‘Cheers’ has several meanings and can be used in several places. Is ‘Cheers’ formal or informal? If that is what you are here for, this article has got you covered.
Is it polite to say ‘Cheers’ to a person? The answer is waiting at the heart of the article. Do you want to know every possible meaning of ‘Cheers’?
You have come to the right place. Do you want better ways to pass the same meaning without saying ‘Cheers’? We have got you covered.
When you see ‘Cheers’ in your email, you should know it’s a greeting. Oops! That slipped. There are more meanings to this word. They will all be explained.
You will also learn how the body of the email suggests the meaning of the word and how you can infuse ‘cheers’ in your day-to-day conversations.
7 meanings of Cheers in an Email
- To welcome you to a team
- To express good wishes
- To confirm a patronage
- To say congratulations
- To start the conversation
- To end the conversation
- To show appreciation.
To welcome you to a team
We have talked about ‘cheers’ being a greeting but there are several kinds of greetings. This is one.
Emails are usually official, unless you are strangely getting an email from a friend. That is quite unlikely in my part of the world.
When you join an organization, you may get an email from the organization to acknowledge your admission into the team.
You may see ‘Cheers’ in the body of the email. You will be able to tell that this is what it means if the content of the email talks about your commencement of operations with the organization.
‘Cheers’, in this context, is simply showing that they are happy to have you among them and you will be having a nice time together.
To express good wishes
This is another form of greeting. Expressing good wishes can come in several contexts.
There are several situations where you say ‘Compliments of the season’ to a person. It could be a public holiday.
If you are getting an email from your organization talking about a public holiday and you find ‘Cheers’ in the body of the email, it is simply expressing the good wishes of the organization.
Your organization may also express good wishes if you are resigning on a good note. When you see ‘Cheers’, the company is simply wishing you good luck with whatever you do next.
This word may also be used by an online service that you unsubscribed from. While this message may be unlikely, you should know the word refers to ‘good wishes’ if it appears in an email from the organization.
To confirm a patronage
As mentioned earlier, you may get ‘Cheers’ in an email from an online service you unsubscribed from.
You should also get this in an email from an online service you are just subscribing to. It is another form of greeting you probably didn’t think of earlier.
When you buy something from a street vendor, he or she can say Cheers as you are properly attended to. The same applies to online services.
The same also applies to online stores you can buy from. After making a purchase, you can get an email from the online store showing that they appreciate your patronage.
To say congratulations
You can write ‘cheers’ in an email as a means of congratulating the receiver.
You may be getting congratulated for the promotion you recently received in your workplace. The same organization can be sending the message to you.
You may be getting congratulated by your organization or just another community you are part of. It could be about an award you won.
It may also be about personal achievement. If this is the case, ‘cheers’ is simply saying ‘congratulations’.
To start the conversation
You can use Cheers to say ‘hello’ and start a conversation. This is another form of greeting a person.
When you see ‘Cheers’ on the first line of the email, it has been used to start the conversation. It is a form of hello but it can simultaneously mean something else.
You will be able to tell from the body of the email. It may be there to start the conversation and simultaneously mean ‘Congratulations.’
It could also simultaneously mean ‘Thank you’ before the email talks about why you are being appreciated.
You can conclude that it’s just starting the conversation if the email is neither about thanking you nor congratulating you.
To end the conversation
When ‘Cheers’ is used at the end of an email, it is usually to say best regards, goodbye, or talk to you later.
This is not a compulsory word for ending emails so you may not find this in many company emails. There are several other words and phrases with the same meaning.
You should know it’s just ending the conversation if it is the last word in the body or conclusion. It is similar to ‘Thanks’ which only ends a text message without actually meaning appreciation.
To show appreciation
While ‘Cheers’ is similar to ‘Thanks’ as an official way of ending an email, it is also similar to ‘Thank you’ as an actual appreciation.
As mentioned earlier, the email may be sent to show appreciation for something you have done. ‘Cheers’ may be sitting in the body of the email as a form of ‘Thank you’.
Is it informal to say ‘Cheers’ in an Email?
‘Cheers’ is originally an informal word used to propose a toast. It had nothing to do with the professional world. For this reason, we could consider the word informal.
However, the word is no longer new in the professional world. It has been completely absorbed and, even though it is described as informal, it is used freely in formal conversations.
‘Cheers’ now has several meanings that are commonly used in the professional world. This has allowed its use in formal contexts. For this reason, we can’t consider the word entirely informal.
The bottom line is ‘Cheers’ in an email is not informal. However, the context you use it in can be either formal or informal.
Is it polite to say ‘Cheers’?
‘Cheers’ is a polite word to use and it is advisable to use it among close friends, mates, and colleagues.
While Cheers has no wrong meaning, it is considered slang in many places and you may get criticized for this word.
The word is polite but you may want to use different words to express what you mean when you are talking to an older person.
What can I say instead of Cheers in an Email?
- Kind regards.
- Have a nice weekend
- Thank you
- Congratulations
- Good day
- You are welcome
- Hello
- Have a great day
- Best wishes.
- Good luck
Kind regards
You can substitute ‘cheers’ with ‘Kind regards’ if the message you are trying to pass is related. ‘Kind regards’ is what you may see at the end of an email just like ‘Thanks’.
‘Kind regards’ simply means you are respected and wished good luck.
Have a nice weekend
Here is another one to conclude your email with. It is also something you can say if you are talking to someone in person. People often say ‘Cheers’ instead of saying ‘Goodbye’.
If you don’t want to say ‘Cheers’ or ‘Goodbye’ to a person, you can say ‘Have a nice weekend’.
Thank you.
As mentioned earlier, ‘Cheers’ is another way of saying thank you to a person. If a person has favored you and you want to show appreciation, you can simply say ‘Cheers, man’.
It is quite informal in this case and it’s better to use a more formal word when talking to an older person.
Congratulations
This is one of the first meanings of ‘Cheers’. When you say ‘Cheers’, it is usually when you are proposing a toast.
You can simply say ‘Congratulations’ since that is what ‘Cheers’ is used to mean.
Good day
If Cheers can start a conversation, so can ‘Good day’. This is very similar to ‘Cheers’ because it can also be used in the morning, afternoon, and night.
You can say ‘Good day’ instead of ‘Good morning, or ‘Good afternoon’.
You are welcome
When a person walks into your home or arrives at your event, ‘Cheers’ is a way of welcoming him or her. You can say ‘you are welcome” instead.
Hello
To start a conversation with a person, ‘Cheers’ can work fine but ‘Hello’ will work even better.
Have a great day
If you can end a conversation with ‘Have a great day’, there is no need to say ‘Cheers’ anymore.
Best wishes
This is similar to ‘Kind regards’. Both of them mostly appear in emails and they end the topic.
Good luck
You can say ‘Good luck’ when talking in person and when ending an email. It is like saying ‘Goodbye’ and simultaneously wishing the person well.