Cheers is usually said before a drink

Jo:    Hello, I'm Jo and this is Feifei…
Feifei:    Hello Jo.
Jo:    And we're here to answer one of your questions about the English   language.
 
Feifei:   是的，在你问我答节目中我们会解答大家提出的关于英语学习方面的问题，不论是语法，语音还是词汇只要你问我们就答。不过可一定要记住我们邮箱的地址，然后发来你 的问题，地址就 是  questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk.
 
Jo:    Yes, questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk – and we'll be repeating that later for  you as well. Now, today's question is actually from Jo Jo from China who is  studying in the UK. Now, I like your choice of name Jo Jo!
 
Feifei:    Yes, Jo is of course a great name – Jo Jo even better eh?
 
Jo:    That's right. Absolutely! Anyway she emailed us to say she has found most  of the youths or young people in the UK say cheers instead of thank you – is there any special meaning connected to that? 
 
Feifei:    Jo Jo 注意到英国年轻的一代现在经常用  cheers 这个词来代替  thank you 谢谢这 个短语，any ideas Jo?
 
Jo:    Well, I think we have to say first that it's not just young people who say  cheers – everyone uses it – and it is quite specific to British English.
 
Feifei:   是的，还有  cheers 这个词你只能在英式英语里听得到，so Americans   wouldn't say it would they, Jo?
 
Jo:    No not really. So before we find out why we say it – let's have a few  examples shall we of when it might be used.
 
Example
 
A: Did you get my email about the meeting?
B: Yes and I've replied and made sure that everyone knows about it.
A: Cheers. 
 A: Two teas please.
B: Here you are.
A: Cheers.
 
Feifei:   我们可以在大多数情况下把  cheers 这个词当作  thank you 来使用，不过用  cheers 会不会很不正式呢？会不会很随便呢？Is it really informal Jo?
 
Jo:    It is quite informal but we can still use it in formal situations – so with your  boss, when talking to someone you don't know so well. In the UK formal
   situations are often quite informal anyway.
 
Feifei:    Jo 说在英国即使是在一个正是的场合，大家也都比较随便，所以不论你是在和老板或 是一个陌生人说话的时候，都可以使用  cheers 这个词。 So why do British 
   people say it?
 
Jo:    Well I've tried to do some research into this Feifei, and I think it's a     greeting that's has changed over the years. So many years ago, British    people used to say 'good cheer to you' or 'be of good cheer' which was just    a greeting wishing you all the best.
 
Feifei:   原来很多年前在英国，人们见面打招呼的时候会说  good cheer to you 或者  be of   good cheer. 那么时间推移，英式英语经过这么多年的演变直到今天人们用  cheers    来表示谢谢  thank you.  
 
Jo:    That's probably the most likely explanation as to why we say it. Look out    for the word ta as well. T.A. ta. British English speakers sometimes say    ta to mean thank you – but again you wouldn't hear this is North     America. Anyway we hope that answered your question Jo Jo and we hope    everyone listening learned something along the way.
 
Insert 
 
questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk
 
Feifei:   希望你从今天的节目中学到了  cheers 的用法，如果你有什么问题的话，欢迎随时提   问，不论是语法，词汇还是语音都可以发邮件给我们。
 
Jo:    That email address is questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk. We look forward to
   hearing from you. Cheers for you help Feifei!
 
Feifei:    Ta Jo! You're welcome!

This week's question is about a British English word - 'cheers'. We had an email from Jo Jo who has observed that it's a word people use instead of thank you and wants to know more.

Cheers is perhaps more commonly known as something people say before they drink alcohol to wish someone good health.

However, it's a word used by all British people and not just young people, to mean thank you. So any time you want to say thank you, you can just replace that with the word cheers in British English.

It's used in an informal way but it can be used in formal situations, like when talking to your boss or someone you don't know very well.

So what are the origins of this word? Well, it's likely it has evolved over the years from when people used to say many years ago 'be of good cheer' or 'good cheer to you'. This would have been a greeting to wish someone well that has been shortened to cheers over time.

Cheers is only used in British English and you wouldn't really hear this word spoken in North America to mean thank you.

Another British English word to watch out for that is used to mean thank you is ta. This is basically a short form of thank you that is used with very small children and lots of adults use it too.

Thank you Jo Jo for your question. If you have a question please get in touch. You can email us at questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk. We look forward to hearing from you.

Glossary 词汇

observed
注意到

to wish someone good health
祝某人身体健康

replace
代替

informal
非正式的

formal
正式的

boss
老板

origins
起源

evolved
演变

cheer
欢乐，乐观

to wish someone well
祝某人健康（问候语）

shortened
缩短

over time
随着时间的推移