When do you use "Cheers" instead of "Thank you" in spoken English?

Question

A lot of time, people say "cheers" instead of "thank you". As I am not a native speaker, I wonder in which case you can use what.

It is used a lot for polite gestures, such as holding a door or giving someone a light. It is also more used if you know the person you are talking to.

Are there any rules?

I meant the action of sharing your lighter with someone else. I don't know the exact expression. — Benjamin Crouzier, Feb 03 '12 at 23:37
The expression is "give someone a light" (as in light their cigarette, using "light" in the sense of "to make something start to burn"). — Gnawme, Feb 03 '12 at 23:48
Yes, in English "giving fire" is what you may do with a gun. — GEdgar, Feb 13 '13 at 19:11
cheers [tʃɪəz] sentence substitute Informal chiefly Brit 1. a drinking toast 2. goodbye! cheerio! 3. thanks! (TFD-Collins Eng.Dict. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cheers) — Kris, Nov 29 '13 at 07:34

score 21 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 04 '12 at 00:14

21

The Macmillan Dictionary (American edition) says about cheers:

cheers, interjection : (British informal) thank you

In the US, thanks is the nearest informal equivalent. If you say "cheers" in the US, people will think you're offering a toast.

In countries that use British English, "cheers" is fine in the informal situations that you mention.

You can reserve "thank you" for more formal situations.

answered Feb 04 '12 at 00:14

Gnawme

40,887

4

Yes, it's all about register. Just to add that in British English we can also use "Cheers" to informally say "Goodbye" as well as "Thanks" and when offering a toast. All three meanings are given in Macmillan's British edition. – RandomIdeaEnglish Feb 04 '12 at 19:33
2

"If you say "cheers" in the US, people will think you're offering a toast." -- well, no. They might be confused if they're not familiar with the British usage, but it'd be pretty clear from context and tone that this isn't what you meant. :P – starwed Feb 13 '13 at 18:02
In Southend-on-Sea usage this is often extended to "cheers bigears". I wonder if this is true elsewhere. Either way, I imagine this would raise an eyebrow over in the States, particularly among the aurally endowed. – demim00nde Oct 02 '23 at 15:41

score 9 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 03 '12 at 23:51

9

I think it varies a lot based on geography. In the US, "cheers" is rarely used to mean "thanks". In the UK, I can only really speak for my region (Midlands / Home counties), but we almost always say "cheers" as a laid-back replacement for "thanks". I'll say it the vast majority of the time instead.

answered Feb 03 '12 at 23:51

Jez

12,705

I've tagged the question british-engligh. I am aware that in the US "cheers" is not used as "thank you" – Benjamin Crouzier Feb 04 '12 at 00:09
@pinouchon British-English. With an s. – Kris Feb 04 '12 at 04:10
@pinouchon That it is British English is the question. Do not tag it so in advance. – Kris Nov 29 '13 at 07:35

score 4 · Answer 3 · answered Feb 13 '13 at 17:47

4

Native Brit here from East Anglia. I use 'Cheers' when someone (a stranger) has done something nice. Like letting you get on a bus first, or holding a door open. I don't think there are any rules. It's just something I appropriated from other people. I tend to use thank you when buying something, or when the situation is a bit more formal, or with friends / family. I reserve cheers solely for using on strangers. I'm not very consistent though, I tend to use either whenever I feel like it. So defiantly no rules. I'd be interested to see what others say though.

answered Feb 13 '13 at 17:47

Elaine

41

From what I recall, cheers is typically used at the end of an exchange, so it's more of a "thank you and good bye" than just "thanks" by itself. But while British, I've grown up in the US, so maybe I'm missing some of the usage. – starwed Feb 13 '13 at 18:05
1

@Elaine - Hi, Did you mean 'defiantly' or 'definitely' in your final sentence? – chasly - supports Monica Jul 14 '15 at 09:13

score 4 · Answer 4 · edited Apr 05 '13 at 12:35

4

I am a waiter in a restaurant. When I give a drink to an English guest, he thanks me by saying "Thank you" and my answer is "Cheers". Sometimes I get a reply "cheers for that". I'm using "Cheers" like a salute.

edited Apr 05 '13 at 12:35

Tim Lymington

35,168

answered Apr 05 '13 at 12:09

jockeeer

41

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered May 08 '13 at 16:10

'Cheers' certainly origininates as part of the casual social intercourse of drinking. It is the equivalent of 'good health'. It must have been around the 1970's that it first started apearing in this guise, as far as my memory goes.

Its route into this part of colloquial English is unclear unless it came from the earlier 'Cheerio', which was used in lieu of 'farewell', and was certainly around during and probably before World War II.

So far as I'm aware, 'Cheers' as a colloquial farewell is rather more recent than the more usual meaning of 'thank you'.

score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Nov 29 '13 at 10:27

As the other UK comments have said, it's treated as a slightly more informal way of saying 'thanks' or 'thank you'.

Given the tendency for Brits to be overly polite in certain situations, it comes in useful as a synonym: if you've already said thanks when being handed your drink, and when handing over the money, you'll need cheers when you get your change back. Not that I would ever do this, of course...

score -2 · Answer 7 · edited Oct 26 '13 at 08:41

-2

"Cheers!" is often said just before having an alcoholic drink with someone else. It can also be accompanied by the people involved touching their drinking vessels together, like this or, just raising their vessels, like this.

edited Oct 26 '13 at 08:41

Mari-Lou A

91,183

answered Apr 05 '13 at 13:32

Tristan

2,675

score -3 · Answer 8 · edited May 08 '13 at 12:27

-3

I use cheers at work as a way of appreciating and their response is usually "thank you".

edited May 08 '13 at 12:27

RegDwigнt

97,231

answered May 08 '13 at 12:00

Sharon Nayebare

1

When do you use "Cheers" instead of "Thank you" in spoken English?

8 Answers8