The real meaning of the expression ”На здоровье!”

It’s quite common to think that ‘‘На здоровье!’’ is a way of saying cheers in Russian. It is exactly what you may hear in Hollywood movies depicting Russians drinking. However, native speakers say ‘‘На здоровье!’’ in completely different circumstances.

So here are some examples.

— Бабушка, спасибо! Всё было очень вкусно! Granny, thank you! Everything was delicious!
— На здоровье, дорогой. You’re welcome, dear!

Можете взять мой велосипед. Пользуйтесь на здоровье, когда хотите! You can take my bike. Use it as much as you want, whenever you want!

As you can see, first,‘‘На здоровье!’’ can be a synonym for ‘‘пожалуйста’’ and used as an answer to thanks (especially if the service provided was somehow beneficial to health). And, secondly, ‘‘на здоровье’’ after an imperative verb means ‘‘as much as you want’’, sometimes sarcastically.