shinto ceremonies in ancient times sake was offered to the gods and the dead. This special alcohol or sake is known as omiki(御神酒) or shinshu(神酒). This sake is still given as offering along with other food items today in Japan at shrines and Kamidana (神棚).
https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/There are other practices in Japan like the sansakudo(三々九度) practice at Japanese weddings. This is where the bride and groom each share three different sake cups. First the groom drinking three times, the bride three, and then the groom again three. Hence the name sansankudo.
- 三 – Three
- 々 – Character for repeating the last character, so here it also means three
- 九 – Nine
- 度 – Times
The present style of giving cheers however, is more influenced by European and American culture though. It is said that after a shogun visited the United States and saw the custom of giving a toast at a banquet, the customer was later adopted in Japan during the Meiji period (1868 – 1912). However, originally instead of saying kanpai, the word banzai (万歳) was used instead. It was not until the Taisho period that kanpai started to show up and become more widespread.
Cheers in Japanese and Drinking in Japan
People drink alcohol all year in Japan, and drinking socially is also a part of the society. People after work will go to drinking parties with their coworkers, called 飲み会 or get together with family and friends during Sakura, or Hanami season and have food and alcohol.
花見 – Cherry Blossoms in Historical and Modern day Japan
Anyway, the next time you are in Japan or with Japanese people, or even if you just want to show off you have a new word to your vocabulary, Kanpai!
