乾杯 (kanpai) means “cheers” or “a toast.” Say it when raising a drink with others, often at the beginning of a meal or celebration. The written characters evoke an emptied cup, but saying 乾杯 does not oblige anyone to finish the drink.
forms kampai / 乾杯する / 乾杯の音頭
cheers · a toast · bottoms up
Sentences
乾杯！ · the shout
plain、！
Hover, tap, or tab through the words.
それでは
それでは
right then; well then
conjunction · marks the move into the toast; では alone is more casual
Ask Rikai
乾杯
かんぱい ［0］
cheers
noun used as an exclamation · the signal that drinking may begin
Ask Rikai
Right then — cheers!
乾杯しましょう · proposing it
polite。
Hover, tap, or tab through the words.
みんな
みんな ［3］
everyone
noun · the casual form; 皆さん is the polite one
Ask Rikai
で
で
in; at — where it happens
particle · where the action happens, or the manner it happens in
Ask Rikai
乾杯
かんぱい ［0］
a toast
noun · する makes it the act of toasting
Ask Rikai
しましょう
しましょう
let's do — polite
volitional of する · proposes rather than instructs
Ask Rikai
Shall we have a toast?
〜に乾杯 · what you're toasting
plain！
Hover, tap, or tab through the words.
卒業
そつぎょう ［0］
graduation
noun · the thing being honoured, so it takes に
Ask Rikai
に
に
to; at; into
particle · a point something reaches — a place, a time, a person, or a state
Ask Rikai
乾杯
かんぱい ［0］
a toast
noun · 〜に乾杯 is the set frame for what the glass is raised to
Ask Rikai
Here's to your graduation.
〜で乾杯 · what you're toasting with
plain past。
Hover, tap, or tab through the words.
ビール
ビール ［1］
beer
noun · katakana, from Dutch bier
Ask Rikai
で
で
in; at — where it happens
particle · where the action happens, or the manner it happens in
Ask Rikai
乾杯
かんぱい ［0］
toasted
noun · で marks the drink used, not the reason
Ask Rikai
した
した
did
plain past of する · turns the noun into the completed act
Ask Rikai
We toasted with beer.
乾杯の前に · the waiting rule
plain。
Hover, tap, or tab through the words.
乾杯
かんぱい ［0］
the toast
noun · here an ordinary noun taking の, not an exclamation
Ask Rikai
の
の
links noun to noun
particle · A の B = B belonging to A
Ask Rikai
前
まえ ［1］
before
noun · 〜の前に is the standard 'before ⋯' frame
Ask Rikai
に
に
to; at; into
particle · a point something reaches — a place, a time, a person, or a state
Ask Rikai
飲んじゃ
のんじゃ
drink — contracted
contracted 飲んでは · では collapses to じゃ in speech
Ask Rikai
だめ
だめ ［2］
no good; not allowed
な-adjective · 〜てはだめ is the everyday prohibition
Ask Rikai
Don't drink before the toast.
音頭を取る · leading the toast
polite。
Hover, tap, or tab through the words.
乾杯
かんぱい ［0］
the toast
noun · 乾杯の音頭 is the fixed phrase for leading one
Ask Rikai
の
の
links noun to noun
particle · A の B = B belonging to A
Ask Rikai
音頭
おんど ［1］
the lead; the calling of it
noun · a lead or leading part; 音頭を取る means to take the lead
Ask Rikai
を
を
marks the direct object
particle · pronounced お
Ask Rikai
お願いします
おねがいします
please; I'd like to ask you
set phrase · the standard polite request
Ask Rikai
Could I ask you to lead the toast?
Forms
乾杯
The shout itself, glasses raised. At a group toast, it is the signal to take a sip together.
乾杯＋する
To drink a toast. 乾杯しましょう let's have a toast, 乾杯した we toasted. An ordinary する-verb.
