Is there any neutral alternative the expression "bless you!"?
In other languages you can just use "health" ("salud" in Spanish and "Gesundheit" in German, for instance.
So I'd like to be polite in English without renouncing my atheism.
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3"Gesundheit" is commonly used among English speakers, at least in the US. Are you specifically only looking for a word of English origin?– divibisanApr 2, 2019 at 20:29
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I'm not aware that there is any obligation to say anything. I wasn't brought up to do so.– Kate BuntingApr 3, 2019 at 8:54
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2 Answers
Interestingly enough, in the US the German expression is often used and is well understood.
gesundheit interj
Used to wish good health to a person who has just sneezed.
TMD Online
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Pretty widely used/understood in the UK, as well.– user323578Apr 2, 2019 at 21:48
There is no alternative. But the term no longer has any real religious significance, just as the exclamation “Christ!” no longer has that kind of significance. Saying it does not erode at your atheism. I say it, and I’m a committed atheist.
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IIRC, people once said “bless you” because they believed that the devil could enter a person’s body at the moment of a sneeze, and that blessing the sneezer would protect them from demonic possession. So in using this expression, you are also mildly mocking the believers.– user205876Apr 3, 2019 at 6:06