Ever wanted to know how to say thank you in other languages? We’ve got your back! This article shows you how to show gratitude in 40 different languages.
Saying a simple thank you can mean a lot to the recipient, even more when the gratitude comes from a co-worker. Having a colleague or manager say a simple thank you can be a very motivating force.
So with this in mind, we’ve collated 36 different ways on how to say thank you – see how you go pronouncing these over the coming months.
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
– John F. Kennedy
Afrikaans – dankie
Arabic – shukran
Bosnian – hvala (HVAH-lah)
Bulgarian – благодаря / blagodaria
Catalan – gràcies (GRAH-syuhs)
Cantonese – M̀h’gōi
Croatian – hvala (HVAH-lah)
Czech – děkuji (Dyekooyih)
Danish – tak (tahg)
Dutch – dank u
Estonian – tänan (TA-nahn)
Finnish – kiitos (KEE-tohss)
French – merci
German – danke
Greek – ευχαριστώ (ef-hah-rees-TOH)
Hawaiian – mahalo (ma-HA-lo)
Hindi – dhanyavād / shukriya
Hungarian – köszönöm (KØ-sø-nøm)
Indonesian – terima kasih. (tuh-REE-mah KAH-see)
Italian – grazie (GRAHT-tsyeh)
Photo: woodleywonderworks, Flickr
Japanese – arigatô (ah-ree-GAH-toh)
Latvian – paldies (PUHL-dyehs)
Lebanese – choukrane
Lithuanian – ačiū (AH-choo)
Malay – terima kasih (TREE-muh KAH-seh)
Maltese – grazzi (GRUTS-ee)
Mandarin (Chinese) – xièxie
Norwegian – takk
Polish – dziękuję (Jenkoo-yen)
Romanian – mulţumesc (mool-tzoo-MESK)
Russian – спасибо (spuh-SEE-buh)
Slovak – Ďakujem (JAH-koo-yehm)
Slovenian – hvala (HVAA-lah)
Spanish – gracias (GRAH-syahs)
Swedish – tack
Tamil – nandri
Thai – kop khun
Turkish – teşekkür ederim / sagolun
Vietnamese – cám ơn
Welsh – diolch (DEE-ol’ch)
Take note, though, that some cultures actually think it strange or impolite to say thank you. For example, in this blog post, the writer points out that saying please and thank you to your Indian friends may be taken as an insult. Indian people just assume that you will return the favour at another time.
According to positive psychologists, the words ‘thank you‘ are no longer just good manners, they are also beneficial to the self.
Saying ‘Thank you’ is just one of the way to show how much you appreciate your employees and even your peers. Read our post on other 40 great ways to say thank you to your employees.
In Summary
Why not extend your knowledge of other languages and how to say thank you to a colleague who has impacted your work like positively in the last few weeks by using one of the above languages.
To take the best known examples, studies have suggested that being grateful can improve well-being, physical health, can strengthen social relationships, produce positive emotional states and help us cope with stressful times in our lives.
So maybe saying thank you isn’t just polite, you could be doing a lot more good for the recipient.
Good luck (and thank you for reading!).