Noun ＋ に＋乾杯
To what you are raising the glass: 卒業に乾杯, 二人の未来に乾杯. に marks the thing being honoured.
Noun ＋ で＋乾杯
What you are toasting with: ビールで乾杯, お茶で乾杯. で marks the drink, and soft drinks are entirely normal here.
Meaning
Wait for a planned group toast. At a meal where everyone will toast together, wait for 乾杯 before taking your first sip. The host may say a few words first. If your drink arrives before the others, wait for the group.
You do not have to empty the glass. 乾 dry, 杯 cup — drain the cup, as in Chinese gānbēi. Japanese dictionaries still record the sense of emptying a cup, but a celebratory toast does not require you to finish your drink. Draining a glass in one is 一気, it is a different act, and it is discouraged for good reasons.
Follow your hosts' lead. In formal or hierarchical gatherings, people may hold their glass slightly lower than a senior person's when glasses meet. Customs vary with the group and the occasion.
It is not a thank-you and not a greeting. English cheers does several jobs; 乾杯 is used for toasting, rather than as the ordinary equivalent of thanks or goodbye. At a work meal the thanks are お疲れ様です, which may come around the same moment and is a different sentence doing different work.
Inside the word
The same character as in 乾燥 drying and 乾電池 a dry-cell battery. In 乾杯 the characters suggest emptying a cup, though a toast does not require finishing the drink.
Wood beside 不, and it means a drinking cup — or sake cup, not limited to a particular material or ceremonial shape. It is also the counter for cupfuls (一杯) and the character in 優勝杯, a trophy cup.
Kanjium records かんぱい with accent [0]: no lexical downstep. The citation form starts low, rises on ん and stays high. A shouted toast may have expressive intonation. Both kanpai and kampai occur as romanizations.
Watch out
At a meal where a group toast is planned, wait until 乾杯 has been said before taking your first sip, even if your drink arrives first.
The characters suggest emptying the cup, but finishing it is not required. Emptying a glass in one is 一気 — a separate thing, pushed on people at student drinking parties, discouraged everywhere sensible, and not something to volunteer for.
In some formal gatherings, the junior person holds their glass lower when glasses meet. Follow the group's custom rather than treating this as a fixed rule for every meal.
Also asked
Cheers — and literally dry the cup, from 乾 dry and 杯 cup. It is both the word shouted at the start of a meal and the noun for the toast itself: 乾杯の前に, before the toast.
No. A toast does not require you to finish your drink. Downing a drink in one is 一気, a different act with a bad reputation and real risks, and there is no expectation that you join in with it.
Often at the start of a meal or party, after everyone has a drink and usually after a few words from whoever is leading. A host or event format may call for a toast at another point. At a formal gathering someone senior is asked to lead — that job is 乾杯の音頭を取る.
Both spellings are used and both are honest, because the ん really is pronounced as an m before the p. Kanpai follows the kana, kampai follows the sound; the Japanese is かんぱい either way.
Yes, entirely normally — ウーロン茶で乾杯 raises no eyebrows, and soft drinks are a standard order at a work meal. What matters is that you have a glass in your hand and you wait for the word.
かんぱい, with dictionary-form accent [0], meaning no lexical downstep. The citation form starts low and rises; a following particle stays high. Shouting can change the intonation.
References
Shogakukan dictionaries and Nipponica: 乾杯 — Toast and cup-emptying senses; Nipponica explains that finishing the drink at once is unnecessary and toast timing varies.
Kanjipedia: 杯 — The drinking-vessel and counter senses, without restricting the character to lacquerware.
Nipponica and other reference works: 音頭 — Musical leading roles and the term’s connection to gagaku, rather than an exclusively work-song origin.
Kanjium pitch-accent data — Uros O. — Dictionary-form accent entry for 乾杯 [0], separate from expressive toast intonation.
Nearby
That's the whole list. rikAI is an iPhone app and it isn't out yet.
See what rikAI does · How it works · All grammar points · Language concepts
