If you have ever watched a German beer scene in a movie, visited a beer garden or spent any amount of time around an Oktoberfest table, you have probably noticed the same little ritual. Someone raises their glass, says “Prost!”, everyone clinks, and there is usually a very deliberate moment of eye contact before anybody takes a sip. It can look like a tiny detail, but in Germany, toasting has its own etiquette, and ignoring it can make you look like you have missed the memo. The good thing is that the rule itself is pretty simple. Say Prost, look at the person you are toasting, clink your glasses and then drink. The interesting part is figuring out where all of this comes from.
“Prost” is basically the German equivalent of “Cheers!” and is used when people raise their glasses to celebrate, socialise or simply start drinking together. It comes from the Latin word prosit, which means something along the lines of “may it be good” or “may it benefit you”. Over time, prosit became prost in everyday German speech. Deutsche Welle's German-learning material also explains that “Prost” is used when people raise a glass and toast someone, while another common expression is “Zum Wohl!”, which means “to your health”.
So when somebody in Germany says Prost before taking a drink, it is not some special beer-only password. You can hear it with beer, wine, sparkling wine and other drinks too. It is simply part of the social ritual around having a drink together.
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When you clink glasses with someone in Germany, the usual etiquette is to look them in the eyes at the same time. If you are at a table with several people, you generally toast the people around you rather than just staring down at your glass and taking a sip. German etiquette guides describe making eye contact while clinking glasses as an important part of the toast.
There is also a broader cultural reason the gesture does not feel particularly strange in Germany. Eye contact is generally considered an important part of direct communication, and German social etiquette often places value on looking at the person you are speaking with. The Goethe-Institut also discusses direct eye contact as a familiar part of German non-verbal communication.
That does not mean every German person is going to stop the evening and lecture you because you looked at your beer instead of them. Social habits are not laws, and people obviously vary. Still, if you are joining a German group for drinks, making eye contact when you say Prost is an easy bit of etiquette to follow.
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Here comes the slightly ridiculous, slightly fun part of the tradition. There is a German drinking superstition that says if you do not make eye contact while toasting, you are in for seven years of bad sex. Yes, that is actually the version that gets repeated. Deutsche Welle has documented the superstition in its explanations of German drinking etiquette.
It is obviously not a scientific belief, and it is better understood as a piece of drinking folklore than something Germans universally believe. In a group of friends, though, it can make for a good joke. Someone forgets the eye contact and suddenly another person at the table has a very serious warning for them.
There are similar drinking superstitions in many cultures, so Germany is hardly alone in attaching a little folklore to the act of raising a glass.
A German toast can be quite social. You are not simply announcing that you are about to drink. You are acknowledging the people you are drinking with, which is probably why the eye contact has stayed attached to the custom.
At Oktoberfest, for example, toasting is practically part of the atmosphere. Beer halls and tents can have thousands of people singing, raising their glasses and joining in drinking songs. “Prost!” becomes something that gets repeated throughout the evening, often with music and cheers happening around it.
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There is also another phrase you might hear: “Zum Wohl!” It translates roughly to “to your health” and is another traditional German toast. “Prost!” is shorter and much more casual, which is probably why you hear it so often when people are simply having a beer together.
I would not treat it as a major social offence. The idea that every German will immediately think you are terribly rude is exaggerated. But if you are trying to follow German drinking etiquette, it is a small gesture that costs you nothing and makes the toast feel more natural.
Think of it like this: if somebody raises their glass, looks you in the eye and says Prost, they are including you in the moment. Looking back, clinking glasses and returning the Prost is simply good social manners.
And if you happen to forget once, you probably do not need to start planning your life around the seven-year superstition. Just remember it for the next round.
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I actually like this drinking tradition because it makes something as ordinary as saying cheers feel a little more personal. When you are sitting with friends, looking at each other before the glasses meet feels different from everyone simply lifting a drink and carrying on. The seven-year warning is obviously the funny part, but the eye contact is what makes the tradition memorable.
“Prost!” is Germany's familiar way of saying cheers, while making eye contact during the toast is a long-standing piece of drinking etiquette. The famous seven-years-of-bad-sex warning is a superstition, not a rule. If you are drinking with Germans, simply look up, say Prost, clink your glass and enjoy the moment
