How to Say Thank You in Japanese : Not Just “Arigatou”

4 Ways to Say Thank You in Japanese ; Doumo (どうも) ; Arigatou (ありがとう) ; Arigatou gozaimasu (ありがとうございます) ; Doumo arigatou gozaimasu ... Skiptomaincontent HitentertosearchorESCtoclose CloseSearch CultureThingstoKnow HowtoSayThankYouinJapanese–NotJust“Arigatou” ByKellyNagataApril7,2020July22nd,2022NoComments Onemightthinkitissimpletosay“thankyou”inJapanese,butinreality,itisn’tsoeasy.Ican’ttellwhichJapanesephraseIusemoreoftenonadailybasis:“sumimasen”or“arigatou,”theformermeaning“I’msorry”andthelatter“thankyou”.InJapanese,thelinebetweenthesetwophrasesisagrayareaasIwillexplainlater. Asdiscussedinapreviousarticle,apologizinginJapaneseismoreofacustomthananadmissionofwrongdoing,asmostofusareusedtothinking.SometimesJapaneseuse“sumimasen”(I’msorry)inplaceof“thankyou”,asin“Thankyouforallowingmetoinconvenienceyou.”Saying“arigatou,”orthankyouinEnglishisslightlymorestraightforwardthansayingsorry,butitisstillanartinitself. WhatDoesArigatouMean? Let’sstartbylookingattheoriginoftheJapanesetermofthankyou,“arigatou”(有り難う). Theword“arigatou”isoftenseenwrittenintheJapanesealphabetofhiragana(ありがとう),andmanyofusareprobablyalsofamiliarwiththelonger“arigatougozaimasu”(ありがとうございます),whichisamoreformalwaytothanksomeone.WhenseparatingtheChinesecharacterscalledkanjithatmakes“arigatou,”“ari”(有り)means“tohave”and“gatou”(難う)“difficult”(katai;難い).Together,thephrasetranslatesto“(itis)difficulttohave(it,soI’mthankful)”. TheOriginsofArigatou TheconceptbehindarigatouisbelievedtohavecomefromBuddhistteachingsthatoneshouldalwaysbeappreciativebecauseeverythinghappensforareason,andthatnothingshouldbetakenforgranted.Accordingtowrittenrecords,however,“arigatou”didnotbecomewhatitmeanstodayuntilaftertheHeianperiod(8-12thcenturyAD).Thereisalsoaninterestingtheorythat“arigatou”mighthavebeenderivedfrom“obrigado,”thePortuguesewordforthankyou,giventheprominentinfluenceofthePortugueseCatholicmissionariesinJapanesehistory. Arigatou–FromtheHeianEraorborrowedfromPortuguese? 4WaystoSayThankYouinJapanese Theword“arigatou”canbeusedindifferentwaysdependingontheformalityofthesituation.Startingfromthemostcasualform: Doumo(どうも) Arigatou(ありがとう) Arigatougozaimasu(ありがとうございます) Doumoarigatougozaimasu(どうもありがとうございます) Theterm“doumo”isliterally“very,”while“gozaimasu”isthepoliteformof“tohave”(aru;ある).Itcanbeconfusingbutforthesakeofsimplicity,rememberthelongertheexpression,themoreformalitis. Doumo Asimple“doumo”asashortenedformofthankyoucanbeusedverycasually,forinstance,whenyouareexitingastorethatyou’vejustvisited. Arigatou/ArigatouGozaimasu Both“arigatou”and“arigatougozaimasu”canbeusedtothanksomeonedoingsomethingforyou,forexample,toawaitressrefillingyourwater,and“doumoarigatougozaimasu”tothanksomeoneforabiggerfavororwhenyouhavereceivedagift. Arigatou/ArigatouGozaimashita Thepasttense,“arigatougozaimashita”(ありがとうございました),isusedwhenyouhavereceivedaserviceorfavor,orforsomethingthat’shappenedalready.Aswiththeabove,adding“doumo”tothefrontwillemphasizeyourappreciationfurtherormakeitmoreformal. Howtopronounce“ArigatouGozaimashita”? PoliteExpressionsforBusinessSettings Inbusinesssettings,evenmorepoliteexpressionsbeyondthebasic“arigatou”phrasesareusedtoshowthankstopeopleofhigherrankorsociallevels:Sumimasen(すみません) Osore-irimasu(恐れ入ります) Apolitebowshouldalwaysaccompanyanexpressionofthanks. Whilstbothoftheabovelookmorelikeapologies,theyarebasicallyinterpretedas“I’msorrytotroubleyouandIthankyouforthat.”Notethattheseapologeticphraseswillnotmakemuchsensebythemselves,soyouwilloftenhearthemcombinedintosomethinglike: Sumimasen,doumoarigatougozaimashita.Osore-irimasuga,makotoni*arigatougozaimasu.(*Makotoni=sincerely) Keepinmindthelastoneslistedabovearethankyou’swerarelyneedtouseindailylifeunlessyouareinthecustomerserviceindustryorinthehabitofrunningintoserioustrouble!Expressingappreciationhonestlyisthekeypointhere,ratherthanmasteringbig,fancywords.Soremember,nevermindifan“arigatou”soundstooplain–whatmattersisshowingyourgratefulnessearnestly!Andalwaysrememberthatapolitebowcanshowyourgratitudeevenmorethanwords! Tags:JapaneseLanguageLivinginJapanMannersTraditionalArts KellyNagata AverytypicalMillennial,wholovestravelingandgastronomy.KellywasborninHongKongandhaslivedinCanada,Japan,GermanyandAustria.ShehasrecentlymovedtoKobefortheirbread. 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