Learn Spanish (Spain): ¡Salud, amigos!

In Spanish, exclamations and questions always begin with an inverted punctuation mark (¡ or ¿) and end with a standard one. This lets you know right from the start how the sentence should be read out loud.

Doesn't salud usually mean health?

Exactly! The literal meaning is health, but it is the standard way to say cheers when toasting with drinks. You will also hear Spanish speakers say ¡Salud! when someone sneezes, similar to saying bless you in English.

If the group of friends has both men and women, do I still say amigos?

Yes. In Spanish, whenever a group includes at least one male, you use the masculine plural (amigos). You only use the feminine plural (amigas) if every single person in the group is female.

Why isn't there a word for the before amigos?

Because you are speaking directly to them. When you address people directly, you just use the noun. You would only use the word for the (los) if you were talking about them to someone else, rather than talking to them.