Essential Chinese Gratitude Phrases: Casual to Formal Thanks
Last updated: July 10, 2024
Expressing your gratitude is something that transcends linguistic boundaries. It can help improve your interactions among others, no matter how brief and seemingly inconsequential they may seem at the time. It's nice to acknowledge the work of others that's making the world a better place. While thanks can come in many forms, the words we use a simple but effective way to communicate our appreciation.
Even if you know no other Chinese words and just want to impress a friend, a simple thank you in their language can go a long way. We will give you some key phrases and explanation, along with audio, so that you can show your appreciation to speakers of Mandarin in no time!
Overview
Meaning |
Simplified |
Traditional |
Pinyin |
Sounds Like |
|---|---|---|---|---|
thank you |
谢谢 |
謝謝 |
xièxie |
"she-eh she-eh" |
many thanks |
多谢 |
多謝 |
duōxiè |
"dwo sheh" |
I am grateful to you |
感谢你 |
感謝你 |
gǎnxiè nǐ |
"gahn she-eh nee" |
thank you very much |
非常感谢 |
非常感謝 |
fēicháng gǎnxiè |
"fay chang gahn she-eh" |
I'm very grateful |
我非常感激 |
我非常感激 |
wǒ fēicháng gǎnjī |
"wo fay chang gahn ji" |
thanks a million |
万分感谢 |
萬分感謝 |
wànfēn gǎnxiè |
"wan fun gahn she-eh" |
can't thank (one) enough |
感激不尽 |
感激不盡 |
gǎnjī bújìn |
"gahn jee boo jeen" |
thank you for your help |
谢谢你的帮助 |
謝謝你的幫助 |
xièxie nǐ de bāngzhù |
"she-eh she-eh nee duh bang joo" |
thanks for everything |
谢谢你做的一切 |
謝謝你做的一切 |
xièxie nǐ zuò de yíqiè |
"she-eh she-eh nee tsuo duh ee chyeh" |
- Pinyin: a standardized way to write Chinese characters in the Latin alphabet.
- Tone: the pitch of a word, of which there are 4 distinct patterns represented by 4 different diacritics (accent marks); if there is no diacritic, it indicates a neutral or absent tone.
- Simplified: Chinese character set with less strokes.
- Traditional: Chinese character set with more strokes.
If needed, you can also check out our refresher on Chinese tones.
Standard Thanks
Thank you - 谢谢
Literally: thank thank
Sounds like: "she-eh-she-eh"
This is the most common and plain way to express the equivalent of the "thank you" in Mandarin Chinese. This phrase is extremely versatile, and is able to be used both casually and formally. However, this form of thanks is far more common as an interjection, than as a verb.
Example:
- 请把这个文件递给经理，谢谢。
- Please pass this document to the manager, thank you.
Many thanks - 多谢
Literally: many thank
Sounds like: "dwo sheh"
This phrase is very similar to the above, but is a bit more formal. Other than that it's largely interchangeable. It can be used as both an interjection and as a verb.
Example:
- 收到您的礼物，我非常开心，多谢！
- I am very happy to receive your gift. Thank you so much!
I'm grateful to you - 感谢你
Literally: grateful you
Sounds like: "gahn she-eh nee"
This is more polite than the two aforementioned expressions of thanks. Since this phrase is less commonly used as an interjection, it expresses thanks in a more direct and personal way, similar to the English "to be grateful to/for." It is more commonly used as a verb as part of a sentence. 感谢 gǎnxiè on its own can also act as a noun, meaning "gratitude."
Example:
- 我想对你说感谢你的帮助和支持。
- I am grateful for your help and support.
Extreme Gratefulness
To express a deeper gratefulness, you can add intensifiers to the phrase of thanks, much like in English we can add "very," "so," or "extremely" before "thankful" or similar expressions.
Thank you very much - 非常感谢
Literally: extremely grateful
Sounds like: "fay chang gahn she-eh"
This is a common phrase conveys a more intense gratitude. You could translate it as "thank you very much" or "I'm very grateful." It consists of 非常 and 感谢, meaning extremely and grateful, respectively.
Example:
- 我非常感谢老师的耐心教导。
- I am very grateful for the teacher's patient instruction.
I'm very grateful - 我非常感激
Literally: I extremely appreciative
Sounds like: "wo fay chang gahn ji"
As its literal translation implies, it also expresses a rather deep gratitude and can be translated to "I'm so very appreciative of you."
Thanks a million - 万分感谢
Literally: ten thousand parts grateful
Sounds like: "wan fun gahn she-eh"
This phrase consists of 万分 and 感谢, meaning extremely and grateful, respectively. You could translate this phrase to "thanks a million" or "thank you so very much." This is used to give a very heartfelt show of appreciation.
Example:
- 我要向帮助我的朋友们说一声万分感谢。
- I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to the friends who have helped me.
Note: there is a similar but less intense version: 十分感谢 which has 十分 as the modifier, which is closer to the English meaning of "very."
Can't thank (one) enough - 感激不尽
Literally: appreciative endless(ly)
Sounds like: "gahn jee boo jeen"
This is similar to the others but has the intensifier after the phrase of thanks. It can be translated to "(I) can't thank (you) enough" to express a very high degree of appreciation, especially for help provided by someone or something.
Example:
- 对他们所做的一切，我们真是感激不尽。
- We feel really beholden to them for everything they've done.
Other
Thank you for your help - 谢谢你的帮助
Literally: thanks your help
Sounds like: "she-eh she-eh nee duh bang joo"
If you've been on the receiving end of some help, then this is a useful phrase to show your appreciation.
Example:
- 因为你的建议很有用，谢谢你的帮助
- Because your advice was very helpful, thank you for your assistance.
Thanks for everything - 谢谢你做的一切
Literally: thank you do (particle) everything
Sounds like: "she-eh she-eh nee tsuo duh ee chyeh"
If you would like to express your appreciation for a multitude of favors then this phrase will do the trick.
Example:
- 我想谢谢你做的一切，你对我的支持。
- I wanted to thank you for everything, how you've stood by me.
There are several variations of this phrase. A more formal variant is the following:
- 感谢你为我做的一切。
- I'm grateful for everything that you've done for me.
Though it can be nice to show your appreciation to someone in their native tongue, it's even more potent when you take the time to develop conversational or fluent ability in a language. If you are interested in starting on a journey into the Mandarin Chinese language, we recommend you check out our courses and software to study Mandarin. If it seems like something up your alley, start your free trial today.