"Personally, I did not like my husband's sneezing into his hand, so I stopped saying 'gesundheit' [ɡəˈzʊnhaɪt] whenever he did that. He now almost always sneezes into his elbow." — The Toronto Star, 27 Jan. 2024

gesundheit
interjection [ɡəˈzʊnhaɪt]

Gesundheit is an interjection used to wish good health to one who has just sneezed.

When English speakers hear "achoo," they usually respond with either "gesundheit" or "God bless you." Gesundheit was borrowed in the early 20th century from German, where it literally means "health"; it was formed from gesund ("healthy") and -heit ("-hood").

English